Heat bleach fear for Reef

ALL eyes are on the Great Barrier Reef for the slightest hint of white coral as a heatwave threatens to cause another mass bleaching event on the natural wonder.

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority has received reports of bleaching on three reefs in the Far Northern sector of the marine park, near Shelburne Bay off Cape York’s east coast.

The coral reef heat stress symptom was reported earlier this week via survey divers commissioned by the authority.

The authority is mobilising divers to report conditions while Tourism Tropical North Queensland is urging tour operators to report any bleaching immediately to GBRMPA, via the Eye on the Reef program.

With sea temperatures up to 3C warmer across some parts of the Reef, there is a grim prognosis unless a cyclone or monsoonal event brings cooling showers in the coming weeks.

GBRMPA chief scientist Dr David Wachenfeld said as February was the hottest time of the year for the Reef, the current conditions were “very concerning.”

“We also have reports of coral bleaching from some other locations at different parts of the park,” he said.

“We are mobilising teams to both fill in gaps, but also to fill in some of those more anecdotal observations just to see exactly what is happening in other areas of the park.”

The Great Barrier Reef experienced back-to-back mass bleaching events during 2016 and 2017, with the Far Northern sector, stretching from Port Douglas to Torres Strait, the worst affected.

TTNQ chief executive Mark Olsen said the organisation would collate daily condition reports at key reef tourism sites, which would be released to the public.

“The Great Barrier Reef is big, it’s beautiful, and it’s diverse,” he said.

“There will be very different conditions in different areas, so all eyes are watching the Barrier Reef to ensure its longterm health.”

Cairns-based Divers for Reef Conservation spokeswoman Tanya Murphy said as climate change accelerated, there would be more coral bleaching events in the Far North.

She said the latest reports were not surprising.

“As we’ve seen since the 2016-17 bleaching, corals can spawn baby corals in order to grow back and revive, and we have been seeing some revival since then,” she said.