Tourists still love our Reef

A TOWNSVILLE dive operator says the reef off Townsville continues to be a drawcard for tourists despite reports of massive coral bleaching caused by high ocean temperatures.

Remote Area Dive operations manager Jason Mengel said that, while there was coral bleaching, most tourists were happy with their Great Barrier Reef dive experience.

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority chairman Dr Russell Reichelt said spot checks between Cairns and Townsville last week revealed moderate to severe coral bleaching at some reefs.

But Mr Mengel said most tourists were not fazed.

“Nine out of 10 tourists don’t realise what coral bleaching is,” he said.

“It’s not just about the coral, it’s about the experience of being in the Great Barrier Reef. There is so much colour from the fish. Most tourists get a kick out of seeing Nemo, Dory and Bruce the great white, as well as the coral.”

Mr Mengel said the reefs off Townsville was far superior to that found off Cairns.

“The reef off Cairns has so many divers and snorkellers that use it every day that it gets trashed all the time,” he said.

“Townsville doesn’t have that sheer volume of traffic so our reef is in better condition.”

Dr Reichelt said the authority conducted 54 spot surveys of six reefs after early warning system reports of bleaching.

Dr Reichelt said all six had experienced thermal stress after a year of above- average temperatures across the Great Barrier Reef and current sea temperatures about 2C warmer than average.

Australian Institute of Marine Science’s Dr Hugh Sweatman, who leads the institute’s monitoring program, said the warm water temperature and calm days were a concern.

“The most worrying thing is that these conditions are predicted to get worse in the coming month or two,” he said.

“Coral bleaching is a combination of warm water and still days and we’ve had plenty of those. What we need for the reef is rain to cool the water and to break up the surface.”

Dr Reichelt said the bleaching was part of a global coral bleaching event that has been affecting the world’s coral reefs for at least two years.

“The Great Barrier Reef has fared better than many of the world’s reefs,” he said.