Great Barrier Reef starfish to get lethal injections

AUSTRALIA has announced a £5.7million cull of starfish in an attempt to protect the Great Barrier Reef.

Divers will give hundreds of thousands of coral-eating starfish lethal injections of bile salt in an ‘all-out assault’.

The plan was revealed by prime minister Malcolm Turnbull as part of a £35million rescue package lasting 18 months.

The reef, off the north-east coast of the state of Queensland, has faced heavy damage in recent years due to warmer water temperatures as well as the crown-ofthorns starfish. Coastal development, storms, and agricultural and industrial pollution have also played a part. The protection plan includes £21million to prevent pollution entering the reef.

A group of 25 divers will trawl a 155-mile stretch of coast over nine days, aiming to kill 1,000 starfish each per day. Project manager Steve Moon told ABC News Australia: ‘In recent months, occupational crown-of-thorns starfish divers have culled as many as 30,000 crown-of-thorns starfish in a single voyage.’