Experts warn about looming mass coral bleaching disaster

Experts are warning that a coral bleaching disaster is looming for the Great Barrier Reef unless something can be done to counteract rising temperatures in Queensland seas.

The GREAT Barrier Reef is a “whisker away” from an underwater heatwave and a mass coral bleaching event, conservationists warn.

With water temperatures in the GBR marine park up to two degrees higher than average, coral experts are closely eyeing signs of bleaching on remote parts of the Reef.

Adani: Former Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef chairman supports charity

Shipwreck hunter Ben Cropp finds 150-year-old mystery vessel at Sudsbury Reef off Cairns

In a report to be released today, the nation’s peak authority on the Reef suggests a “heightened risk of mass bleaching” by mid-March, a spokeswoman told The Courier-Mail.

Unless a cyclone or monsoonal rain cools down the heated water in coming weeks, there is the threat of a possible bleaching event, based on current weather forecasts.

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority’s chief scientist David Wachenfeld told how the agency was on alert.

It would spell a dire outlook for the state’s tourism industry and the health of the Reef if it suffered mass bleaching events similar to 2016 and 2017.

Coral bleaching at various stages on the reef flat. Up to 80% of the coral in this photo died Picture: Brian Cassey

Shani Tager, of the Australian Marine Conservation Society, said the Reef was in hot water.

“The last thing our Reef, and the coastal communities that it supports, needs right now is another summer of mass bleaching,’’ she said.

“Unfortunately we are a whisker away from bleaching disaster yet again because of global warming driven marine heatwaves.

“This is a deeply concerning forecast with hot waters bad news for our Reef, the thousands of incredible marine species that depend on it and the 64,000 jobs that it supports.”