Research vital on reef coral

Scientist Peter Ridd’s challenge to Great Barrier Reef authorities to update research on coral growth rates deserves support. Indeed, given the high level of concern and large amounts of public funds dedicated to the reef, it seems extraordinary that this work has not already been done. According to Dr Ridd, despite published claims of a collapse in coral growth rates between 1990 and 2005 due to stress from human pollution, there is no data for the past 15 years. Dr Ridd has proposed a program of drill core sampling to bring the record up to date and test whether assumptions about a collapse in growth rates due to warmer temperatures can be believed.

If the earlier results are proven correct, Dr Ridd says he will be the first to accept he was wrong and that there is a disaster happening on the reef. His idea is a welcome case of put up or shut up for everyone concerned.

Dr Ridd earlier suggested 1 per cent of the $443m granted by the Turnbull government to the Great Barrier Reef Foundation in August 2018 be used to check the quality of results from Australia’s peak marine science institutions on the reef.

The updated drill core program would be an ideal candidate for funding. Ten per cent of that grant, $44.3m, already has been allocated to administration between 2018 and 2024. According to the latest financial report from the foundation almost 10 per cent of that, $4.2m, was spent from January 1 to June 30 last year on administrative activities related to the Reef Trust Partnership.

In total, administrative costs were 20.9 per cent of total expenses for the six-month period and fundraising cost a further 7.4 per cent. The foundation says the costs were incurred to establish and maintain appropriate governance frameworks and are expected to fall over time. In the six months, 58 reef projects were committed, three-quarters of which were focused on traditional owners or community efforts. There were 11 water quality projects, 18 traditional owner reef protection projects, 25 community reef protection projects, three restoration and adaptation projects and one monitoring and reporting project.

Worthy as these may be, what could be more important than making sure the data fuelling concerns about coral growth rates and a possible collapse in reef vitality are kept fully up to date?