$54.3m investment in crown-of-thorns starfish control

The fight against a plague of thorny reef killers has received a funding boost with another $54.3m being awarded to contractors along the Queensland coast, including an Indigenous organisation in the Torres Strait.

The fight against a plague of thorny reef killers has received a funding boost with another $54.3m being awarded to contractors along the Queensland coast, including an Indigenous organisation in the Torres Strait.

The funding covers contracts over the next three years to specialist teams involved in the Crown-of-thorns Starfish Control Program.

A Crown of Thorns starfish outbreak at Swain Reefs. Picture: AIMS/Justin Rowley

Over the next three years, the program will deliver more than 3500 days at sea and 57,300 diver hours to protect coral from starfish predation at up to 200 reefs annually.

Four contracted suppliers are currently delivering Crown-of-thorns Starfish Control Program on-water operations: Blue Planet Marine; Reef and Rainforest Research Centre (INLOC); Pacific Marine Group; and now Malu Ventures based in the Torres Strait has joined the program.

Malu Ventures, an Indigenous-owned business based in the Torres Strait, is one of four operators to receive funding for the monitoring, management and removal of crown-of-thorns starfish in the Great Barrier Reef. Photo: Supplied

Blue Planet general manager Tim Phillips said the starfish were “very clever and hard to kill”.

“They’ll pop up in different areas of the reef at different times its a bit like mowing the lawn you have to keep on top of it,” he said.

“We are having some success in the southern end of the reef but we are seeing those newer outbreaks more in the Far North.”

The program provides over 100 direct jobs and delivers training, capacity building and employment opportunities for Indigenous Australians, including in remote communities.

Special Envoy for the Great Barrier Reef Senator Nita Green said the security provided under the contracts meant more coral protection outcomes, more eyes on the Reef, and more jobs for Queenslanders.

Adult crown of thorns starfish

“Our investment in crown-of-thorns starfish control is an investment in Reef health as well as good jobs for regional Queenslanders,” she said.

“It is good to see Malu Ventures, an Indigenous-owned business, based in the Torres Strait join the program.

“They are delivering program operations in the remote Far Northern section of the Marine Park and providing crucial training and employment to Reef Traditional Owners.”

A voracious coral predator, the crown-of-thorns starfish is native to the Great Barrier Reef, but in outbreak proportions can have devastating effects on coral cover and degrade reef health.

Recent findings demonstrate that targeted outbreak surveillance and proactive, systematic and sustained cull operations can effectively suppress starfish numbers and sustain coral cover across entire reefs and regions.

Originally published as $54.3m investment in crown-of-thorns starfish control