A steep decline in coral cover right across the Great Barrier Reef, off the coast of Queensland, Australia, is a phenomenon that “has not been observed in the historical record”, a new report by the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) says.
“The predicted consequences of climate change include more powerful storms and more frequent and more intense bleaching events. Reefs in the northern section have lost about half their coral cover. The central section also sustained significant coral loss”. Total coral cover decreased from 22% in 2016 to 14% in 2018.
“It is unprecedented that all three regions of the [reef] have declined and that many reefs now have very low coral cover. More frequent disturbances, each causing greater damage to reefs, combined with slower rates of recovery will inevitably lead to less living coral on reefs.”
Imogen Zethoven, from AIMS, said the report highlighted the unprecedented scale of coral loss on the reef. “We need the government to see this as a national crisis, which it is. We are responsible for the protection and conservation of this world treasure. We have a legal and moral obligation to look after it.”