Great Barrier Reef health update for May 2020
by GBRMPA Media 23 May 2020 17:20 NZST
We acknowledge the significant impact COVID-19 is having on Reef related-industries and communities and welcome additional support announced by the Australian Government for tourism and regional economies.
We are continuing to provide updates on Reef health during this time - updates will be monthly until the start of the 2020-21 summer.
2019-20 wet season wrap-up
Northern Australia's 2019-20 wet season was the driest since 2004-05, and the second well-below average wet season in a row, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. Tropical cyclone numbers were also well below the long-term average.
Temperature and rainfall outlook
Sea surface temperatures throughout the Marine Park were generally average at the end of April.
The Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting warmer and wetter than average conditions for Queensland through to August.
Reef snapshot: summer 2019-2020
In April 2020, we released the first Reef snapshot with the Australian Institute of Marine Science and CSIRO. It is a concise, easy to understand summary of how the Reef has fared over the past summer, what this means for coral and the actions being taken to help coral health. The snapshot found:
Northern (Cape York - Lizard Island): Moderate hard coral cover and low levels of crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS). Bleaching moderate to severe on mid-shelf and inshore reefs, with little to no bleaching on outer-shelf reefs.
Central (Lizard Island - Whitsundays): Moderate hard coral cover in Cairns and low in Innisfail overall, with no COTS observed. Moderate bleaching levels near Cairns, but generally more widespread and severe bleaching on mid-shelf reefs further south (except the Whitsundays).
Southern (Whitsundays - Cap-Bunkers/Swains): Hard coral cover and active COTS in the Pompeys, high levels of hard coral cover in the Cap-Bunkers and moderate levels of hard coral cover and COTS outbreaks in the Swains. Variable bleaching observed overall, with two-thirds of reefs moderately to severely bleached in the Pompeys and Swains.
Coral bleaching recovery
Surveys of post-bleaching recovery and mortality have not been conducted due to COVID-19 social distancing and travel restrictions. As a result, we are mostly reliant on reports from locals and tourism operators.
Magnetic Island is showing signs of recovery from the recent mass bleaching event in the 2019-20 summer. Reports show corals and giant clams are regaining some of their function/colour.
Footage from four reefs offshore from Cairns show healthy coral with small amounts of bleaching.
Early reports from the Marine Monitoring Program show encouraging signs of recovery on inshore sites in the Burdekin and Keppels Islands.
Observations of coral disease submitted through the Eye on the Reef program indicated scattered, low-level impacts.
Crown-of-thorns starfish management
The crown-of-thorns starfish control vessels commenced culling at four reefs in the Capricorn-Bunker Group which are currently in active outbreak status.
Rare sighting reported on Eye on the Reef
Footage of a rare and endangered ornate eagle ray was sighted near Lady Elliot Island. There are only about 50 sightings recorded for this species world-wide.