Time is running out for the world’s largest ocean reef, although campaigners hope a new report’s stark findings will prompt long-overdue action
A recent study on coral reef ecosystems reveals it has taken an alarmingly short 27 years for the Great Barrier Reef to lose half its coral. The study from the Australian Institute of Marine Science finds that tropical storms and the effects of coral-feeding starfish account for much of the damage, at 48% and 42% respectively. Rising sea temperatures and increased ocean acidification are responsible for the remaining 10% of the destruction.
Georgina Woods, an oceans expert at Greenpeace Australia, lays the blame squarely on climate change. “Tropical cyclones in northern Australia have become more intense as a result of climate change, which has also led to an increase in coral bleaching due to rising sea temperatures, and ocean acidification as a result of emissions being absorbed by our oceans.”
Climate change undeniably offers an array of explanations for the overall deterioration of global marine life. However, WWF Australia reef specialist Nick Heath insists that there is more to the story.
Fertiliser fallout
While the population booms of coral-feeding crown-of-thorns starfish may appear to be a natural phenomenon, they are in fact man-made. “The problem is that we are applying too much fertiliser to crops growing [on land] adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef,” says Heath. “These crops are unable to absorb the excess fertiliser which later gets flushed into the reef by rainfall.”
The fertiliser then causes algal blooms, which become a source of food for the starfish larva. On reaching adulthood, the crown-of-thorns starfish, which can grow to one metre, has the ability to eat its body size in coral every day. Heath says: “We should have two or three of these starfish per reef. Instead, we have 2,000-3,000 per hectare of reef and [reefs] are simply not able to recover in time.”
The deterioration of coral health across the Great Barrier Reef is not an isolated event. From Florida to the Gulf of Oman, algae blooms as a by-product of fertiliser-polluted waters have been found to suffocate coral.
Heath argues that balance is required. “The solution isn’t to stop farming. Farming can co-exist with the reef, but we need to radically rethink the way we use fertiliser, and should only be using what the crops can absorb.”
This presents a business windfall. Farmers can save costs on fertiliser by eliminating the excess use, while government and the tourism industry save on control measures, which cost millions of dollars.
According to Heath, there is evidence that the cessation of farm fertiliser reaching reef waters does help. “Parts of the reef that do not get farm fertiliser run-off are in good shape,” he says.
It is not too late to save the damaged reefs. Environmental NGOs’ reaction to the Australian Institute of Marine Science report was primarily one of relief that at last there was concrete, credible evidence to back their concerns. “For many years, what I had seen with my own eyes was often classified by the people contributing to the destruction of the reef as an anecdote. It is not until you turn that anecdote into peer-reviewed scientific fact that you get governments to listen,” Heath says.
Through the report’s alarming figures and clear path to recovery, hopes are it will stimulate action. “We are all partly to blame: government, industry and local community,” Heath says. “We are seeing this happening but we are not responding fast enough.”