Update on Coral Bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (Reef Authority) and the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) have completed aerial surveys across a representative sample of more than 750 reefs across the Great Barrier Reef.

Aerial surveys are a standard method which provide the best picture of the full spatial extent of bleaching severity at many reefs across a large, representative area of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

Consistent with the geographical distribution of heat stress experienced across the Reef over the past months, the bleaching is variable:

Far North (Cape York Tip to Cape Melville): ranged from minor to severe

North (Cape Melville to Dunk Island): mostly severe with some mortality observed

Central (Dunk Island to Cape Conway): mostly severe with some mortality observed

South (cape Conway to just south of Lady Elliott Island): mostly minor with some high coral cover reefs displaying no visible bleaching.

This assessment of bleaching at multiple reefs in all four management areas confirms a mass bleaching event on the Reef, the fourth since 2016 and despite La Niña conditions.