Great Barrier Reef Project

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The Great Barrier Reef Project has been running since 2001 and involves long-term monitoring of more than 30 key dive sites on the Great Barrier Reef and Osprey Reef in the Coral Sea.

This flagship project was initiated by Jos Hill and Undersea Explorer and has the support of more than 20 dive operators along the length of the Reef. These operators recognise the importance of looking after their reefs, and support the project by providing in-kind berth space for our teams for surveys and training. This remarkable achievement has been realised through the enthusiasm and commitment of over 100 volunteers. As well as taking part in surveys our volunteers have assisted with training, survey coordination and reporting.

GBR Project surveys are coordinated from Reef Check Australia’s Headquarters in Townsville. The survey season runs between February and June each year. Most surveys are run at weekends to enable our community volunteers to participate outside work commitments.

Since monitoring began most sites have remained relatively unchanged. However some reefs in the Cairns and Townsville regions have been affected algal blooms of blue-green algae. This suggests high nutrient levels in the water. Some sites in the Townsville region have been affected by crown-of-thorns starfish, which feed extensively on hard coral. Coral bleaching was recorded at many sites during the summers of 2002 and 2004 with sites at Osprey Reef in the Coral Sea suffering more than those on the Great Barrier Reef. However, the corals at most sites appear to have recovered. Incidences of coral-eating snails (Drupella spp.) and coral disease have been reported at a few sites.

For more information on our monitoring data see our online data reports.

Download the Great Barrier Reef Project: Ten Year Report. (293KB pdf)

Sponsors of the GBR Project are:

Supporters of the GBR Project include:

Port Douglas

Cairns

Reef Encounter

Townsville

Airlie Beach

Hamilton Island

Past supporters of the GBR Project include the following organisations. These organisations have played an important role in building this project to where it is today: