Cairns/Port Douglas

Cairns and Port Douglas are famous gateways for tourists to come and enjoy the Great Barrier Reef first hand. The high numbers of visitors make these areas of high socio-economic value from the tourism industry. The reefs are essential to local communities.

Project History and Achievements

Reef Check Australia has been working with tourism operators in the Cairns and Port Douglas region since our start. 

We have a number of monitoring in the area that tourism operators help teams of trained volunteers visit each year. We're also looking to build more of a local hub in this critical reef area.

Along with continuing our reef health monitoring, the RCA team is involved with ReefBlitz activities in the region. 

 

Reef Monitoring

We've been monitoring sites in Cairns and Port Douglas since our early days.  

In 2016 and 2017 the Great Barrier Reef was hit hard by two years of consecutive mass coral bleaching. A number of sites in the Cairns and Port Douglas area were subject to consecutive years of bleaching. But there is still so much here to celebrate. 

Our monitoring sites in the region include locations such as Low Isles, Opal Reef, Agincourt Reef, Hastings Reef and Moore Reef.  In 2017, the RCA survey team also launched new sites at Fitzroy Island.

 

Questing for details?

Read more in our regional reports. 

 

Regional Program Supporters

Project supporters

Our current activities in Cairns and Port Douglas are supported through a donation from the Clarke's One for Tomorrow program and by donations from people like YOU.

 

Dive Industry Supporters

Cairns Dive Centre | Calypso Snorkel & Dive | Fitzroy Island Resort | Reef Magic Cruises | Sunlover Reef Cruises

 

 

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Regional Updates

The Hackathon Report

April 08, 2018
Jules Lim, Reef Check Volunteer recently attended a "Hackathon" at the James Cook University Cairns Campus, hosted by Myriad. The aim was to bring scientists, industry experts, educators, community members and reef lovers together to collaborate on brainstorming solutions to problems faced by coral reefs. The specific problem for the day? Plastic pollution on the reef. Guest speakers included traditional owners, microplastics researchers, conservation campaigners and design thinkers .   Everyone was given a crash-course on 'How to Pitch' (in one minute!) before the main group splintered into smaller focus groups who then entered the Hackathon's three main phases of "Immersion", "Ideation" and "Delivery". The day culminated with each group presenting its idea to a panel of experts, who provided feedback, further tips and development ideas. Jules sums the Hackathon up as "a fun and experiential day spent in like-minded, inspiring company. I learnt how to truly submerge myself in a team-focused challenge in finding practical solutions to a multifaceted problem.If there ever was a time to formulate innovative ideas to help our coral reefs, it is now." 
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GBR 2018 season kicks off

March 10, 2018
After a big February of training the Great Barrier Reef survey team, we have kicked off the 2018 survey season up in Cairns and headed out with long-term industry champion Reef Magic Cruises to Marine World at Moore Reef to survey long-term sites. Our team was lucky enough to bump into big schools of Humphead Parrotfish. The survey team then joined another long-term industry champion, Down Under Dive, to survey Saxon and Hasting reefs. Blessed with fantastic conditions they were able to survey both recent and historic sites and were very lucky to be visited by inquisitive hawksbill and green turtles.  The team also visited new sites on Fitzroy Island to continue building coverage of reefs closer to the coast. Our Cairns surveys activities in 2018 are supported by the Clarke's One for Tomorrow program and donations from people like you!  
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