Dive boat operators who visit the reef almost on a daily basis taking thousands of tourists on diving expeditions have been telling authorities for several years there is nothing wrong with the reef.
They have warned lying so-called conservation bodies such as the WWF, Wilderness Society, CAFNEC, the National Coral Bleaching Taskforce and the Australian Conservation Foundation their misleading campaigns would harm the Far North tourism trade.
Tourist operators have advised the State Government that coral bleaching is a natural and annual event that can affect small sections of the reef.
Spirit of Freedom dive boat owner Chris Eade told the Cairns Post that reports of coral bleaching along 93 per cent of the 2300 klm reef had damaged the reputation of the $5 billion tourism industry.
“Scientists had written off the entire northern section as a complete white-out,” Mr Eade said.
“We expected the worst, but it is in tremendous condition, most of it pristine, the rest in full recovery.”
“It shows the resilience of the reef.”
Mike Ball Dive Expeditions operations manager Craig Stephen, who conducted a similar survey on the remote reefs 20 years ago, said there had been almost no change in two decades despite the latest coral bleaching event.
“The discrepancy is phenomenal. It is so wrong. Everywhere we have been we have found healthy reefs,” Mr Ball said.
“There has been a great disservice to the Great Barrier Reef and tourism and it has not been good for our industry.”
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority estimated a mass coral white-out of between 50 to 60 per cent, on average, for reefs off Cape York.
Scientists with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies reported about 35 per cent mortality but warned “the final death toll” on some reefs may exceed 90 per cent.
This year the worst bleaching was found at Lizard Island, 180 klms north of Cooktown, where several reefs have shown distress due to fluctuating water temperatures.
Photo: Quicksilver Cruises
Dive boat operators maintain the reef is in near-pristine condition, dismissing the lies of conservation groups
According to the late Professor Bob Carter of James Cook University in an interview several years ago, this is a natural phenomenon that has occurred for several thousand years.
The climate and reef-runoff cults namely the Labor Party, Greens and conservation groups have campaigned to stop sediment runoff from farming areas which they claim is causing coral bleaching and would be doomsday for the entire reef.
The only problem with the Lizard Island bleaching is that no farming or grazing occurs on the entire eastern coastline or hinterland north of Cooktown which includes the nearby mainland opposite the tourist island. The closest farming activities are 180 kilometres to the south.
Never letting the facts get in the way of a fictitious environmental issue, the State Government in June purchased the large pastoral property ‘Springvale’, 50 klms west of Cooktown for $6.7 million ostensibly to prevent sediment runoff from grazing.
If ever the government made an unnecessary land acquisition, this one took the cake. The Government’s own Chief Scientist Dr Geoff Garrett in May released a report clearing the Spingvale/ Normanby River system of any measurable sediment runoff entering the ocean.
ALP sources have advised there are several more property acquisitions from the Cooktown area in the pipeline, which, according to Lakeland district graziers, would be a monumental waste of taxpayers money and would have a severe impact on the district’s economy.
The Labor Government now proposes a blanket World Heritage listing over the entire Cape York Peninsula to pacify the Greens in return for government support of the much-maligned Adani coal mine.
Ed’s right if you want to see a part of the Reef that isn’t coral bleached go with the boat tours because they only go to the reefs that bleaching hasn’t affected yet, although their options are less this year than they were last year.
We urge our readers to have a great day visiting our largely unspoiled barrier reef, before Mr Chapman’s CO2 laced hot air starts some coral bleaching or brews up nature’s greatest threat to the reef, a cyclone!!!Editor
Yeah no fossil fuel motors on the reef(or any where else for that matter), just pedal and wind power. Cairns News suggests Mr Chapman, as slave master, engage 20 slaves(black or white), no wages of course to row his galley around the reef. After all Mr Chapman is an unwitting slave of the financial oligarchy, but he doesn’t know it yet.Ed
Both, Ignorant and Dumb, they don’t believe any research on anything about the ocean unless it’s done by Pauline Hanson who has years of experience and is an expert in all things about the ocean because she once had a Fish & Chip shop.
Can only assume you are referring to yourself with the lack of designation ..Ed
https://www.coralcoe.org.au/media-releases/only-7-of-the-great-barrier-reef-has-avoided-coral-bleaching
Are ignorant or just dumb?
Russell if you had more logic than your comments suggests I might bother explaining it to you but it’s obviously above your intellect, PS. I go out to the reef on a yacht using wind power you stupid Red Neck!
Save the REEF
Sell your car, turn off and remove your Airconditioners, dump your Ipod, Ipad, Desktop, TV, Fridge, Toaster, Oven, BBQ, Hot Water System, Fans, Lights, and Mobile Phones, won’t that one hurt.
No more meat or vegetables, totally out of the question
Q: How much power does it take to make ONE Solar Panel? they must be banned, and how polluting is a wind farm, ask the birds that lie below.
And Robert, when you go diving on the reef, do you swim out or go by boat that runs on fossil fuel or one with a rubber band attached to the rudder?
this whole agenda of the major parties is to bled the economy dry while lining their pockets we must out this scum bags from the peoples parliament.
It all depends where you go, 3 months ago I was diving out of Cairns and the reefs where in general fine but I couldn’t say the same for the reefs around Lizard Island where I was diving about 4 months ago and the majority were completely bleached, as for the tour operators they’ll say the reefs are in any condition you want to hear as long as it’s good because their idea of a healthy reef is observed through their pocket’s, you only have to look how much money companies like Quicksilver who you mentioned have tied up in the reef, they now do there operations on reefs that aren’t coral bleached and that’s good business sense but ask Quicksilver Calypso Wavelength or any other of the dive operators out of Port Douglas and Cairns if you can dive Opal reef or similar damaged ones and there excuse is always the same “we can’t go there today because the wind is coming from the wrong direction” your whole story is based on bullshit you were told by a tour operator that’s trying desperately to look after his business at any cost while hoping the bleaching will just go away.