Great Barrier Reef

Country: Australia Type: reef / pelagic Best known for: World’s largest coral reef system, coral bleaching crisis, megafauna encounters, Ribbon Reefs, Coral Sea Wetpixel expeditions: No formal Wetpixel-branded expeditions

Overview

The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) stretches over 2,300 km along the northeast coast of Australia, making it the largest coral reef system on Earth and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. For underwater photographers, it offers everything from significant megafauna to super macro subjects. Key photographic locations include Steve’s Bommie on Ribbon Reef 3, the Cod Hole on Ribbon Reef 10, the Clam Beds on Ribbon Reef 4, the Coral Kingdom, and North Horn at Osprey Reef in the Coral Sea (^[1]).

Liveaboard trips are the primary way for photographers to access the reef’s more remote areas. Mike Ball Dive Expeditions operates the vessel Spoilsport out of Cairns, Queensland, running photographer-friendly itineraries north along the Ribbon Reefs and east to the Coral Sea. Mike Ball is himself a photographer and ensures trips cater to UW imaging needs (^[2]).

Wetpixel Coverage

The GBR appeared in Wetpixel’s archive primarily through conservation reporting rather than trip coverage or gear reviews. From 2004 through 2018, Wetpixel tracked the reef’s declining health with increasing alarm, documenting a story arc that moved from periodic weather impacts to existential crisis.

Adam Hanlon visited the GBR in May 2018, invited by Scubapix/Nauticam Australia’s Peter Mooney. He covered a Canon Collective event at Heron Island, then undertook a 7-day liveaboard trip aboard Spoilsport. His Full Frame gallery — 20 images spanning anemonefish, grey reef sharks, potato cod, green turtles, cuttlefish, and reef scenes — was the most comprehensive photographic showcase of the GBR published on Wetpixel. He noted that while bleaching had occurred, there was “plenty of healthy corals, and significant regrowth has already occurred in the faster growing species” (^[3]).

Key Photographers

• Adam Hanlon — Wetpixel editor, produced the definitive GBR Full Frame gallery in 2018 (articles)
• Gary Braasch — Environmental photographer who died while snorkeling the GBR near Lizard Island in March 2016, documenting climate change impacts (articles)
• Johnny Gaskell — Scientist who led the 2017 blue hole expedition off Daydream Island (articles)

Conservation

The Great Barrier Reef’s conservation crisis was one of the most extensively covered environmental stories in Wetpixel’s history. The archive documents the reef’s progressive decline through multiple reporting cycles:

Early warnings (2004): The first Wetpixel report noted that maximum water temperatures exceeding 30 degrees C had caused bleaching on many reefs along the GBR, with coral death occurring for the fourth time in six years. Cyclones and massive freshwater runoff from an unusually heavy wet season compounded the damage. Scientists expressed concern that global warming was increasing the frequency and severity of these events (^[4]).

50% decline confirmed (2012): A study by the Australian Institute of Marine Science published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showed that mean coral cover declined from 28.0% to 13.8% between 1985 and 2012 — a total reduction of 50.7%. Two-thirds of the decrease occurred after 1998. Causes were identified as storms, crown-of-thorns starfish outbreaks, and coral bleaching (^[5]).

Worst bleaching in 15 years (2016): The area around Lizard Island experienced the worst bleaching episode in over 15 years according to WWF Australia. The Park Authority raised its response level to the highest available (^[6]). In November 2016, a study by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies reported that 67% of corals in a 700 km stretch of the northern GBR had succumbed to bleaching, though central and southern regions were less affected (6% and 1% respectively). The northern region was one of the most pristine parts of the reef. Recovery was estimated at 10-15 years assuming no further bleaching events (^[7]).

Two-thirds bleached (2017): Scientists from the ARC Centre recorded that the GBR was undergoing further bleaching, primarily in the previously unaffected middle third. The northern end had already bleached in 2016, leaving only the southern third unaffected. Professor Peter Hughes noted: “The bleaching is caused by record-breaking temperatures driven by global warming. This year, 2017, we are seeing mass bleaching, even without the assistance of El Nino conditions.” Aerial surveys covered 8,000 km and 800 individual reefs (^[8]).

Government response (2018): The Australian Government announced AUD $500 million in funding for reef protection, primarily to improve agricultural practices and reduce polluted runoff from farmland (^[9]).

A previously unknown blue hole off Daydream Island was explored for the first time in 2017, with scientists suggesting it may be older than the famed Belize blue hole (^[10]).

Timeline

• 2004-04: First Wetpixel report on bleaching and cyclone damage; fourth bleaching event in six years (^[11])
• 2012-10: AIMS study: coral cover declined 50.7% from 1985 to 2012 (^[12])
• 2016-03: Gary Braasch, environmental photographer, dies while snorkeling GBR near Lizard Island (^[13])
• 2016-03: Worst bleaching episode in 15+ years at Lizard Island (^[14])
• 2016-11: 67% of northern GBR corals lost to bleaching (^[15])
• 2017-04: Two-thirds of entire GBR bleached in back-to-back mass events (^[16])
• 2017-11: Scientists explore unknown blue hole off Daydream Island (^[17])
• 2018-04: Australian Government commits AUD $500M for reef protection (^[18])
• 2018-07: Adam Hanlon publishes GBR Full Frame gallery from Ribbon Reefs and Coral Sea (^[19])

References

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