Fact-check: the Great Barrier Reef ‘officially announced dead’ in September 2019?

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A number of Sinhalese-language Facebook and Twitter posts published in September 2019 shared a photo of a diver swimming over bleached coral, along with the claim that the Great Barrier Reef was “officially protected by scientists today.” declared dead”. The claim is misleading; As of September 2019, no major scientific body has declared the reef dead. Australian officials told AFP the Great Barrier Reef is “definitely not dead” but is under threat from climate change and other human-caused problems.

This The post was shared on September 8, 2019 in a Facebook group with nearly 16,000 followers. It has been shared over 240 times.

Below is a screenshot of the Facebook post:

The Sinhala language text on the blue footer of the photo translates to English: “World’s largest living creature dies after 25 million (years) of life”.

The long Sinhalese caption translates to English: “The Great Barrier Reef dies. We are informed that today the Great Barrier Reef has been officially and globally declared dead. The world is saddened by this news. The scientists who made the official announcement said that over time, the largest living creature was killed by humans.

“The Great Barrier Reef was the largest living reef in the world, stretching 1,400 miles and by the time of its death, it had lived for 25 million years. About 1,050 islands, 1,625 species, excluding fish, 3,000 species of fish once made the Great Barrier Reef their home, but after that it will be home to only a few skeletons.

“Nearly 30 species of whales are home to the Great Barrier Reef. About 600 species living off coral reefs have died since the reef died. The Great Barrier Reef, an area the size of Great Britain was spread out, it was the only living thing that could be seen from the moon.

“It has been revealed that the main reasons for the coral reefs dying in this way were increased global warming due to human activities, microplastic pollution and the release of industrial waste into the oceans…”

The Great Barrier Reef, a UNESCO World Heritage Site Site located on the coast of Queensland, Australiais the largest reef ecosystem in the world. It stretches for 344,400 km (214,000 mi) and includes about 3,000 coral reefs and 600 islands. According to Australia, thousands of species call the reef home. Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA).

A misleading post published in Google’s reverse image search found the same image Here Attributed to the Ocean Agency, a non-profit marine conservation group. The photo’s caption reads: “Lizard Island, Australia, May 2016”. Lizard Island Located on the Great Barrier Reef.

Below is a screenshot of the image on the Ocean Agency website.

The same image and misleading claim has been shared nearly 100 times. Here with a similar claim on Twitter. The same misleading claim has also been shared. Here, Here And Here With different photos on Facebook.

The claim is misleading; As of September 8, 2019, there had been no declaration of the reef being “dead” and experts and officials told AFP that the Great Barrier Reef was alive.

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority told AFP in an email on October 8, 2019: “The Great Barrier Reef is definitely not dead, it is the largest in the world. Coral reef ecosystem.” AFP conducted an analysis of websites, published news and social media accounts of relevant government parties to “announce” the reef’s death on 8 September 2019.

“The reef is a vibrant, beautiful ecosystem of immense importance to Australia and the world, however, the Great Barrier Reef is under threat,” the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority said.

After trawling through the data on the accounts, there were no results. GBRMPA, Tourism Australia, Tourism Queenslandthe Great Barrier Reef Foundationas well as WWF And UNESCO.

“The reef is a vibrant, beautiful ecosystem of immense value to Australia and the world, however, the Great Barrier Reef is under threat.

“Deterioration in water quality, coastal development and illegal fishing are also threatening the reef. Only strong action on climate change to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions will restore the ecological function of the Great Barrier Reef. “All actions, large or small, will help reduce risks and restore the condition of the reef for the future.”

In recent years, the Great Barrier Reef has experienced widespread bleaching due to climate change, which occurs when ocean temperatures rise over a long period of time and destroy the reef’s colorful algae. It makes the coral 90 percent of their energy and their vibrant colors. In extreme cases, bleaching kills corals.

The GBRMPA reported that 30 percent of reef samples surveyed in 2016 had lost more than half of their coral cover due to severe bleaching. This 2017 report.

“The Great Barrier Reef has experienced large-scale bleaching four times in the past 20 years, and climate models predict it will bleach twice per decade from 2035, and annually after 2044,” Australian Research Council Centre. of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies

As coral reefs continue to decline, the reef’s future looks bleak. As researchers Australian Research Council Center of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies I said April 2019: “Dead corals don’t make babies.”

His study A massive decline in the number of new corals was observed and questions about the reef’s recovery following severe bleaching events in 2016 and 2017. Raised: “Due to heat stress resulting from mass mortality of mature broodstock in 2016 and 2017, the number of larvae recruited in 2018 89% decrease from historical level

“The extent to which the Great Barrier Reef will be able to recover from the collapse in stock–recruitment relationships is uncertain, given the expected increased frequency of extreme climate events over the next two decades.

“The Great Barrier Reef has experienced large-scale bleaching four times in the past 20 years, and is projected by climate models to bleach twice per decade from 2035, and annually after 2044.”

i This opinion piece Published by the Sydney Morning Herald on 30 August 2019, Australian Federal Environment Minister Susan Lee said there was scientific consensus the reef was not dead.

The report reads in part: “A fortnight ago I was on the reef, not with climate skeptics but with scientists, the country’s main reef agencies, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and the Australian Institute of Marine Science and with Accredited Master Reef Guides.

“Their advice was clear: The reef is not dead. It has vast areas of vibrant coral and marine life, just as it has areas destroyed by coral bleaching, illegal fishing and crown-of-thorns proliferation. have been.”

“Our marine biologists will tell you that the Great Barrier Reef faces challenges, is resilient and alive,” Australian Institute of Marine Science

Additionally, the latest edition of the Quinquennial Great Barrier Reef Outlook ReportReleased by the GBRMPA in August 2019, it states that although the reef has been damaged over the years, it is also showing signs of recovery.

In a section on reef biodiversity on page 45, the report states: “Across the region, the condition of habitats (as a group) was rated poor compared to good in 2014.”

However, the report is more optimistic about the reef’s overall ecosystem health, as it states on page 82: “Of the 31 ecosystem health components in these five regions, about 60 percent are in good to very good condition. The rest are in poorer to worse condition. Eleven of the 31 components have deteriorated since 2014, mainly due to a decrease in environmental processes (such as ocean temperature and light).

Meanwhile, Australian officials and marine biologists told AFP in emails dated 14 and 15 October 2019 that the reef was definitely still alive, and that there had been no announcement of its “death” on 8 September. .

gave Australian Institute of Marine ScienceAn official marine research agency said: “Our marine biologists will tell you that the Great Barrier Reef is facing challenges, but it is resilient and alive. We are not aware of any official announcement on September 8, 2019 to this effect.” are

Associate Professor Andrew Hoey James Cook University’s Center of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies says: “The Great Barrier Reef is certainly alive and well as of 8 September 2019. No, aware of any official announcement regarding the death of the GBR. No.”

“Reefs can recover from bleaching events but to do so requires at least 10 years between successive bleaching events or other major disruptions,” Associate Professor Andrew Hoy said.

Professor Colm Brown Macquarie University’s Department of Biological Sciences responded similarly: “No the reef is not dead, nor was there an official announcement to that effect.”

And on the reef’s future, Associate Professor Hui added: “The unprecedented back-to-back bleaching of 2016 and 2017 resulted in the death of at least 30 per cent of shallow-water corals on the GBR, including the northern 1 /3 share was the GBR most affected.

“Reefs can recover from bleaching events but to do so requires at least 10 years between successive bleaching events or other major disturbances. Given the current rate of global warming, this is highly unlikely.

Professor Brown said: “A recent report has downgraded the health of the reef and it is now at an even higher risk level. There are parts of the reef that have been badly affected by two bleaching events. The outlook is bleak to believe, but there is still hope.