Coral Bleaching Response Plan 2009-2010

Abstract

Climate change is now recognised as the greatest long‐term threat to the Great Barrier Reef. Climate‐related events have already caused significant stress leading to severe mass coral bleaching events in 1998 and 2002, as well as a localised event in the southern Great Barrier Reef in 2006, all of which were caused by higher‐than-normal sea temperatures. Future bleaching events are inevitable and reef managers have a responsibility to monitor, assess and respond to the socio‐ecological impacts of coral bleaching.