Recently, my husband and I went to Cairns for just over a week and visited the Barrier Reef for some diving and R&R. We stayed in Cairns for a few days and went on a live-aboard boat for 3 days. I went for the sole purpose of taking some under water photos. Visibility during all our dives was horrible and these photos are the result of some post processing in Lightroom.
Aside from the poor visibility, I was very disappointed with the Reef. I don’t know if it’s just the location we went to, but the corals looked like they were dying and there were so few fish. I also didn’t see any nudibranchs or shell fish. I know how to spot nudibranchs and shell fish and I looked for them but I didn’t see any. There was also a distinct lack of anemones and many fish species that should have been there but weren’t. The ocean floor had lots of broken corals. The latter could be the result of cyclone Yasi but it could also be damage caused by inexperienced divers. It was desolate. I feel so sad that it’s in that condition. No doubt, the recent cyclone had something to do with al lot of the damage.
I truly hope that this wonderful reef recovers.
here in Reunion we have the same problem…even if we think our island are preserved from pollution, it’s not…i thought the great barrier reef was in a better health…
have a good day!
ninie