What is BleachWatch?

BleachWatch is a community-based coral reef monitoring initiative developed by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA). It is an example of a successful partnership between reef managers and the community to detect large-scale coral bleaching. BleachWatch was established in 2002 during a mass-bleaching event. In subsequent years, both the number of participants and its spatial coverage have expanded. BleachWatch is a key component of the GBRMPA's Coral Bleaching Response Plan, a comprehensive management response to mass coral bleaching.

Tourism professionals visit and report on the same reefs on a regular basis, which is essential to BleachWatch

 The goals of BleachWatch are:

• To inform the community about coral bleaching and to encourage individuals, tourism operators, organisations and fishers to participate in BleachWatch
• To detect the early stages of coral bleaching events over a wide geographic range
• To use coral bleaching as a means to communicate the broader impacts of climate change on the Great Barrier Reef.

The GBRMPA is keen to enlist the assistance of all reef users to monitor and report coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef.

How do I participate in BleachWatch?

Why report coral bleaching?

The bleaching of corals is a natural response to environmental stress. While several sources of stress can cause corals to bleach, in recent decades unusually high water temperatures have been the major cause of coral bleaching events worldwide. When water temperatures increase above average, severe and widespread bleaching can occur (known as a 'mass-bleaching event'). The initial onset of mass coral bleaching can range from gradual and patchy to rapid and uniform, and can occur with varying synchrony over hundreds or thousands of square kilometres. Detecting the early signs of a mass-bleaching event requires a wide network of observers providing regular reports of conditions throughout the region. BleachWatch has been designed to provide reliable reports on bleaching and reef condition from a wide range of reef sites throughout the Great Barrier Reef.

In conjunction with research agencies, the GBRMPA is closely monitoring bleaching events to improve our understanding of this important phenomenon. However, the immense size of the Great Barrier Reef means all reef visitors can play a role in watching out for signs of coral bleaching.

Related information

• Existing BleachWatch participants
• BleachWatch observation form
• How do I participate in BleachWatch?