Exploring the World’s Largest Coral Reef System

When we think of the Great Barrier Reef, most of us imagine its iconic coral formations, brightly-hued fish and adorable turtles glinting in the sunlight. But this iconic natural wonder offers much more than meets the eye.

It is also one of the world’s most complex and biodiverse natural ecosystems, featuring more than 900 reefs, over 3,000 coral cays/islands, and covering 14 degrees of latitude.

The Great Barrier Reef’s unique landscape

The Great Barrier Reef is one of nature’s greatest wonders and an internationally acclaimed symbol of Australian national identity, drawing millions of tourists every year. Its beautiful underwater coral gardens dazzling in color and form, as well as idyllic islands boasting lush vegetation cover has earned global acclaim for this natural marvel.

Geological processes and human actions over time shaped its unique morphology of the Reef. It formed during periods of higher sea level when corals could flourish in shallow warm waters of continental shelves.

The Reef is an intricate ecosystem, home to dolphins, turtles, venomous snakes and colourful algae – yet today its future is under threat by rising temperatures and human interference. Zoning has helped protect vulnerable parts of the Reef while land-based activities continue to have a devastating impact on its overall health; now more than ever we must all do what we can to preserve its future health for future generations.

The Great Barrier Reef’s incredible biodiversity

The Great Barrier Reef is home to an extraordinary diversity of marine life – corals, fish, sea turtles and dugongs among them – including corals, fish, sea turtles and dugongs. As one of the Earth’s most complex natural systems it contains over 1,500 fish species, 5,000 coral varieties and around 17,000 different mollusc species – as well as being significant to Traditional Owners with at least 70 groups having connections dating back thousands of years to its islands and coral reefs.

Biodiversity refers to the variety of living things and how they interact with one another and their environment, including all naturally occurring variations within species, habitats or ecosystems. Biodiversity is what makes the Great Barrier Reef such an impressive and resilient system; we rely on its biological diversity for its survival; but its complexity must not be taken for granted as we all must do what we can to preserve its future.

The Great Barrier Reef’s stunning underwater world

The Great Barrier Reef boasts an astonishing abundance of marine life. Its waters host over 450 vibrant hard and soft coral species, 1600 types of fish species, six different sea turtle species and 25 whales and dolphins that call these waters home.

Biodiversity refers to the abundance of different forms of life ranging from individual species to ecosystems, and is at the core of why the Great Barrier Reef is recognized as a world heritage site. Without its amazing biodiversity, the Reef would not be able to support itself or accommodate millions of tourists each year who visit it.

The Great Barrier Reef serves as Sea Country for many Aborigines of Australia and Torres Strait Islander peoples, with over 70 coastal clan groups maintaining strong cultural ties to it. Eleven native-title claims have also been lodged here and it provides vital support to many Aboriginal communities through tourism and fishing activities.

The Great Barrier Reef’s thriving tourism industry

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park boasts an thriving tourism industry, supporting thousands of jobs and providing valuable income streams. Marine tourism activities at the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park include snorkelling and diving; reef viewing trips on semi-submersible boats; sightseeing flights; as well as semi-submersible boat tours to see reef inhabitants up close and personal. Each year more than 200,000 tourists visit to enjoy these experiences, provided by regional, national, local tourism infrastructure like airports roads and coastal development projects.

Tourism operators play an essential role in sharing the stories, monitoring reef health through Eye on the Reef, and implementing best practice actions relating to Great Barrier Reef World Heritage listing.

The Great Barrier Reef is considered Sea Country by many first Australians, with over 70 coastal clan groups maintaining strong cultural ties that span thousands of years to this marine environment. Unfortunately, however, such relationships are under increasing strain due to climate change, coral bleaching, poor water quality due to run-off and outbreaks of coral-eating crown-of-thorns starfish outbreaks as well as human impacts such as illegal fishing activities and direct human impacts such as illegal fishing activities.