The choices the Australian government makes in the next 12 months will decide the Great Barrier Reef’s fate, say the Australian Marine Conservation Society, following the release of the Long Term Monitoring Program report today by the Australian Institute of Marine Science.

Today's Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) Great Barrier Reef coral monitoring report shows a slight improvement in hard coral cover, although most of the surveys were conducted before the reef suffered the extreme mass coral bleaching event over summer, according to the Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS).

Latest CSIRO research shows that the fifth major bleaching event since 2016 is still unfolding, but bleaching was just one of the disturbances on the reef over summer.

As we witness the ongoing destruction of the Great Barrier Reef by global warming and climate change, new data showing an increase in coral cover in some areas of the Reef is promising news.