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.

UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee has ordered a full review of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef management in 2026, following the sixth mass bleaching event in nine years and severe coastal flooding.

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).

Overnight, the Australian and Queensland governments submitted their report to UNESCO on their progress to protect the Great Barrier Reef. The Australian Marine Conservation Society says governments must dramatically lift their climate targets to protect the Reef.