Days spent onboard The Aroona aren’t like other reefs trips. The knowledge, care and experience of the crew share the limelight with the stately comfort and quality of the vessel.
In the past few weeks, we have been exploring the Far Northern reaches of the Great Barrier Reef. We welcomed the Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef team on board to share in their knowledge and support their exciting initiative ‘The Great Reef Census’ The Great Reef Census is designed to pilot new ways of capturing large-scale reconnaissance data from across the Great Barrier Reef, helping to support research and management. Check-in with their social media pages to follow this incredible initiative. Or learn more here.
One of our guest from the past few weeks had this to say:
” I know that you are interested in the condition of the Great Barrier Reef. We have just completed the Great Reef Census on the remote northern tip of Australia, from Lockhart River to Horn Island. Perfect weather and seas. We surveyed in detail 22 “source” reefs that have never been surveyed. Our survey data will then be used to support research and management strategies. The Coral was pristine, abundant and varied. Don’t believe all the negative reports. We saw turtle nests, magnificent and healthy coral, big marine life, epaulette sharks, a giant crown of thorns, moray eel, and cuttlefish. We recovered a large ghost net that we returned to Horn Island for recycling. I caught a huge Spanish Mackerel, which we released. “
We did also witness reefs destroyed by cyclones and reefs affected by bleaching. It can take decades for coral reefs to fully recover from a bleaching event. If we continue to burn fossil fuels at our current rate, severe bleaching events are likely to hit reefs annually by the middle of the century.
