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Adventure divers could have to wait for many years to see some cyclone-damaged parts of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef return to their former glory, experts warn. Marine scientists from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority say the destruction caused to some coral clusters by last month’s Cyclone Yasi has been so extensive they will take up to a decade or two to recover. But the team, led by assessment coordinator Dr Paul Marshall, said the damage has fortunately been “patchy” which means some parts have escaped largely unscathed. He said: “One of the really encouraging results so far is that the reef in the main tourism areas around Cairns and the Whitsundays were not badly affected by the cyclone, so the tourism industry has actually been able to keep operating in those areas.” Authorities surveyed a 300km stretch of the reef off the coast of Queensland and found the most severe damage in parts off Mission Beach. The cyclone’s impact on corals as well as water temperature and current has also affected fish species in the reef, such as the coral trout which has “gone off the bite”.
