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> Coral bleaching is a phenomenon observed when corals become stressed. While many different stresses can cause coral bleaching, the main cause of widespread bleaching is unusually warm water. If conditions are only mildly stressful, corals can recover from bleaching, but if conditions are severe enough, affected corals die.

> In the summer of 2001-2002, north Queensland experienced unusually hot and still weather, leading to increased sea temperatures and stressful conditions for the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). These conditions resulted in another mass bleaching event in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Until recently, the worst coral bleaching event ever recorded on the GBR occurred in 1998. However, the recent bleaching event has affected a greater area of reef than the 1998 event, making 2002 the worst bleaching event on record for the GBR.

> (See our “General information on Coral Bleaching?/A> page for an introduction to this phenomenon.)

> GBRMPA implemented a collaborative Bleaching Response Strategy

> At the onset of potentially stressful conditions late in December 2001, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) began implementation of a comprehensive Bleaching Response Strategy in collaboration with:

> - Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS)
> - CRC Reef Research Centre (Reef CRC) and
> - U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

> GBRMPA’s Bleaching Response Strategy had four key components.

> - Monitoring of sea temperature and levels of stress on the reef;
> - Early warning of coral bleaching via a Public Reporting Program;
> - Broad-scale aerial surveys of the spatial extent and intensity of bleaching throughout the GBR; and
> - Detailed underwater surveys of the impacts of the bleaching event.

> An integral part of this strategy was to provide ongoing reports of conditions on the reef and results of surveys to the media and broader community via web site updates and press releases.

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