One of the greatest threats to the Reef is poor water quality.

The good news is, we can do something about it right now.

Poor water quality caused by land-based runoff of nitrogen from fertilisers is one of the biggest threats to the reef that we can directly control now to support the health of Australia’s irreplaceable ecosystem, the Great Barrier Reef. 

Every year thousands of tonnes of excess nutrients run off the land and out to the reef, reducing its resilience to recover from stress events like rising sea temperatures and associated mass coral bleaching, ocean acidification and crown of thorns starfish attacks.

Why do we need to fix water quality around the Great Barrier Reef asap?

• Increased nitrogen load causes higher microalgal growth, leading to reduced light, reduced oxygen and smothered corals. 

• Water quality also compromises Reef-dependent industries such as tourism, fishing, recreation, research and education. 

• Nitrogen run-off has also been linked to outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish - a significant contributor to the loss of coral cover on the Great Barrier Reef. 

• Carbon dioxide assimilation to the ocean increases the acidity of water which impacts ecosystems and coral growth.