If the Great Barrier Reef sounds familiar, it’s because it is the same reef that set the stage for Marlin and Dory’s adventure in FINDING NEMO. The real life reef is in danger because over the last thirty years, almost half of the corals have disappeared!
According to the Australian Institute of Marine Science, there are numerous reasons for this: 48% of damage is natural, caused by storms or cyclones; 42% is the fault of the crown of thorns starfish which feed on the coral and 10% is caused by coral bleaching, which happens when corals lose the algae that helps photosynthesis.
Even though scientists wish to do more, right now the only thing they can do is control the starfish because the cyclones and the coral bleaching are actually the fault of global warming. However, the Marine Institute says that another half of what’s left will be lost within the next ten years even without global warming.
The Great Barrier Reef is a huge tourist attraction in Australia. If it’s lost, it will not only mean that Australia’s tourist industry will suffer, but that no one will ever be able to see this natural beauty!