Threats to the Great Barrier Reef

One of the world’s largest coral reef systems, the Great Barrier Reef is located off the coast of Queensland, which is located in the northeastern region of Australia. The Great Barrier Reef is home to a wide variety of organisms that live in the deep blue waters. The amazing life that is seen out here is mindboggling, from the whales to the dolphins, sea turtles, sea snakes and may such forms of life are connected to the Great Barrier Reef. The Great Barrier Reef is composed of many individual reefs, which one can say are around 2,900 in number. This is also the world’s only structure that is composed of living organisms. One would think, the Great Barrier Reef, being so marvelous and one of nature’s wonder, we would go all out to preserve and respect such a structure. Alas! This is something, which we could only hope for! With various acts caused by humans, today there are many threats to the Great Barrier Reef. These threats would also mean an endangerment of many important species. As part of the ecosystem, all the living organisms are interdependent upon each other. Humans are yet to learn this fact and respect the same as well. Let us take a look at the various threats to the Great Barrier Reef and how we can be completely aware in the role we play towards Mother Nature.

Threats to the Great Barrier Reef:

Overfishing:
Overfishing in many areas have created plenty of problems than we could ever imagine. Overfishing causes a complete imbalance in the entire chain of process and in the ecosystem as well. An overfishing of certain species of fish can cause harm to the Great Barrier Reef in many ways. An overfishing of herbivore species causes more algal growth on the reef. Even then, around 1/3rd of the Great Barrier Reef is protected by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, which prohibits fishing without any prior documentation.

Polluted Water:
Due to industrialization and many such activities carried out by humans, the ocean waters all over the world are facing the consequences of pollution. There are many issues that affect the quality of the water, which in turn affects the living organisms, and everything connected with the Great Barrier Reef. Therefore, pollution is considered to be one of the largest threats to the Great Barrier Reef. This has propelled around 300 reefs in the danger zone simply because of poor water quality. Industrial wastes add to the worsened scenario. Polluted water creates various infections amongst the corals. Industrial pollutants such as copper have been proven to interfere with the growth and development of the coral polyps, which are so important for the Great Barrier Reef.

Climatic Conditions and Global Warming:
The effects of global warming and the varied changes in the climatic conditions can be witnessed by everybody today. As the temperatures keep soaring, the earth is getting warmer which affect many species in many ways. A rise in the temperature is known to affect the coral reefs. This results in coral bleaching every year. For example, a particular species of fish may prefer to move to other areas in search of a suitable climate. This would cause a major change in the ecosystem and the existence of the organisms associated with the Great Barrier Reef. Habitat changes cause many organisms to move to other areas, which creates a complete disproportion of living organisms required for the proper sustenance of the Great Barrier Reef.

Various Shipping Routes:
Shipping also poses to be a threat to the Great Barrier Reef. This is because; many commercial ships use a route that passes through the Great Barrier Reef. This is possibly because, man considers navigating the ship through the Great Barrier Reef easier than navigating it from outside the area. Despite all this, many tragic shipping accidents have occurred in the Great Barrier Reef due to difficult climatic conditions. Besides, all the waste that is discharged from these ships causes more threat to the living organisms required for the existence of the Great Barrier Reef.

The various activities carried out by humans have affected our planet in more ways than we can imagine. It is time; we each take a step and do our bit for the environment. These threats to the Great Barrier Reef would probably have been under control had everyone to reduce their greed and take responsibility for one’s actions. Here’s hoping we realize the importance of the Great Barrier Reef and do our bit to protect the environment.