National Geographic Traveller

Skeletal branches of blanched

coral are tangled on the seabed,

like antlers fly-tipped from a

ransacked hunting lodge. That

might sound appealing to the sort

of traveller who takes Edgar Allan

Poe as holiday reading but most

of us expect to see the Great

Barrier Reef in living Technicolor.

For the uninitiated, the third-

ever global coral bleaching

event has been sweeping reef

systems around the globe for a

couple of years now, with dire

consequences for a number of

holiday hotspots.

Coral bleaching is commonly

caused by the water in which it

lives becoming too hot, causing

the coral to turn white — hence

the name. A strong El Niño

phenomenon — a periodic

surface temperature fluctuation

around the equatorial Pacific

Ocean — coupled with unusually

warm ocean temperatures caused

by climate change, have triggered

the worst coral bleaching event

in history.

Now for the science part:

corals get their colour from

zooxanthella, a single-cell

algae with which they share

a symbiotic relationship.

The zooxanthella nourishes

its host with carbohydrates

from photosynthesis, and

even produces a pigment that

absorbs UV rays, thought to

act as a sunscreen to the coral.

When corals become stressed,

however, their relationship sours.

As Mark Eakin, coordinator

IMAGE: XL CATLIN SEAVIEW SURVEY. ILLUSTRATION: DANIEL BRIGHT. SOURCE: MARION OWEN

IS BLEACHING GETTING WORSE?

The NOAA’s Mark Eakin says:

“Coral bleaching has been

increasing in frequency and

intensity since it was first

observed in the early ‘80s.

Global-scale events in 1998 and

the ongoing 2014-16 event show

global warming is increasing the

damage to corals.”

HOW CAN WE HELP?

Ditch fossil fuels. Buy an electric

car, put up solar panels, and try

to offset your carbon emissions

if you’re going to fly. Prevention

of pollution and overfishing is

essential — the reefs need clean

water to survive and require a

delicate ecological balance.

CORAL BLEACHING

WITH THE WORST-EVER CORAL BLEACHING EVENT UPON US, UNDERWATER

WONDERS LIKE THE GREAT BARRIER REEF ARE AT RISK. HOWEVER, WILL A

NEW EXPERIMENT PROVIDE A SOLUTION? WORDS: JAMES DRAVEN

HOT TOPIC

BEFORE AFTER

Q&A

of the National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration’s

(NOAA) Coral Reef Watch,

explains: “High temperatures

cause photosynthesis to

run too fast, causing over-

worked chloroplasts to release

compounds toxic to the coral.”

The corals eject their unruly

tenants to avoid being poisoned,

leaving them an eerie white.

This doesn’t just mean diving

trips will be less colourful.

When coral remains in its

bleached state for a sustained

period of time, it dies, and

although coral reefs constitute

just 0.1% of the ocean floor,

they harbour a staggering

25% of all marine species. The

knock-on effect from losing

such a significant chunk of

our ecosystem would have

devastating repercussions.

Coral reefs also provide

billions of people living in coastal

communities with their main

source of food protein and

income, through fishing and

tourism. Research even suggests

corals have a role to play in

breakthrough cancer treatments.

This summer it was reported

that 93% of the Great Barrier Reef

has been affected by bleaching.

But the devastation doesn’t end

there. Coral bleaching has also

struck Florida, the Caribbean,

Hawaii, Japan’s Ryukyu Islands,

the Red Sea and every other

major reef region. A total of 60%

of coral colonies assessed in the

Maldives have been bleached;

80% of Kiribati’s are dead.

Already at risk from rising sea

levels, the Maldives really can’t

afford to lose its reefs, which act

as buffers against storm damage

and weather events.

In the Caribbean island of

Bonaire, Fabien Cousteau,

grandson of legendary

oceanographer Jacques, is

experimenting with 3D printing

to build artificial coral. These

sandstone and limestone

structures will be virtually

indistinguishable from the real

thing, and it’s hoped they’ll

attract fledgling coral polyps

to build upon them and repair

reef damage.

The NOAA’s Mark Eakin is

less optimistic: “It’s a bit like

3D-printing trees for a dead

forest. Artificial reefs are exactly

that: artificial.”

VIZEAT

Website Vizeat connects

foodies and local hosts

around a meal at the

host’s home or a foodie

experience. vizeat.com

ZIPSKI

This experience-led

platform allows travellers

to locate and connect

with locals with shared

interests. zipskee.com

AIRDINE

Touted as ‘Airbnb for food

lovers’, Airdine connects

travellers to homes that

have become makeshift

restaurants. airdine.com

FREEBIRD

A peer-to-peer hosted

accommodation network/

membership club aimed

at travellers aged 50-plus.

thefreebirdclub.com

BOATLERS.COM

Rental service allowing

travellers to hire all

manner of floating craft,

skippered by locals or

self-piloted. boatlers.com

AND ANOTHER THING... GOING LOCAL

November 2016 159

TRAVEL TALK