Bleached coral at the Great Barrier Reef. In 2016, almost 93 percent of the Great Barrier Reef was suffering from bleaching, something some tourism operators are reluctant to publicise for fear of the potential impact on their industry. Photo: XL Catlin Seaview Survey / AFP / Getty Images

By Joshua Robertson
28 April 2016 (The Guardian) – North Queensland tourism operators are routinely refusing to take media and politicians to see coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef for fear the attention will trigger a collapse in visitor numbers, it has been claimed. Several major operators with the backing of industry heavyweights refused to ferry Greens senators Richard di Natale and Larissa Waters to reefs off Cairns, the backdrop for their election campaign announcement on reef policy on Thursday. They were just the latest in a string of operators denying media requests to help them obtain pictures and footage and report on what scientists say is the worst bleaching event in the reef’s history, according to dive operator, Tony Fontes. “I’ve had lots of people call me asking for contacts and I know obviously lots of dive operators up [in Cairns] and I’ve contacted them saying, ‘Would you be willing to talk to the media about this?’” the Whitsunday-based Fontes said. “Nine out of ten refuse, politely, to talk to the media. “I’ve heard first-hand [of] operators refusing to talk about it [and] going so far as to not allow press or Greens’ senators or anybody that might speak about the bleaching event, [go] beyond the small circle of Cairns. “It seems to be quite prevalent, even amongst fellas that I know are truly green at heart and run eco-tourism operations where they put the reef first and foremost – they won’t talk with media, won’t take media out on their boat,” said Fontes. Daniel McCarthy, a charter boat provider and president of the Cairns professional game fishing association, told News Limited that he and other operators objected to the Greens’ “publicity stunt”. “They told me they wanted to see badly bleached areas, which obviously suggests they want a doom and gloom story,” he said. “It’s quite obvious to me they want a very negative story to ramp up their argument about coal mining and are quite willing to sacrifice the reputation and thousands of jobs that rely on the health of the Great Barrier Reef to push another agenda.” Steve Moon, who heads up peak diving industry body Dive Queensland, told News Limited the Greens’ media opportunity represented “a big kick in the guts” for an industry only recently recovering from the global financial crisis. [more]

Great Barrier Reef tourism operators refuse media and politicians access to bleached reefs