Australia: Report finds Barrier Reef seagrass health remains poor but recovery continuing

David Chen ABC News 15 Oct 15;

Researchers says seagrass in the Great Barrier Reef remains vulnerable, despite continued recovery.

The latest report has found seagrass meadows remain in a poor state, since they were devastated by Cyclone Yasi in 2011, but could return to a good condition within two years if the weather remained favourable.

The Burdekin recorded some of the best improvements in the health of seagrass.

James Cook University's Len McKenzie said this year's El Nino conditions could be a mixed blessing for seagrass.

"So anything that reduces light will have a detrimental impact on seagrass," he said.

"So if we have things like less run-off events, less rain, that's possibly a good thing for seagrass.

"Alternatively though, if you have a lot of winds, it can actually re-suspend sediments, particularly along our coastal areas, which could be detrimental."

He said there were encouraging signs seagrass was continuing to recover.

"Since this report's come out, we've been continually surveying," he said.

"So we did surveys late last year, which showed further recovery has been happening across the majority of areas and we're currently doing assessments as we speak.

"So we have teams out today and tomorrow who are accessing right across the Great Barrier Reef, looking at how that state is improving."