Media blamed for reef distortions, not activists

Dr Russell
Reichelt.

The chairman of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Russell Reichelt, has played down a report that said he accused activist scientists and lobby groups of distorting maps and data to misrepresent the extent of coral bleaching on the reef.

The authority withdrew from a joint announcement from the national coral bleaching taskforce about the extent of coral bleaching earlier in the week because Reichtel believed maps accompanying the research did not depict the full picture.

The taskforce said mass bleaching had killed 35% of corals on the northern and central Great Barrier Reef.

Read The Guardian story - “Great Barrier Reef authority says media, not activists, misinterpreting the data.”