The Reef Water Quality Protection Plan has been released by the Queensland Government. It says while much progress has been made to reduce farm chemical runoff, the Great Barrier Reef is still in dire straits.

The Reef’s health classification has been officially downgraded from ‘moderate' to 'poor’ following the report. It found that of the loss of coral cover in the past 27 years, 48 per cent was caused by storm damage, 42 per cent by crown-of-thorns starfish, and 10 per cent by bleaching linked to shifts in ocean climates.

The Great Barrier Reef has taken a serious battering in the last few years, including Cyclones Larry and Yasi in 2007 and 2011. It is also inundated with crown-of-thorns starfish, whose numbers are reportedly buoyed by fertiliser runoff providing massive amounts of algae for the starfish to feed on.

The condition of nearby seagrasses is reportedly poor too, the favourite food of dugongs suffering the same fate as much of the Reef ecosystem in what the report calls “declining trends in condition due to poor water quality, cumulative impacts of climate change and increasing intensity of extreme weather events".

The Queensland Government has announced a few measures to continue rectifying Reef damage, they will provide $175 million for protection programs to try to stop run-off. The Federal Government will put up $200 million as well.

The World Wildlife Fund Great Barrier Reef Program says there needs to be an 80 per cent reduction in reef nitrogen levels to arrest the outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish, current targets seek to reduce nitrogen by only 50 per cent. 

The Reef Water Quality Protection Plan has its own website, accessible here.