Great Southern Reef facts for kids
The Great Southern Reef (GSR) is a huge system of connected rocky reefs. It stretches along Australia's southern coast, including Tasmania. It also reaches north to Brisbane in the east and Kalbarri in the west. This amazing reef covers about 71,000 square kilometers. It runs for almost 8,000 kilometers across five Australian states.
What is the Great Southern Reef?
Giant Kelp forests are a key part of this reef system. The Great Southern Reef helps many important activities along Australia's southern coast. These include commercial and fun fishing, scuba diving, surfing, and other tourism. These activities bring in at least $10 billion to Australia's economy every year. The reef is also a very special temperate marine ecosystem. Between 30% and 80% of the animals and plants found here live nowhere else in the world.
Why is it Called the Great Southern Reef?
The name "Great Southern Reef" was suggested by a group of scientists. They were researchers from the University of Western Australia. Their goal was to help more people learn about Australia's temperate reefs. They hoped this would make people more interested in studying and protecting this important reef.
The name first appeared in Australian news in September 2015. This was after a scientific paper was published in a journal called Marine and Freshwater Research. The paper was first shared in June 2015. It was titled "The 'Great Southern Reef’: social, ecological and economic value of Australia’s neglected kelp forests." Many scientists worked on this paper, including Scott Bennett and Thomas Wernberg.
Protecting the Reef from Oil Drilling
There have been ideas to drill for oil and gas in the Great Australian Bight. People are worried that this could harm the Great Southern Reef. Environmental groups, like The Wilderness Society, have spoken out. They say that drilling in deep water with rough seas could cause an oil spill. An oil spill would be very bad for the reef and all the marine life that lives there.
35°00′14″S 135°57′37″E / 35.0038380°S 135.9603483°E
