Fiji's Coral Reefs Deteroriating For Last 20 Years

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A marine biologist is alarmed at the deterioration of the Fijian coral reefs he has seen in the past 20 years.

Professor Leon Zann, head of the University of the South Pacific's marine studies programme, said Fiji's once large and robust reefs were failing.

Professor Zann, a former manager of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority in Australia, has been back in Fiji for six months after earlier work monitoring the Suva reef in the 1980s.

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Professor Zann said the biggest worry was the extent of coral bleaching, where the coral shed the microscopic algae which gave it its bright colours and turned white. The algae were essential for the coral's growth, but it dumped them when it was stressed from changes in water temperature, salinity or oxygen levels. Nothing could be immediately done about such global climate change that would make a difference to coral reefs."

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http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3589159&thesection=news&thesubsection=world