John Brewer Reef

John Brewer Reef is a mid-shelf reef that lies about 70km offshore. It has had several crown-of-thorns starfish outbreaks since the 1980s and is currently experiencing a major outbreak (see images, main menu). In 1997 Cyclone Justin impacted the reef and in 1998 and 2002 low levels of coral bleaching were recorded (effecting mainly shallow water corals).

There are 3 sites at John Brewer Reef, each consisting of a single line. 

A1_T1 and A1_T2 are both at the front of the reef at depths of about 7m and 12m. In the early 1980s coral cover dropped at site A1_T1 from 40% to less than 10%. There was some recovery by 1993, however the site has never returned to its previous condition.

A3_T1 is located on a sheltered back reef in about 5m of water. Up until 1984 the site had high coral cover and was dominated by large Acroporid plates and branching species. In 1984 coral cover dropped to below 10% and only started to become well established again in the late 1990s. In May 2002 the site was over-run with crown-of-thorns starfish again.