The Great Southern Reef is an 8,000-kilometre stretch of temperate rocky reefs and kelp forests that hugs the southern coastline of Australia from Sydney to Perth. It’s home to incredible marine life like leafy sea dragons, giant cutt...

Climate Change is the biggest threat to coral reefs worldwide, causing unprecedented coral bleaching events. But here's the good news: individuals can take powerful, practical climate action to help save the Great Barrier Reef — and so...

This week we head to the remote beaches of the Great Barrier Reef—where plastic pollution is piling up faster than we can clean it. But is picking up rubbish really the solution? Or just the beginning?Join us as we play trash detective w...

Brett Wright has spent the past 30 years taking visitors to the Great Barrier Reef from Port Douglas with his tour company Windswell Adventures—and he's seen the changes up close. From worsening coral bleaching to the devastation of extr...

In this special Election Edition of Word on the Reef, Tanya Murphy and Brett Goodban dive into one of the most critical questions facing Australians ahead of the Federal Election: Who has the best plan to save the Great Barri...

The federal election is just two weeks away — and it turns out some politicians are still floundering when it comes to climate change. While the Reef suffers, some parties are busy serving up red herrings instead of real solutions. 

This week, our guest is West Australian coral ecologist Associate Professor Zoe Richards, who's had some extraordinary adventures—diving with crocodiles, discovering new coral species and surveying nuclear bomb sites!We'll journe...

This week we're heading back to spectacular Lizard Island to uncover what’s changed since last year’s record-breaking coral bleaching event. New research station co-director Dr David Abrego takes us a vivid tour of this world...

This week, we dive deep into the heart of the Great Barrier Reef’s current coral bleaching crisis with marine social scientist and CEO of Divers for Climate, Dr. Yolanda Waters.🔬 What’s causing this widespread bleaching event? 🌍...

This week, conservationist, photographer and filmmaker Christian Miller takes us on an unforgettable journey — from swimming alongside the planet’s largest animal, to eavesdropping on a humpback whale krill hunt. Along the way, we’ll dod...

This week, marine biologist and underwater photographer Lawrence Scheele takes us beneath the surface at Magnetic Island for a wild and wonderful tour of its marine life.Discover how jellyfish can detect and dodge humans (despite ...

Word on the Reef is back — and now broadcasting live on CairnsFM 89.1 every Friday at 10am (Queensland Time)! Tune in on your radio or stream online at cairnsfm891.org.au for your we...

Today we're continuing our countdown of the Top 8 Fantastic Beasts of the Great Barrier Reef and Where to Find Them, with Master Reef Guide Tahn Miller. You won't believe some of the encounters he's had with today's animals!

The Great Barrier Reef has just experienced its worst summer on record, with cyclones, severe rainfall, flooding, and its most extreme coral bleaching event ever. The World Heritage Committee has expressed concerns that the Australian Governmen...

Tahn Miller is a Master Reef Guide who has spent 14 years observing and teaching people about magical creatures on the Great Barrier Reef. Join us as we swap crazy stories about close encounters with these incredible animals, while counting dow...

Winter is an incredible time to see, hear, and even swim with whales on the Great Barrier Reef! But they also get up to some pretty weird things, and today we'll learn all about the secrets of whales from someone who has dedicated his life to s...

It's official - we are in the midst of the world’s worst coral bleaching event on record, affecting two thirds of corals globally, spanning some 64 countries and territories. We've already explored some of the impacts on the Great Barrier Reef ...

In the 1960s, the future of the Great Barrier Reef was in jeopardy when a covert deal to drill for oil threatened its survival. A brave group of volunteers took on powerful forces and won, saving the Reef for future generations. Today we're tal...

In the late 1960s, the Great Barrier Reef faced destruction from coral mining to supply materials for fertilizer and concrete. Few knew or cared about it, until a group of passionate volunteers stepped in to stop the devastation. In this episod...

🐢  Sea turtles can grow to the size of a table, navigate using magnets in their brain, and fight off gangs of sharks. 🦈  But after 100 million years in our oceans, their existence is now under threat. This week we visit Raine Island w...

This week we visit a coral nursery near Port Douglas, to see how tourism operators are teaming up with scientists to care for their patches of reef. The Coral Nurture Program is showing promising results - but what are its limitations, and what...

The Marine Park Authority has confirmed the Great Barrier Reef is experiencing its seventh mass coral bleaching event - the fifth in just eight years, driven by global warming 🫠 This week we head to stunning Lizard Island to find out what's cau...

“The Reef is our nervous system. It’s made up of land, sea , sky, animals, and people… Once we destroy that nervous system, it’s critical damage for our body. Because we are all one." 🙌🏽 🌏 This week, Gooreng Gooreng man Malachi Johnson...

The Marine Park Authority has confirmed severe coral bleaching is unfolding on the southern section of the Great Barrier Reef 🪸 So this week, we head to Heron Island to meet the island's chief scientist and see first-hand what's happening 🏝️.

What is the limit of coral resilience? To help us unpack this question, this week we're joined by Dr Kate Quigley, a molecular ecologist who has spent years studying corals up close 🪸. Lately, Kate has been selectively breeding corals to t...