Fluorescing corals turn out to be bleached

Pinned on Pete’s dive shop wall were faded colour photos of the coral reef flat around the Middle Island Underwater Observatory at low tide.

Every round, pin-cushion-shaped coral colony was a different shade of pale pink, blue, purple and yellow, like a Ken Done painting. It was beautiful.

But I was later to learn that this colourful coral ‘fluorescence’ was actually bleached coral.

This image was taken during the 2002 coral bleaching event.