As a community, Norfolk Islanders are incredibly fortunate in so many ways, blessed as we are to live in an extraordinarily beautiful place in our world, surrounded by nature. But, in particular, we are fortunate because of the high degree of consultation that occurs around many of the reports done at the behest of the Commonwealth into the state of our environment, presumably, in recognition of how special this remote island ecosystem really is. We get fantastic access to the researchers who write these reports when they provide open forums to explain their work. Whether community members avail themselves of the opportunity to understand all the issues is a matter of personal choice, but we have no excuses to say we are not being consulted or informed.
A case in point is occurring this week. CSIRO have done extensive research into Norfolk Island’s hydrology, acid sulphate soils, and water quality that flows out onto our coral reef system. Their most recent reports, the Norfolk Island Water Quality Assessment, and Acid Sulfate Soil Management in the Kingston and Arthur’s Vale Historic Area (KAVHA) on Norfolk Island, should be read one with the other in order to grasp some of the issues our downstream coral reef faces.
A few days ago, Administrator George Plant published a media release about these reports, in which he says:
‘What the data shows us is that the quality of ground and surface water entering Emily and Slaughter Bays often contains high levels of contamination, including from nutrients that impact on the health of coral. The health of the Emily and Slaughter Bay reef will continue to decline if we do not improve water quality.’
The nutrients come from several sources, and include cattle and human waste, and fertilisers among other things. I am sure there will be some on-island who dislike the findings of these reports and the changes they suggest we make, but coming as they do after a series of other interconnected and related reports into the health of our coral reef – one of which, incidentally, describes our reef as one of the most diseased in the world (Page, 2023) – the facts are irrefutable. We must now face some difficult choices about how we manage our island home.
Just two months ago, I described a disastrous event for our reef when the Watermill Dam ‘failed’, sending polluted water down through our World Heritage area’s drainage system and out into Emily Bay. The event in question occurred on the weekend of 20 and 21 July 2024.
Somewhat presciently, the above-mentioned report on acid sulphate soils, which was published before the Watermill Dam incident occurred, says:
‘Experience from other acid sulfate soil remediation projects has shown that a conservative approach would be required to ensure water drained from Watermill Dam does not discharge into Watermill Creek and subsequently the marine environment (Emily Bay). Any discharge of poor quality water (e.g. acidic, high metal or metalloid concentrations) can negatively impact on the health of the reef ecosystem, which has already been reported as being under stress.’
And so it was, on 24 August, I visited part of the reef I don’t get to quite so regularly and was appalled to discover an extensive area (5m × 7m) of acropora corals, newly affected by white syndrome. A few days later, I discovered another patch. And another.
Coincidental? For a few months before this event, I’d been telling anyone who cared to hear about how much better the reef was looking on the back of a drought (it’s an ill wind, as they say). We were getting healthy new coral growth, and species of fish began reappearing after prolonged absences.
I know this week there will be a lot of conversations around how we manage our water quality, and questions about how much it will cost. Because of that, I wanted to post these photos, so we don’t forget what happens when we subject our coral reef to pulses of polluted water.
Above: Photos of dead acropora as a result of white syndrome taken on 24 August 2024.
Above: Other areas of disease. Photos taken on 28 August 2024.
References
Page, C. (2023). Thesis Life and Death on Coral Reefs. An investigation into health and disease of primary reef building taxa at remote, and subtropical reefs of Norfolk Island, South Pacific.