Great Barrier Reef tourism spokesman attacks scientist over slump in visitors

theguardian.com ^

[BenLurkin]

While not disagreeing there was work to be done on the reef’s health, McKenzie accused Hughes of exaggerating the damage, which he said has been detrimental to the region’s multibillion-dollar tourism industry.

“I think Terry Hughes is a dick,” he told Guardian Australia. “I believe he has done tens of millions of dollars of damage to our reef in our key markets, being America and Europe. You went to those areas in 2017 and they were convinced the reef was dead. And people won’t do long-haul trips when they think the reef is dead.” McKenzie said in 2016, tourism growth in the region had returned to pre-global financial crisis levels, before “that growth died” in 2017, which he blamed on Hughes “negative comments”.

In April 2016 Hughes made international headlines after releasing his final report on extensive aerial and underwater surveys, which showed that of the surveyed reefs (911 individual reefs), only 7% had escaped coral bleaching.

McKenzie said that gave the impression the reef was “dead”. “All driven off the back of the negative comments made by a researcher paid entirely by commonwealth funds. I think it is a misuse of commonwealth funds to make false or misleading comments to the media.”

He has previously written to ministers Christopher Pyne and Greg Hunt over the issue and said he had spoken to Josh Frydenberg “informally”.

[butlerweave]

Global Warming bleached it white ,move along nothing to see here ,LOL

[colorado tanker]

Sorry, Queensland. You are to be sacrificed on the alter of Globull Warming.

[Chode]

you shoulda called bullsh!t on gloBULL warming years ago

[Truthoverpower]

The weenie environmentalist whack as you keep saying that the Reefs are dead should be strung up dropped into the ocean and eaten by sharks