The 1996 coral bleaching event, Lihir Islands group, Papua New Guinea

Field observations of coral bleaching on the shallow reefs at Kunaie Village, Lihir Island and Mali Island were made on March 30 and 31, 1996. Observations were made while snorkelling to depths of 4 metres, which allowed close inspection of corals. Corals were identified and categorised according to the stage of bleaching exhibited. Estimates were also made of the size/age of corals affected and the overall percentage of corals showing signs of bleaching. Total time for observations was around 30 minutes at each place. In addition, observations were made from the aircraft on the flight from Lihir to Rabaul, since visibility and light were good. Larger white colonies were visible on the reef edge of Lihir Island on take off and bleaching was also observed while flying over New Ireland and New Britain reefs, but not the Duke of York Islands group. In order to gain an understanding of how widespread the bleaching event was, a PNG government officer, dive operators, companies and resorts operating around PNG were contacted, requesting information about the conditions of the reefs they had visited recently. In late March 1996, it was observed that corals were turning white and dying at 22 Lihir Management Company monitoring sites distributed throughout the Lihir group of islands. Surveys were undertaken to observe the nature of the phenomenon and to comment on its significance.