Coral cover around popular Great Barrier Reef islands has almost halved

Scientists shocked by data showing loss of hard corals at 100 locations across Whitsundays, Magnetic Island, Keppel Islands and Palm Islands

Coral coverage around some of the most popular tourist islands on the Great Barrier Reef has dropped by almost half in the last 18 years, according to a new study.

Scientists said they were "shocked" after analysing data from monitoring dives between 1999 and 2017 at 100 different locations across the Whitsunday Islands, Magnetic Island, Keppel Islands and Palm Islands.