SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia's Great Barrier Reef is in very poor condition because of climate change, over fishing and land clearing, a state agency said on Friday, as it downgraded the reef's status to the lowest level, which could jeopardise its World Heritage status.
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) said the health of the world's largest coral reef system, off the northeast coast of the Queensland state, had deteriorated since its last review, in 2014, but the problems the reef faces were not insurmountable.