In A World First, The Great Barrier Reef’s Annual Spawning Event Is Being Live-Streamed Tonight

One of the most memorable fam vacays from my youth was a trip to Hamilton Island where I got to snorkel in the Great Barrier Reef and so I can’t bloody wait to relive the magic of one of Australia’s greatest natural wonders via my laptop an epic live-stream this evening.

Every year, shortly after the full moon (which hit on Monday) in late spring / early summer, the corals of the Great Barrier Reef release trillions of eggs and sperm into the water over the course of about three to four nights. Even though it’s a ‘yuge event, scientists only first discovered it in 1981. Before then, they thought it was just the corals releasing their fertilised embryos.

This year, the ~blessed~ event is set to go down this weekend and the ABC will be streaming it for us all to see and enjoy on Friday and Sunday nights in a series called Reef Live on ABC TV and iView.

Speaking to news.com.au, actor and host of the Reef Live program Brooke Satchwell revealed that the live-stream of the Great Barrier Reef is “an Australian first.”

“It’s a real time visual insight into this massive biological phenomenon,” she said. “It’s a breeding event on such a scale that it can be seen from space.”

The actress revealed that Reef Live, which starts at 8.30pm on Friday and 8.40pm on Sunday, will provide us with a “glass bottom boat into people’s living rooms”.

“This is an opportunity for a shared cultural event, up there with sporting events and the moon landing,” she said.

Q&A host Hamish MacDonald and scientist and inventor Dr Jordan Nguyen will join Satchwell in the studio for interviews with the Indigenous community and conservationists during the hour-long broadcast.

Catch the Great Barrier Reef in all its glory via Reef Live tonight and on Sunday on ABC TV and iView.

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