GoPro turtle inspires action to save Great Barrier Reef (watch video)

Scientists with a GoPro have teamed up with some turtles to take you on a tour of the Great Barrier Reef.

Turtles are proving invaluable research companions in WWF’s quest to learn as much as they can about the disappearing underwater landscape of the GBR. The organization has been tagging green turtles, and to help them get a good look at what is going on beneath the waves, they’ve strapped a GoPro to a tagged turtle’s shell – and that’s when the fun began.

The footage lasts for about 15 minutes before the turtle shakes the camera off its shell and swims off. Divers later recovered the footage from the ocean floor.

WWF hopes that the UN will maintain pressure on the Australian government to preserve the rapidly disappearing reef and restore it to health.

It says that more than half a million of the organisation’s supporters from 117 countries have joined the global call.

The situation is dire. Half of the natural reserve has died in the last 30 years due to climate change , and the UNESCO World Heritage Committee will not recognise the area as ‘in danger.’ It has acknowledged, however, that the 1,430-mile stretch off the Australian coast needs to be protected. Pollution, ocean warming and climate change are causing irreversible change.

A slew of nearby projects in recent years have also been threatening the site.

Source: rt.com

Photo: WWF Australia