Great Barrier Reef puts on once a year underwater event


It's the awe-inspiring underwater Reef event that only happens once a year.

The annual coral spawning on the Great Barrier Reef attracts visitors from around the world and thanks to this stunning video captured by Sarah Sims on board Divers Den boat AquaQuest, you can see it without having to get your feet wet.

The excited crew and visitors were happy to catch the action at Dark Reef, a detached section of Agincourt Reef off Port Douglas, posting about the natural phenomenon on social media.

"We saw spanning last night! And we even managed to contain our excitement enough to take a video too," the crew posted on Facebook.

"How amazing does that look?

"Spawning is a good indicator of a healthy reef so we are stoked that we got to witness it."

The spawning involves colonies of coral simultaneously releasing egg and sperm bundles into the water, with the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority describing it as resembling an  underwater snowstorm.

The spawning, which takes place at night, lasts between a few days and a week and by releasing egg and sperm at the same time the coral increases the likelihood of fertilisation taking place.