Tour operators remove over 420,000 coral-eating snails from Great Barrier Reef

Queensland’s tourism industry is actively fighting a surge of Drupella snails, native gastropods that feed on living coral and can outpace reef regeneration. Guided tours on Lady Elliot and Lady Musgrave islands, among 26 participating operators, have been hand-picking the snails with tweezers, removing thousands in single dives—1,500 in a two-hour session. Since the program’s launch in 2022, the Tourism Reef Protection Initiative says more than 420,000 snails have been culled, a measure backed by Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority chief scientist Roger Beeden, who notes the snails’ consumption rises with temperature and nutrient runoff.

Environmental manager Jessica Blackmore says regular fortnightly culls keep snail numbers at levels that allow coral to recover. Operators also use the activity to raise awareness among visitors and hold official permits for both snail and crown-of-thorns starfish removal.