Broadscale surveys are carried out by the Australian Institute of Marine Science using observers towed on manta boards. These surveys have been carried out every year since 1985-86 on reefs spread throughout the World Heritage Area. Fine-scale surveys are carried out by the Cooperative Research Centre for Ecologically Sustainable Development of the Great Barrier Reef. This program operates anywhere in the World Heritage Area where users go. At present, the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area is experiencing its third major outbreak, currently centred near Cairns and expected to progress southward in the next few years.
Scientists are still uncertain as to what causes the outbreaks.