Baring All to Save the Barrier Reef

To mark Tuesday's United Nations World Oceans Day, a group of swimmers and snorkelers engaged in a nude swim in an attempt to raise awareness of the threats to the Great Barrier Reef.

The event at Nelly Bay Beach on Magnetic Island, off Australia's northeast coast, drew 23 snorkellers and 10 swimmers aged between 19 and 60 for the 20-minute splash, organiser Ben Schultz said.

"We had blue skies and the water was not chilly at all", Schultz told Australian news agency AAP, adding "it was like a bath."

The event drew an estimated 250 spectators and global media attention with Schultz claiming that viewers and media "weren't there for a 'perv' but to show their support for the environment."

Fears of an environmental disaster on the Great Barrier Reef, which is home to scores of marine species, were heightened earlier this year when a Chinese coal carrier ran aground on the massive coral reef.

The boat was later removed without a serious oil or coal spill but it gouged a huge scar in the world heritage-listed coral.