Status and Trend of Seychelles Coral Reefs 2026

This report presents a harmonised national assessment of coral reef condition in Seychelles, based on 3,778 observations from 285 survey sites contributed by 11 dataset providers between 1994 and 2025. This 32-year record provides the longest national-scale coral reef monitoring evidence base currently available for Seychelles and establishes an updated baseline for reef status reporting and management. Thermal stress remains the main national pressure. Degree Heating Week records show repeated severe events exceeding 8 °C-weeks in 1998, 2010, 2016, 2019, 2020, 2024 and 2025, with 2024 representing the most severe year in the available record. Reef responses, however, vary across the Inner Islands, Aldabra, Amirantes, Alphonse and Farquhar groups. Nationally, live hard coral cover shows an overall declining trend. Coral cover recovered after the mid-2000s and again after the 2016–2017 bleaching event, but recent gains were reversed following the 2024 heat stress event. The latest dataset year is 2025, with estimated national mean live hard coral cover at approximately 14%. Paired-site analyses confirm a renewed post-2023 decline. The Inner Islands provide the most continuous long-term record. Aldabra shows a similar disturbance–recovery pattern, while the Amirantes remain spatially variable. Alphonse currently shows the highest coral cover, although resilience is uneven. Farquhar remains data-limited. Overall, the report provides a robust national baseline, but future reporting should integrate additional indicators, including recruitment, macroalgae, fish biomass, structural complexity and deeper reef habitats.