Status and Trends of Coral Reefs of the Pacific: 1980-2023

abstract:

Coral reefs of the GCRMN Pacific region cover 65,255 km² which represent 26.13% of the world’s coral reef extent. Overall, hard coral cover remained relatively stable at around 25.5% from 1990 to 2022. However, hard coral cover declined in 1998 (-2.4%) and again in 2014-2017 (-3.7%) due to global coral bleaching events induced by marine heatwaves. Macroalgae cover and coralline algae cover increased by 2.7% and 1.9%, respectively, from 1990 to 2022. The number of people living within 5 km from coral reefs increased by 28.7% from 2000 to 2020 at the regional scale. Mean sea surface temperature over coral reef areas across the Pacific increased by +0.82°C between 1985 and 2023, driven by climate change, representing a warming rate of 0.22°C per decade. Coral reef monitoring efforts varied between countries and territories within the region, ranging from 0 monitoring sites in Nauru to over 2,000 in Hawai’i, underscoring the need to strengthen and expand monitoring initiatives throughout the Pacific.

Publication type

Report

Author(s):

Wicquart J., Towle E. K., Dallison T., Staub F., and Planes S. (eds.)

Year:

2025

Journal:

Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN), International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI)

volume:

pages:

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