Coral Reef Health

Lord Howe Island is situated approximately 600 km northeast of Sydney, Australia. The island is renowned as the worlds Southern most coral reef ecosystem. The marine park is a region of high biodiversity and species endemism, and is a critically important coral reef ecosystem.

Our team have been working with NSW Department of Primary Industries to study and monitor the health of the coral reef since 2018. Since 2018 we have documented several coral disease outbreaks in the coral reef lagoon and have monitored coral bleaching and reef recovery from bleaching during the 2020 and 2024 severe coral bleaching events.

Where to find corals at Lord Howe Island

Ongoing monitoring is taking place at within the Lord Howe Island Marine Park lagoonal reef system at the following sites due to their high coral abundance and importance as a high-usage snorkelling site, as well as them being potential sites of high conservation value, cultural value, targeted rehabilitation, and provide opportunities for visitor education.

We conduct monitoring across much of the reef including the 4 sites indicated below which have been monitored for bleaching, recovery and disease since 2018.

• North Bay (31° 31’ 31.257’’ S, 159° 2’ 2.801’’ E)
• Sylph’s Hole (31° 31’ 31.232’’ S, 159° 3’ 3.272’’ E)
• Coral Garden (31° 31’ 31.768’’ S, 159° 3’ 3.106’’ E)
• Comets (31° 53’ 75.437’’ S, 159° 6’ 4.502’’ E)