WILLEMSTAD – Curaçao’s coral reefs have declined sharply over the past five decades, with average live coral cover falling from around 45 to 55 percent in the early 1970s to about 5 percent in 2025, according to the report State of Curaçao’s Coral Reefs 1973–2045.
The report, prepared by Mark Vermeij of Carmabi and the University of Amsterdam with support from researchers connected to the SEALINK project, presents one of the clearest warnings yet about the condition of Curaçao’s underwater ecosystems.
Systematic reef monitoring around Curaçao began in the early 1970s. At that time, the island’s leeward reefs were still considered among the healthiest in the Caribbean. By 2010, average coral cover had dropped to about 18 percent. It declined further to around 13 percent in 2015 and 2023, before falling to approximately 5 percent in 2025.
The report links the decline to several causes, including coral diseases, bleaching events, hurricane swells, pollution and overfishing. Major disease outbreaks in the late 1970s and 1980s, Hurricane Lenny in 1999, Hurricane Omar in 2008, and bleaching events in 1998, 2010 and 2023 all contributed to the deterioration.
Despite the alarming figures, the report stresses that not all is lost. Some reefs near Oostpunt, Klein Curaçao and Kaap Marie still show relatively high coral cover and remain among the better reef systems in the Caribbean. These areas are considered especially important because healthy reefs produce far more coral larvae than degraded reefs.
Researchers warn, however, that Curaçao’s reefs are now below the level generally associated with functional coral-dominated reef systems. In many locations, algae now dominate the reef bottom where corals once grew.
The report also notes that 19 of Curaçao’s 65 reef-building coral species are now listed as threatened with extinction. Without rapid improvements in fisheries management, pollution reduction, enforcement and wastewater infrastructure, the remaining reefs could fall below recovery thresholds in the coming decades.
For Curaçao, the issue is not only environmental. Coral reefs are part of the island’s tourism identity and support economic activity through diving, snorkeling, fisheries, coastal protection and beach formation.
The report’s central message is that Curaçao still has reefs worth saving, but the window for action is narrowing.