Victor Island

Victor Island had stable hard coral cover of around 30% until Cyclone Debbie in 2017, when it dropped and macroalgae increased. There were more losses in 2020 due region wide heat stress. Recent surveys show hard coral is now recovering.

Over 13 years of monitoring, coral disease has come and gone in the inshore reefs of Mackay and Hay Point. Severe bleaching has been less common—only recorded during the region-wide 2020 marine heatwave. During the 2024 elevated SST event, bleaching was minor in comparison, highlighting the complexity of these reef systems and the measured response to heat stress.