Victor Island

Victor Island had stable hard coral cover around 30% until TC Debbie in 2017, after which it saw a sharp drop accompanied by a rise in macroalgae. Further losses occurred following the 2020 mass bleaching due to the region-wide accumulated heat stress event.  The most recent surveys show an ongoing positive trend in hard coral since the significant 2020 losses.

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.