Editor’s note: This blog was first published by our partner organization, Reef Check Malaysia. We’re sharing it here as part of our collaboration to highlight marine conservation efforts in the region.
I’m not sure I know how to do this anymore, to make it effective and impactful. It feels like every year I talk about the results of the annual surveys, but nothing seems to change.
But here we go …
Overview of the 2025 Status of Coral Reefs in Malaysia survey results
Our 2025 survey report is finalized and was published earlier this year. The data from surveys at over 300 sites around Malaysia last year shows a continuing decline in reef health.
Live coral cover (the national average) reduced from about 45% in 2024 to 40% in 2025. That’s a loss of 5 percentage points, or 10% of coral cover in one year.
Back in 2022, live coral cover was about 50%. Looking at this one way, you could say we lost 10 percentage points, or 20% of coral reefs since 2022.
Imagine if someone told you that one-fifth of Malaysia’s forests were cut down in a few years. Or, to use a different measure, that’s about 47,250 football fields gone. Would that mean anything to you — would it have any effect on you? Or is it just too big a number for people to comprehend?
Nonetheless, that’s what the data is telling us. We lost 47,250 football fields worth of corals in the last five years.
Why are we losing our coral reefs?
Bleaching is a big part of it.
Scientists now acknowledge that 2024 saw the fourth global coral bleaching event.
In Malaysia, over 90% of corals bleached during the peak of the bleaching season in April to June 2024. The 2025 data reveals just how much coral survived … and how much died.
Add to that, the growing impacts from tourism. In September 2024, Johor closed six islands to tourism. Redang is seeing an increase in day trips from the mainland. Seri Buat is similar. And Semporna has seen a huge increase in tourism numbers over the last few years.
And pollution from inadequate sewage treatment. And overfishing. And … so on. Many impacts … though most of these problems can be fixed relatively easily.
Why is the loss of coral reefs a problem?
I’m sure most people are already aware, but let’s do this one more time. We lost 47,250 football fields worth of corals last year.
Coral reefs support food security for coastal communities, as they are part of the nursery system (along with mangroves and seagrass) that produces the fish targeted by those small-scale fishers.
According to one source, there are over 140,000 small-scale fishers in Malaysia. That’s basically 140,000 households that rely on coastal fisheries for food and incomes. Which in turn rely on those ecosystems being healthy.
Coral reefs are also an important tourism product. According to some sources, tourism accounts for 15% of gross domestic product and 25% of employment in Malaysia. So no coral reefs … means diminished tourism.
Don’t get me wrong. We are not anti-tourism; we are pro-sustainable tourism.
Why should I care about coral reefs?
This is not a nature conservation issue. This is a food security and jobs issue and affects every one of us.
- The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization’s statistics show that Malaysians are one of the largest per capita consumers of seafood — around 57 kilograms (126 pounds) per person per year. Imagine that gone because we didn’t look after the ecosystems.
- Say coral reef decline continues. Some sources suggest that might have an impact on tourism, leading to a reduction in numbers. So, all those people working in tourism on the islands, and the East Coast … they are going to migrate to where there are other jobs, putting pressure on housing, medical care, schools … you do the math.
Focus on the resilience of our reefs
There’s not much we can do about bleaching. Actually, quite honestly, there’s nothing we can do about bleaching at a local level. That’s why I keep banging on about resilience — basically eliminating or reducing all the local impacts so reefs are as healthy as possible to withstand the big external impact. Whether you call it ocean warming, climate change, global warming … the outcome is the same: diminished marine ecosystems.
We have solid data showing a decline in coral reefs. We know the implications of this for food security and jobs. We need action now to address these challenges. Resilience provides a science-based approach.
What can you do to support our reefs?
We get asked this a lot. Usually, we talk about minimizing your own consumption, being a good citizen, recycling … that sort of thing. I don’t think that’s enough anymore.
We need more people to support efforts to lobby the government, Members of Parliament, Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeris, Executive Councillors — basically the decision-makers who can actually change things.
We met some recently and I was pleasantly surprised by the positive reaction we received. We need their support to make the changes we need if we are to conserve these critical ecosystems.
This blog was written by Julian Hyde, Pacific Environment’s Malaysia senior marine program advisor and chief executive officer of Reef Check Malaysia. Learn more about Pacific Environment’s ocean conservation work and how we collaborate with partners and experts in the field to protect marine ecosystems and support coastal communities across the region.
