Global Coral Reef Report launched in Taiwan for the first time: low coral coverage, warning of ecosystem changes

The hard coral coverage rate in the Xiaoliuqiu region of Taiwan is the lowest among all regions. (File photo)

The Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network released the "State of the World's Coral Reefs 2025 Report", which included coral monitoring in Taiwan's waters for the first time. Taiwan's hard coral coverage has remained at low to medium levels for a long time, while macroalgae have been rising. Experts believe this is an early warning sign of ecosystem transformation, and believe that a long-term monitoring system with national scale, standardization and stable funding should be established, and coral reef restoration should be developed.

The latest 7th edition of the "World Coral Reef Status Report 2025" shows that the bleaching of coral reefs has been shortened from once every 10 years to once every 5 to 6 years. Corals often face the threat of heat waves again before they have time to recover. This report also includes the long-term monitoring data of my country's Academia Sinica and the private sector for the first time. The report shows that coral reef bleaching in Taiwan has Coral reef coverage has remained at a low to medium level for a long time. Although it seems to represent ecological resilience, it may also be at a low point for a long time. Coupled with the increase in macroalgae, it is considered an early warning of ecosystem transformation. Since 2020, Taiwan's waters have experienced a marine heat wave that will cause coral bleaching every two years.

The Taiwan Science and Technology Media Center invited experts to analyze the report. Wen Guozhang, a professor at the Department of Life Sciences at Tunghai University, said that the shortening of bleaching frequency means that corals often face the next heat wave before they can recover, which may eventually lead to a deadlock in which corals cannot recover. He also suggested that the flow of sediment and sewage into the sea should be controlled, protected areas should be set up, and abandoned fishing nets should be cleaned up. There should also be binding penalties and Strength of law enforcement; Fan Tongyun, a researcher at the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, said that reports on Taiwan show that Xiaoliuqiu has the lowest hard coral coverage rate among all regions, macroalgae have replaced corals as the dominant species, and the ecosystem has seriously declined. The main pressure should come from overfishing leading to a decrease in algae-eating animals, terrestrial wastewater and sediments fueling algae, inappropriate tourism, and climate change.

Chen Zhaolun, a researcher at the Biodiversity Research Center of Academia Sinica, suggested that Taiwan should establish a national-scale, stable and standardized long-term monitoring system with stable funding, combining professional monitoring, citizen science and local knowledge to shift management from passive management to adaptive management. Zheng Yourong, director of the Department of Fishery Technology and Management at the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, said that Taiwan has never lacked good suggestions in management, but what it lacks is the courage to implement them.