St Brandon 2019

As throughout the Indian Ocean, also the remote atoll of St Brandon (Cargados Carajos) was found to be severely affected by coral bleaching. We estimate that 70% of the coral reef died during the time since our last visit in 2015. There is no report on the condition of the reefs of St Brandon, which used to be the only area of the Mauritius outlying territory that still had a fairly intact coral fauna. The reefs of Mauritius itself have been destroyed completely (estimates range from 95 to 99%) due to repeated heat waves.