Scientists Just Finished the 2026 Checkup on Texas' Coral Reefs
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When most people think about Texas and the Gulf, coral reefs probably aren't the first thing that comes to mind.
But roughly 100 miles off the Texas coast sits one of the most interesting reef systems in the western Atlantic. Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary is home to thriving coral communities and scientists just finished another major checkup on them.
NOAA's National Coral Reef Monitoring Program recently completed its 2026 monitoring mission at Flower Garden Banks. Over four days, 26 divers surveyed 61 different sites to get a better look at how these reefs are doing and how they're changing over time.
What are they actually looking for?
The divers aren't just swimming around counting corals.
Researchers record coral species, abundance, size and overall condition. They're looking for things like bleaching, disease and mortality. Other surveys document what's growing on the seafloor and the fish living around the reef including their species, abundance and size.
Researchers also took thousands of overlapping photographs during this year's mission. Those images can be combined using a technique called photogrammetry to create detailed 3D models of sections of the reef.
That gives scientists another way to document the physical structure of the reef and see how it changes over time.
Why Flower Garden Banks is so interesting
Flower Garden Banks isn't just another monitoring location.
According to NOAA, the reefs at East and West Flower Garden Banks are among the relatively few reef systems in the western Atlantic that have resisted the long-term decline seen across many other coral reefs.
That's pretty remarkable considering what reefs around the world have been dealing with.
The sanctuary isn't immune though.
NOAA's 2024 monitoring report found an average coral cover of roughly 56% within its long-term study sites. Researchers have also recorded increasing temperatures and significant bleaching.
Bleaching occurred in both 2023 and 2024. NOAA says those were the first consecutive years of bleaching documented during the sanctuary's long-term monitoring program.
That makes continued monitoring especially important.
Why scientists keep returning to the same reefs
One survey tells researchers what a reef looks like today.
Decades of surveys tell them a story.
By returning to the same reef system year after year, researchers can start separating normal short-term changes from larger trends in coral cover, fish populations, disease, bleaching and overall reef health.
It also gives scientists a chance to investigate a really important question.
Why have some reefs remained relatively resilient while others have declined?
Understanding what makes places like Flower Garden Banks different could help scientists better understand coral resilience elsewhere.
And this is in Texas
That's probably our favorite part of the whole story.
As reef hobbyists, we spend an incredible amount of time learning about coral, fish, plankton and all the tiny interactions that keep our aquariums functioning.
It's easy to forget that an extraordinary natural reef ecosystem exists just offshore from our own state.
The 2026 survey is finished but the interesting part isn't over yet. Scientists still have to process and analyze everything they collected. NOAA says a report summarizing the 2026 findings is planned once that work is complete.
We'll definitely be watching for it.
Photo: Karl Teague, National Park Service. Source: NOAA/NCCOS.
Source: NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science and Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary.