Coral, Seagrass and Tortoises: The Marine Parks of the Seychelles

The Seychelles are often pictured as white sand and granite boulders, but the real story of the islands sits just below the waterline. Coral reefs, seagrass meadows and turtle feeding grounds wrap around the inner islands, and some of the most carefully protected marine areas in the Indian Ocean lie within a short sail of Mahé. For anyone travelling between islands by boat, knowing how these ecosystems work changes what you notice in the water and how you behave in it.

Ste Anne: one of the oldest marine parks in the Indian Ocean

A few kilometres off Mahé, Ste Anne and its neighbouring islands were decreed a marine park on 19 March 1973. According to the Seychelles Parks and Gardens Authority, it was one of the first protected marine areas in the Indian Ocean. The park covers about 14.5 square kilometres and takes in six islands: Ste Anne, Moyenne, Ronde, Longue, Cachée and Cerf.

What makes the park ecologically valuable is not only its coral. It is also a sanctuary for seagrass beds, the underwater meadows that stabilise sediment, shelter juvenile fish and provide grazing for sea turtles. Seagrass rarely features in holiday photographs, yet it is one of the quiet engines of a healthy coastal sea. When you snorkel here, the patches of green over sand are as much a part of the reef system as the corals beside them.

Curieuse and St Pierre: tortoises above, reef life below

North of Praslin, Curieuse was declared a national and marine park in June 1979. On land it holds a population of endemic giant tortoises, something it shares only with Aldabra, and it is one of just two islands where the coco de mer palm grows naturally. A trail leads visitors through mangrove forest, a habitat that links land and sea by trapping sediment and sheltering young marine life.

The park also includes the St Pierre marine area, known for its rich undersea life. It is a good example of why marine protection matters: the park’s managers note that several mass bleaching events have hit these reefs, some causing coral mortality above 90 percent. A reef that looks vivid today has often recovered from serious damage, and that recovery depends on reduced local pressure from anchors, fins and careless visitors.

Island-hopping with the ecosystem in mind

Travelling by small ship is one of the most natural ways to see how these places connect. Vivestia’s Seychelles cruises island-hop around the inner islands between Mahé, Praslin and La Digue, with stops at smaller islands such as Curieuse, Moyenne and St. Anne, and itineraries that also include Aride and St. Pierre. The ship, the Pegasos, carries no more than 44 guests, which allows it to moor in small harbours and quiet bays.

A smaller group in the water also means less disturbance at each snorkelling stop. Over several days you move from the seagrass and fringing reefs of the Ste Anne park to the granite shores around Praslin and Curieuse, which makes it easier to compare habitats and to see how bleaching, recovery and protection play out from one island to the next.

Aldabra: the reference reef far to the south

More than 1,000 kilometres southwest of Mahé lies Aldabra, one of the world’s largest raised coral atolls and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1982. It is managed by the Seychelles Islands Foundation, a public trust. Four main islands enclose a large shallow lagoon, and the atoll is home to the largest population of giant tortoises in the world, estimated by the Foundation at around 100,000 animals. UNESCO also highlights globally important breeding populations of endangered green turtles and critically endangered hawksbills, as well as the white-throated rail, the last remaining flightless bird of the Western Indian Ocean.

Aldabra matters to the inner islands as a scientific baseline. The 1998 bleaching event killed up to 95 percent of coral in the Seychelles. Aldabra’s reefs were affected too, but recovered, and a long-term marine monitoring programme began there in 2013. Because direct human impact on the atoll is so limited, it shows researchers how a reef behaves when local stress is removed. Access is tightly controlled: every visitor needs prior authorisation from the Foundation and must be accompanied by its staff at all times.

Responsible snorkelling from a boat

The guidance used in protected reefs elsewhere applies directly in Seychelles marine parks. The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, run by NOAA, and the US National Park Service recommend a few simple habits:

• Avoid all contact with the reef. Keep hands, fins and gear away from coral, and never stand or rest on it.
• Stay horizontal in the water. If you need to look around or talk, roll onto your back and tuck your knees so your fins do not strike the bottom.
• Keep your distance in shallow areas and pick entry and exit points away from coral.
• Do not touch, feed or chase turtles, fish or other marine life.
• Leave shells, dead coral and rocks where you find them.
• Choose sunscreen without oxybenzone, or wear a rash guard, which protects skin more reliably anyway.
• If you are not a confident swimmer, use a snorkel vest rather than a pool noodle and keep your feet from dangling.

What to look for in the water

With these ecosystems in mind, a snorkel stop becomes easier to read. Look for turtles grazing over seagrass, for the line where sand gives way to coral, and for areas of new coral growth on older, bleached structures. Each tells part of the story of a reef system that has been protected for decades and is still recovering from warming seas.

The marine parks of the Seychelles were set up to give that recovery a chance. Visiting them carefully, in small numbers and without leaving a mark, is the simplest way to make sure the reefs are still there for the next guests.

Sources

• UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Aldabra Atoll. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/185
• Seychelles Islands Foundation, Welcome to Aldabra. https://www.sif.sc/node/12
• Seychelles Parks and Gardens Authority, 50 Years of the Ste. Anne Marine Park, 1973 – 2023. https://www.spga.gov.sc/news/2023-03/50-years-ste-anne-marine-park-1973-2023
• SBC, Seychelles’ Curieuse National Marine Park celebrates 40 years of conservation. https://www.sbc.sc/news/seychelles-curieuse-national-marine-park-celebrates-40-years-of-conservation/
• NOAA Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, Tips For Being a Responsible Diver. https://floridakeys.noaa.gov/visitor_information/things-to-do/responsible-diving.html
• US National Park Service, Help Protect Coral Reefs. https://www.nps.gov/viis/learn/help-protect-coral-reefs.htm

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