The Commonwealth of The Bahamas has more than 700 islands and 2000 cays. The chain of islands extends from southeast of the Florida peninsula to just north of the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea. The land mass of the islands covers about 13,939 km2 while the marine area encompasses almost 500,000 km2. The Bahamas are well known for their crystal clear blue waters, luxuriant coral reefs, productive seagrass beds, and intricate mangrove forests.
Fringing and barrier coral reefs are found around most islands on the north and east windward coasts and around bank edges and are often adjacent to steep or vertical walls. Coral reefs cover 1,987 km2 (2.2%) of the Great Bahama Bank and 324 km2 of the Little Bahama Bank. The longest reef system is found along Andros Island and extends more than 200 km.
775 AGRRA reef surveys have been conducted between 1997-2019.