人們普遍認為大多數珊瑚礁的健康狀況良好。東部的一些珊瑚礁受到格朗德特爾鎳礦(英语:Nickel mining in New Caledonia)開採產生的廢水的破壞。採礦、農業和放牧造成的沉積物影響了河口附近的珊瑚礁,而有助於保持沉積物的紅樹林遭到破壞使情況更加惡化。一些珊瑚礁被埋在幾公尺深的淤泥下。[5] 2008 年,一項對西北部近海珊瑚礁的評估得出結論,如果目前與開採沉積物和淤泥徑流有關的趨勢繼續下去,許多珊瑚礁將在數年內死亡,最多不過數十年。[6]
^Bouchet, Philippe; Lozouet, Pierre; Maestrati, Philippe; Heros, Virginie. Assessing the magnitude of species richness in tropical marine environments: exceptionally high numbers of molluscs at a New Caledonia site. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 20 April 2002, 75 (4): 421–436. doi:10.1046/j.1095-8312.2002.00052.x.
^Garrigue, Claire; Zerbini, Alexandre N.; Geyer, Ygor; Heide-Jorgensen, Mads-Peter; Hanaoka, Wakao; Clapham, Phil. Movements of satellite-monitored humpback whales from New Caledonia. Journal of Mammalogy. 17 February 2010, 91 (1): 109-115. doi:10.1644/09-MAMM-A-033R.1.