Coral reefs in Bahrain are limited to a few areas. These include: Fasht Al Adhom, north Jabari, west Fasht Al Dibal, Khwar Fasht, Fasht Al Jarim, Samahij, and Abul Thama. Coral colonies are present in other areas such as Hayr Shutaya, but these are isolated colonies, not coral reefs.

Coral reefs in Bahrain are mainly distributed around the northern and eastern coastlines. Reefs are of special environmental and economic importance, but their growth, structure and distribution are limited to a few areas by extreme temperatures, salinity and high sediment loads. The reefs include: Fasht Al Adhom; west Fasht Al Dibal; Khwar Fasht; north Jabari; Fasht Al Jarim; Samahij; and Abul Thama. Live coral cover at all sites around Bahrain is very low following widespread mortality in 1996 and 1998. Recovery over the past 6-8 years has been very slow, hindered by an accumulation of silt resulting from extensive landfill.The only significant population of living coral in Bahrain surrounds Abul Thama, a small raised area surrounded by 40 m deep water, about 72 km north of the main island.