Trinidad and Tobago are on the edge of the South American continental shelf, and under the direct influence of the Orinoco River. Thus, there are comparatively fewer coral reefs in Trinidad than Tobago. There is a single fringing reef on the northeast coast of Trinidad, and many patch reefs near the offshore islands, and particularly around Tobago. These reefs are heavily used for fishing and tourism with up to 200 tourists visiting Buccoo reef per day. In southwest Tobago, there are 1,654 hotels, and another 1,372 rooms are approved for construction.

The reefs of the island of Tobago are far more extensive than those on the larger island of Trinidad. Tobago’s reefs are a mixture of biogenic reefs (built by corals and coralline algae) and geological reefs (base of rock, colonized by hard corals). Most of the reefs are ‘shallow’ in their structure, ending abruptly in a sand seabed at depths between 15 m and 25 m.