Coral Rescue and Relocation in the Maldives
The Problem
Land is a scarce resource in the Maldives, and reclamation has become a major (though often contested) component of national development. Large dredging barges pump vast quantities of sand from the ocean floor to fill nearby shallow lagoons to create new islands. This causes substantial lasting impacts on the marine ecosystem, uprooting marine organisms from the seabed and resulting in mass mortality of benthic organisms within the direct impact zone.
Coral reefs can be immediately smothered, while downstream reefs become clogged as the currents carry huge plumes of suspended sediment. Environmental impact assessments (EIAs) for reclamation projects around the Maldives identify recurring impacts: sedimentation and destruction of the lagoon and large parts of the reef, with the death and partial mortality of corals in the impact zone and surrounding areas. In the longer term, disruption to natural sediment movement around islands can affect shoreline stability and vulnerability to extreme weather events and climate change.
2020-2023: Gulhifalhu Coral Rescue
Following publication of the Environmental Impact Report (EIA, 2020) by the Maldives Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), we were appointed by the dredging contractor to help save some of the corals from Gulhifalhu lagoon, before commencement of major reclamation works (dredging report). Entire reef ecosystems were marked for burial under tonnes of sand, and so we implemented a multi-phase salvage operation. Our assembled team of divers and marine biologists logged hundreds of work hours above and below the waves, carefully removing whole coral colonies from the reefs (representing branching, table, and massive growth forms), loading them onto boats, and transporting to new sites.
During May-June 2020, some 5,000 branching colonies and 2,500 massive colonies were rescued and relocated to the lagoon at Sheraton Maldives. By 2022, some of the corals on our Reefscapers pyramid frames were observed to be spawning at Sheraton, giving a clear indication of the coral health and maturity.
Given the large scale of the reclamation project, further rescue corals were translocated to Kuda Huraa from 2021 to 2023. Our 20-strong team spent hundreds of hours in-water, transplanting 2,000 coral colonies. Recycled coral frames and new pyramids had already been prepared for transplantation, and installed at depths of 4-16 metres, alongside larger colonies on solid rock substrate. Most of the coral colonies survived the extraction and transportation process, and soon stabilised in their new refuge.
The seasonal marine heatwave of 2022 saw average sea surface temperatures (SSTs) regularly exceeding 31°C, so we regularly monitored the health of the translocated corals at Kuda Huraa. While some colonies suffered from paling, bleaching, and predation by Drupella snails, the surviving colonies soon encrusted onto our metal frames and successfully integrated into the local marine habitat. After 2-3 years, we started harvesting coral fragments from the largest colonies, as they became suitable donors for our growing collection of standard Reefscapers coral frames.
2023: Addu City Coral Rescue
Large land reclamation projects by the Maldivian government involved wide-scale dredging in Addu City (video). In 2023, Reefscapers was contracted by Van Oord to translocate tens of thousands of healthy at-risk corals (both massive and branching colonies). Rescued corals were transported to pre-determined recipient sites close by, with appropriate environmental conditions, and then lowered onto the seabed and transplanted onto bespoke pyramid frames. Our team followed up with regular monitoring and 3D photogrammetry, documenting the process and mapping the new sites. More details on our project page.
During regular maintenance over 6 months, we removed any dead coral tissue, cleaned away any macroalgal growth, and replaced any lost corals with fragments harvested from healthy donor colonies. Continued monitoring over this period revealed high overall resilience despite environmental stressors (seasonally elevated sea surface temperatures and sedimentation from ongoing dredging).
2025: Rasmalé Coral Rescue
In 2025, we partnered with Patina Maldives for our next coral rescue and relocation project. Reefscapers worked long days alongside the resort dive teams to rescue coral colonies from the Maldivian government’s Rasmalé reclamation project. Corals were extracted from the reef by our coral experts, loaded onto the waiting dhoni (local boat), ferried 40 miles, and retransplanted around the lagoons of Patina. Coral colonies were attached to a series of pyramid frames, while massive coral species were placed on the seabed. See our project page for more information and photos.
We also worked with our partners Sheraton Maldives again, to move 800 mature colonies (weighing 5 tonnes) from the Rasmalé reclamation site (specifically Fushidhiggaru, South Malé Atoll). We hired a local cargo boat and used flotation aids, before securing the colonies onto our existing pyramids. Six months later, corals were healthy, with good attachment and growth.
During April 2025 (diary page), we were able to rescue further Rasmalé coral colonies thanks to a generous donation from a Kuda Huraa guest through the Reefscapers Foundation. During a huge effort from the resident Reefscapers team and resort colleagues, we transplanted the branching corals to the island house reef and the massive corals to our restoration site at Noah’s Rock.
