At Landaa this month, we transplanted 62 new coral frames, kindly sponsored by guests (48), the Resort (14), and online (0), adding ~4400 new coral fragments to the reef. These frames were positioned at our new sites: ‘Whale Tail’ site (house reef) and ‘Sea Wall East’. The Sea Wall area has been exhibiting new natural coral recruits that are thriving, perhaps due to the fast water flow.

To see the progress of your own frame, please visit our dedicated Four Seasons monitoring page where we upload new photos every 6 months or so.

Sea Wall East Frames – Coral Rehabilitation and Thermo-Tolerance

🗓️ January 2023, a corporate group visiting Landaa kindly sponsored the construction of 35 medium-sized coral frames. Initially planted at Sea Bar, these frames were later relocated to the ‘Elephant’ site to benefit from improved water flow.
🗓️ April 2024, the global coral bleaching event led to the mortality of these frames.
🗓️ September 2024, we started a large-scale recycling project, to remove any dead corals and attach healthy new fragments. These rehabilitated frames were subsequently repositioned along the edge of the sea wall, where the increased water flow is expected to enhance coral resilience against future marine heatwaves.
🗓️ January 2025, the same group returned to Landaa to sponsor an additional 36 medium coral frames. Many members enthusiastically helped to transplant the new frames, and place them into the water… all 36 frames within a single morning! Given the health of the 2023 frames, we decided to plant the 2025 frames nearby at ‘Sea Wall East’ (opposite the main pool).

To populate these new frames, ~2700 coral fragments were sourced from the ‘Blue Hole’ and ‘Spa Blue Hole’ sites. These donor colonies had previously demonstrated high thermo-tolerance by surviving the severe bleaching event of April 2024. Additionally, their acclimatisation to the environmental conditions of the island’s northern side and the semi-enclosed sea wall area further supports their likelihood of long-term survival.

Approximately one third of the coral fragments were harvested from a single exceptionally large Acropora aspera colony at the ‘Spa Blue Hole.’ This colony was selected due to its substantial size, ensuring minimal ecological impact despite extensive fragmenting. We know that A. aspera is one of the easier species to handle, allowing for efficient transplantation; additionally, using a single donor colony simplified storage and transportation logistics.

At Kuda Huraa this month, our coral experts transplanted 10 new coral frames. During monitoring, we actively seek and remove known corallivores that eat the living corals (this month: 6 crown-of-thorns starfish, 2 cushion starfish, 347 corallivorous snails). This month, we also conducted 20 hours of underwater monitoring over 5 days, looking for signs of coral spawning.

To see the progress of your frame, please visit our dedicated Four Seasons monitoring page where we upload new photos every 6 months or so.

Coral Propagation Training Programme

This month, we hosted Sharnietha (Marine Biologist at Club Med Kani) for a 5-day training session. Our coral propagation training programme was hands-on and very comprehensive, covering topics such as: fragmentation techniques, frame building, how to take good monitoring pictures, genotype tracking, data collection & entry, QGIS overview, in-water maintenance, diagnosing & troubleshooting past problems.

Coral Maintenance

The Channel – With the reopening of the Channel site to guests during the festive season, this month we focused our efforts into repopulating frames in this area. The conditions at this site are not conducive to the survival of Acropora species, therefore we transplanted Porites cylindrica and Pocillopora meandrina fragments as they grow well here (despite the low flow of water, and increased sand movement). We have been monitoring how these fragments adjust to their new environment throughout the month, and so far they have been responding well. We will continue to monitor their progress into the new year.

Water Villas – We are pleased to report that the Montipora foliosa fragments from last month appear to be adapting well to their new environment! Due to this success, we have continued repopulating frames at this site with Montipora foliosa and also Pocillopora verrucosa. We have noticed the emergence of a few juvenile Acropora colonies, and some transplanted fragments of Acropora muricata are slowly regaining their symbionts. This suggests that conditions at this site might be improving, and therefore we will continue monitoring fragment survival in the coming months.

Coral Spawning

Mid-month, we conducted gamete checks on species which have previously spawned in the Maldives during December. Several colonies of Acropora tenuis were found with highly pigmented eggs, suggesting that these colonies might spawn during the December full moon. We conducted spawning checks around this period, but no spawning was observed (or inferred by missing eggs). These colonies remain gravid, so it’s possible they may spawn in the coming weeks.

Resilient Corals: Genotype Experiment

🗓️ During November, we transplanted coral fragments from resilient natural colonies of Acropora vermiculata onto our frames at various sites.
🗓️ This month, we identified wild colonies of Pocillopora verrucosa and Pocillopora eydouxi on the reef flat behind the Blue Hole which had survived the bleaching event. As these wild colonies are found relatively far apart, we can assume these corals are of different genotypes from one another. We labeled the colonies and collected fragments to transplant onto frames (at the same sites), so we can monitor their progress in challenging conditions.

In addition to challenging these resilient corals, we want to ensure that we protect them too. To do this, we are following the same method as described, but outplanting frames at sites with conditions ideal for coral growth. This will hopefully ensure that we preserve these genotypes during more severe bleaching events that are almost certain to occur in the future. This work to both challenge and protect resilient corals will continue into the new year.

At Landaa during February, we transplanted 24 new coral frames, kindly sponsored by guests (12), the Resort (12), and online (0), adding ~1200 new coral fragments to the reef. These new frames were positioned at both the Whale Tail and Charlie’s Head sites. We also monitored (cleaned, repaired, photographed) a total of 482 frames at all sites around Landaa Giraavaru.

To see the progress of your own frame, please visit our dedicated Four Seasons monitoring page where we upload new photos every 6 months or so.

Spawning Device

Following adverse weather with the change of monsoon, we checked our spawning device for signs of damage. We found that the pipe had dislodged and lay across the tent, and many of the metal rods holding the tent’s structure need to be hammered down to secure the plastic top cover. Most colonies within the tent are dead, so we are planning to replace them with healthy new frames. To facilitate these maintenance dives, re-sealable openings have been made in the plastic top cover, so that divers can breathe under the tent without trapped air bubbles compromising the tent’s structure.

At Kuda Huraa this month, our coral experts monitored 74 growing coral frames, and transplanted 10 new frames, kindly sponsored by guests (6), the Resort (3), and online (1). We focused on clearing dead coral from frames, repopulating, and monitoring our Chris Rock site. Most frames were repopulated with Acropora muricata fragments from large colonies outcompeting slower-growing species (Acropora humilis, Acropora hyacinthus).

To see the progress of your frame, please visit our dedicated Four Seasons monitoring page where we upload new photos every 6 months or so.

Corallivores

During monitoring, we actively seek and remove known corallivores that eat the living corals (see our guide). This month, 13 starfish and an impressive ~7800 corallivorous snails were removed. The snails were mainly species of Drupella in the reef flat behind the channel restoration site. We identified Drupella cornus, which are larger with a distinct white aperture, compared to the pink/purple aperture of other Drupella species.

Coral Spawning

This month, white eggs were recorded in Acropora vermiculata, [photo, below] which will be monitored in the coming months. The Acropora tenuis colony identified as gravid in January was no longer gravid before the February full moon. As it likely spawned between the new moon and full moon (an unusual period for Acropora corals), we are investigating whether reproductive synchrony has been disrupted in colonies affected by the 2024 bleaching event.

Resilient Corals: Genotype Experiment

🗓️ During November, we transplanted coral fragments from resilient natural colonies of Acropora vermiculata onto our frames at various sites.
🗓️ In January, we identified wild colonies of Pocillopora verrucosa and P. eydouxi which had survived the bleaching event, transplanted fragments onto frames (at the same sites) to monitor their progress in challenging conditions.
🗓️ In February, we completed our remaining experimental frames with fragments from three genotypes of six Acroporid species: A.muricata, A.tenuis, A.vermiculata, A.secale, A.torresiana, A.latistella. Each genotype was selected based on morphological differences in branch and corallite structure, assumed to indicate genetic variation. A total of six fragments (two per genotype) per species were transplanted onto three frames at depths of 4, 8, and 12m. Over the coming months, we will monitor how these genotypes respond to their new environments and whether they appear better adapted to specific depths.

At Landaa during March, we transplanted 30 new coral frames, kindly sponsored by guests (13), the Resort (15), and online (2), adding ~1600 new coral fragments to the reef. These new frames were positioned mainly at both the Whale Tail and Charlie’s Head sites. We also monitored (cleaned, repaired, photographed) a total of 127 frames at all sites around Landaa Giraavaru.

To see the progress of your own frame, please visit our dedicated Four Seasons monitoring page where we upload new photos every 6 months or so.

Coral Spawning, Maldives (March Full Moon)

We performed monitoring night snorkels around the Full Moon period (14 March) and our teams successfully observed coral spawning in 29 colonies of 6 different species.
Of the 29 colonies, 18 had been tagged in March 2024. New colonies were tagged with unique “LGM…” IDs and photographed (wide, mid, close, and corallite-detail shots). These are stored in the LGM ID database for species identification. Eleven new colonies were added to the massives database this month.

Coral Settlement Experiment

1 November 2023 – Gametes from 2 Acropora secale colonies were settled ex situ. After a year of growth, 10 recruits were fitted into concrete ‘cookie’ moulds.

October 2024: 5 recruits were outplanted onto the House Reef (2m–5m depth), with monitoring photos taken. One recruit was caged to protect it from predation. The others were predated within two weeks.

November 2024: Remaining 5 recruits were planted under small experimental frames. One died, but four continue to grow well.

At Kuda Huraa this month, our coral experts monitored 96 growing coral frames, and transplanted 9 new frames, kindly sponsored by guests (3), the Resort (5), and online (1).

To see the progress of your frame, please visit our dedicated Four Seasons monitoring page where we upload new photos every 6 months or so.

Coral Maintenance

We have observed some coral colonies at our Shipwreck restoration site being overgrown by a calcareous, coral-killing sponge known as Chalinula nematifera. To preserve unaffected colonies, we removed healthy coral from these frames and transplanted them onto frames closer to Deep Anemone Rock. Sponge-covered frames were flipped into the sand to smother the sponge and prevent spreading.
After noticing paling in some colonies in the Shallow House Reef, we moved frames slightly deeper to the Pyramid restoration site and arranged them into lines for easier monitoring and spawning research. This will also allow for a step-down system, where frames start at optimal shallow depths for fast growth, and are gradually moved deeper as colonies mature, helping to protect them from future bleaching events.

Chestnut Biopolymers’ Biodegradable Cable Ties

We’ve been working Chestnut Biopolymers for the last 3 years, to develop new solutions for attaching our fragmented corals onto Reefscapers coral frames. Read about the new trials on our Cable Ties page.

Corallivores

This month, we encountered record numbers of corallivorous starfish, although corallivorous snail counts were lower—likely due to reduced survey effort as the team focused on spawning research. Crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster planci) were observed at all restoration sites, and we have designed a new injection apparatus to cull multiple individuals per dive. More than 10 coral colonies were found completely devoid of living tissue due to predation, adding stress to the reefs that are still recovering from last year’s bleaching.
The lower number of gastropods likely reflects fewer nighttime surveys rather than a population decrease. The expanding Montipora digitata patch in the channel and water villa sites appears to be a corridor enabling Drupella migration.

Coral Spawning

Before the March full moon, we conducted gamete checks on multiple Acropora species across our restoration sites. White and pale oocytes were found in 9 species (17 colonies), and pigmented oocytes in 1 colony. Spawning checks were conducted over 15 nights during the full and new moon periods. Massive genera such as Galaxea and Goniastrea were also monitored, but no spawning was recorded.

Bleaching Study

As we approach the warmest few weeks of the year, seasonally elevated ocean temperatures have already started to cause heat stress and coral paling. Our new study will monitor four coral growth forms across four depth ranges (1–3m, 4–6m, 7–9m, 10–12m). At each depth, we will monitor 39 colonies across 13 species, photographing them every two weeks until the potential bleaching season ends. The four growth forms have been selected to assess susceptibility and resilience :

• Digitate: A. digitifera, A. humilis, A. gemmifera, A. torresiana
• Caespitose: A. tenuis, A. vermiculata, A. secale, A. latistella
• Arborescent: A. muricata, A. microphthalma, A. robusta
• Plating: A. hyacinthus, A. cytherea

At Landaa during April, we transplanted 26 new coral frames, kindly sponsored by guests (5), the Resort (12), and online (9), adding ~1500 new coral fragments to the reef. These new frames were positioned mainly at “The Plankton” site near Charlie’s Head, where they are often seen by divers. We also monitored (cleaned, repaired, photographed) a total of 216 frames at all sites around Landaa Giraavaru.

To see the progress of your own frame, please visit our dedicated Four Seasons monitoring page where we upload new photos every 6 months or so.

Coral Spawning, Maldives (April Full Moon)

We performed monitoring night snorkels around the Full Moon period (13 April). We had previously observed the presence of gametes in several Acropora species, and successfully recorded spawning events in Acropora as well as various other species (Goniastrea, Galaxea, Montipora, Cyphastrea, Dipsastrea).

Tagged Colonies – Of the 88 colonies recorded spawning this month, 6 were previously tagged (Galaxea species). New spawning colonies received an ID tag starting with “LGM..”. A full set of ID photos was taken (wide, mid, close-up, corallite detail) and stored in the LGM ID database for genus/species identification. This month, 78 new colonies were added to the massives database.

Coral Settlement

To monitor coral embryogenesis (in Goniastrea retiformis), we conducted overnight observations to record the first cellular divisions. We observed development of the multi-cellular blastomeres, through the Morula, “Prawn chip” and Bowl stages, culminating in rounded embryos with slight movement (by late afternoon). Our practical steps were:
– Gametes transferred into containers of fresh seawater, gently mixed for 5–10 minutes (agitating the bundles, encouraging egg and sperm release).
– Left undisturbed for 5 minutes to allow buoyant eggs to float to the surface (sperm settled below in a cloudy layer).
– Floating eggs were skimmed and transferred to a new container of fresh seawater. A sperm wash was performed by repeating this transfer process, to reduce fouling. The eggs were then placed in ~600 mL fresh seawater.
– To each container of eggs, 100 mL of sperm water from the opposite colony was added. The contents were mixed (10 mins) to encourage fertilisation. Only a small volume of sperm water was used to limit the chances of polyspermy, which can increase the likelihood of developmental issues and mortality.
– Each jug was added to a separate open-flow tank system equipped with a specialised drainage setup; water exited through a fine mesh filter at the bottom, allowing the eggs to float undisturbed to the surface.

At Kuda Huraa this month, our coral experts transplanted 15 new frames, kindly sponsored by guests (11), the Resort (3), and online (1). In addition, we monitored 66 growing coral frames (repopulating 50 of these).

To see the progress of your frame, please visit our dedicated Four Seasons monitoring page where we upload new photos every 6 months or so.

Coral Relocation – Noah’s Rock

In early April, we received a kind guest donation to fund the relocation of 788 coral colonies from Ras Male, which faces governmental coastal development. With a huge effort from the relocation team and the Reefscapers team at Kuda Huraa, all colonies were strategically positioned on our house reef according to species depth preferences. We have since attached all Acropora and Pocillopora colonies and fragments to frames, and placed all massives on Noah’s Rock.

This relocation introduces significant genetic diversity into the house reef, increasing its resilience to environmental stressors. Many of these colonies are of mature size, giving us hope they will form part of our network of spawning colonies. We extend our gratitude to Thomas and the whole team who collected and transported the corals from Ras Male to Kuda Huraa.

Over the following months, we will monitor the progress of these relocated colonies as they adapt to their new environment. Currently, all colonies have survived the relocation, with 10 Acropora colonies showing signs of paling but none showing signs of total bleaching. Once adapted, these colonies can become donors in our propagation project.

Corallivores

During April, we observed fewer predators than in recent months (13 Corallivorous Starfish + 437 Corallivorous Snails). This may be due to our extensive control efforts, or possibly environmental or seasonal factors affecting corallivorous species populations. Regardless, it remains important to continue routine predator culling to protect corals at restoration sites around Kuda Huraa.

Coral Bleaching in the Maldives, 2025

Throughout April, we started to notice paling of coral fragments and some colonies outplanted at shallow depths (<4m). Some colonies in the Blue Hole are partially bleached or fluorescing due to stress in response to increased sea surface temperatures. Compared to the 2024 bleaching event, current bleaching is significantly less severe. We will continue monitoring throughout May to assess whether severity increases. In response to shallow fragments paling, we are outplanting new frames deeper than usual to protect them from warmer surface waters.

Coral Spawning

Over the full moon period this month, our team conducted 25 hours of spawning monitoring, and successfully recorded spawning in 25 colonies (of 7 Acropora species). All but 1 species recorded spawning this year had also spawned during the April full moon period of 2024. Significantly fewer colonies spawned this year compared to last April; however, many colonies have semi-pigmented eggs, suggesting they might spawn during the May full moon.

At Landaa during May, we transplanted 26 new coral frames, kindly sponsored by guests (9), the Resort (11), and online (6), adding ~1200 new coral fragments to the reef. Frames were planted at “Mudakaashi Reef,” a site located near Charlie’s Head, where they will be frequently seen by divers. We also monitored (cleaned, repaired, photographed) sponsored frames at all sites around Landaa Giraavaru.

To see the progress of your own frame, please visit our dedicated Four Seasons monitoring page where we upload new photos every 6 months or so.

Coral Spawning, Maldives (May Full Moon)

We performed monitoring night snorkels around the Full Moon period (12 May), covering known bundling and spawning times of various genera. One colony of Galaxea fascicularis (pictured) was observed bundling and then spawning on 2 subsequent days. Interestingly, this particular colony was previously recorded spawning in 2024 in March.

At Kuda Huraa this month, our coral experts transplanted 5 new frames, kindly sponsored by guests (3), the Resort (2), and online (0). In addition, we monitored and repopulated 38 growing coral frames.

To see the progress of your frame, please visit our dedicated Four Seasons monitoring page where we upload new photos every 6 months or so.

Coral Predators

Similar to April, we have observed a significant decrease in the number of coral predators recorded, despite dedicating time to locate them. It is unclear whether this is due to seasonal fluctuations in abundance, extensive efforts taken to control populations, or a combination of the two factors. The size of Acanthaster plancii individuals encountered also appears to be decreasing.

Coral Relocation – Noah’s Rock

A month after the relocation of corals from Ras Malé to Noah’s Rock on our house reef, all colonies seem to have adapted well to their new environment. Corals that were paling due to relocation stress have since regained their symbionts, with only a few colonies of Acropora hyacinthus remaining slightly pale. Due to the storm knocking colonies from frames, a few colonies of Pocillopora have unfortunately died; however, the majority are in great condition. Despite only being planted one month ago, most fragments have already attached to the frames and encrusted over their cable ties.

Coral Bleaching in the Maldives, 2025

Corals of the Acropora and Pocillopora genera have continued to bleach this month. All Acropora fragments in the water villas are bleached, including the genotype experiment frame. The fragments on the genotype experiment frame in the channel have all died, and the majority of Pocillopora colonies at this site are bleached, with the remainder showing fluorescence. With most of May having had stormy weather conditions, there has been a significant amount of sand movement at all sites which has amplified the stress to corals. As new frames are being outplanted at >5m depth on the house reef, most fragments on new frames have retained their symbionts. Some mature colonies of Acropora tenuis at around 3m are paling on the house reef, but otherwise, corals at this site seem to be coping with the seasonally increased water temperatures.

Biodegradable Cable Ties

One of the most common questions we are asked at Reefscapers concerns our use of plastic cable ties to attach coral fragments, when plastic pollution is causing so much damage to ocean ecosystems globally. The quick answer is they are the best, by far, at securing the corals to the steel bars. We have been unable to find anything that comes close to the performance of the standard plastic cable tie.
To answer further, we should explain that the ties are actually overgrown by the corals which ‘encrust’ onto the steel bars, so the small plastic strips soon become encased and do not break down into microplastics. Having said that, we continue our search to find a suitable sustainable and eco-friendly alternative to using plastics. Since 2022, we have been documenting our ongoing progress on our project page: Study Into Sustainable Cable Ties.

Coral Reproduction & Spawning

During the May full moon, unfavourable weather conditions only allowed our team to conduct spawning research on one night, when we observed five colonies of Acropora spawning. Subsequent gamete checks performed after the weather improved revealed that all colonies recorded with pigmented oocytes had spawned during this window.

At Landaa during June, we transplanted 19 new coral frames, kindly sponsored by guests (4), the Resort (15), and online (0), adding ~930 new coral fragments to the reef. Frames were planted at “Plankton”, a site located near Charlie’s Head, where they will be frequently seen by divers. We also monitored (cleaned, repaired, photographed) 227 sponsored frames, mainly at our Dive Site and Coral Trail.

To see the progress of your own frame, please visit our dedicated Four Seasons monitoring page where we upload new photos every 6 months or so.

World Environment Week – Celebrating our 6000th Frame

This month, we planted the 6,000th coral frame at Landaa Giraavaru. To mark this incredible milestone, a special Managers’ Cocktails event was held, with all guests invited to participate in building the frame. The event took place outside the Marine Discovery Centre, allowing for the frame to be easily planted on the reef shortly afterwards.

We were especially fortunate to celebrate this achievement during World Environment Week, with the frame being built on World Ocean Day – a powerful reminder of the importance of protecting and restoring our marine ecosystems. This frame represents over two decades of collaboration between our marine team and Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru. Throughout this time, we have transplanted more than 250,000 coral fragments onto the surrounding reefs. Many of these branching fragments take about three years to reach sexual maturity. As such, hundreds (if not thousands) of the corals now thriving across the reef may be the result of our ongoing restoration efforts.

Our coral frames not only give damaged reefs a second chance to recover but also help boost biodiversity, increase reef resilience, and safeguard the future of marine life that depends on these ecosystems.

As part of our celebrations, we also organized an ocean clean-up around the staff beach and supply jetty area. Our clean-up team included three scuba divers and a group of enthusiastic volunteer free divers from various departments. This was a heartwarming display of camaraderie and shared commitment during Environment Week. We successfully removed a substantial amount of marine debris, ranging from plastic waste to discarded fishing lines, helping to reduce the threats posed to coral reefs and marine life. Clean-up initiatives like these are a vital part of our ongoing conservation work and highlight the importance of collective action in protecting our ocean environment. By taking part in hands-on efforts like this, team members not only support marine health but also strengthen their personal connection to the reef. Each piece of rubbish removed is a small victory for our underwater world.

Recycling & Retransplanting

As part of our ongoing reef restoration strategy following the global coral bleaching event last year, we have begun recycling older coral frames to maximize space, resources, and coral survival. Frames that are completely bare or covered in dead corals are being carefully removed and stacked for recycling. Hopefully, in a few months, the frames will be shipped back to Fulhadhoo where the task of recycling the frames will get underway.

For frames that still hold a few healthy, non-encrusting coral colonies, we gently detach these viable fragments and retransplant them onto healthier, more stable frames where they have a better chance of thriving. This process allows us to consolidate living coral, reduce overcrowding in degraded areas, and ensure that every viable fragment continues to contribute to reef recovery and biodiversity.

This first phase of recycling and retransplanting is occurring between the two jetties and in front of Al Barakat. Any frames recycled are usually shallower than 6m, so shallow enough to free dive down and move shoreward.

At Kuda Huraa this month, our coral experts transplanted 8 new frames, kindly sponsored by guests (3), the Resort (2), and online (3). In addition, we monitored and repopulated 50 growing coral frames.

To see the progress of your frame, please visit our dedicated Four Seasons monitoring page where we upload new photos every 6 months or so.

Coral Predators

This month, we encountered the lowest numbers of predators recorded so far this year. However, we have not been able to visit the house reef much at all, which explains this apparent decrease in predation. At the more accessible sites around the island, we also have not encountered many predators, so it does appear that populations may have also decreased.

Reef Maintenance

We have been continuing our maintenance work at Maw’s Rock, having cleaned and repopulated around 50 frames in this area. We have also been cleaning frames as many are facing an overgrowth of sponge. It’s important that we control the spread of sponges on the house reef to protect the thermally tolerant corals which survived the bleaching event last year. Once this area is fully repopulated, we will remap and monitor it before moving on to repopulating the Reef Crest.

Artificial Intelligence Training

We have restarted our AI4Corals project, working on training our bespoke AI models to better recognise the coral fragments on our frames. We have started drawing boxes around coral fragments and colonies in 200 photos to train these systems to identify coral species and coral health on monitored frames. This work will lead into having AI recognise the growth of colonies in monitoring pictures, as well as being able to identify whether colonies are healthy, bleached, or dead.

At Landaa this month, we transplanted 25 new coral frames, kindly sponsored by guests (8), the Resort (17), and online (0), adding ~1050 new coral fragments to the reef. Frames were planted at “Plankton”, a site located near Charlie’s Head, where they will be frequently seen by divers. We also monitored (cleaned, repaired, photographed) ~250 sponsored frames, mainly at our Dive Site and Coral Trail.

To see the progress of your own frame, please visit our dedicated Four Seasons monitoring page where we upload new photos every 6 months or so.

Recycling & Retransplanting

In the aftermath of the April 2024 global mass bleaching event, which resulted in significant coral mortality across our reefs and reefs worldwide, we have launched a targeted recovery initiative focused on clearing and recycling degraded frames. The primary aim is to streamline our restoration efforts by removing frames that no longer support viable coral and making space for future planting with more resilient species.

As part of this effort, we have been systematically identifying and stacking frames that are covered exclusively with dead coral. During this process, we’ve encountered some frames that have attracted natural coral recruits – healthy colonies that we did not attach. These slow-growing massive and encrusting species, are excellent candidates for propagation, not only because they withstood the high temperatures of last year, but also because of their structural contribution to reef building. Read more over on our dedicated microfragging page at Marine Savers: Microfragment Techniques in Coral Propagation.

Staff Beach Frames

In early July, we began a new initiative by placing Resort-sponsored coral restoration frames along the staff beach (seaward from the wedding pavilion). This location was chosen to give our Resort colleagues the opportunity to observe and enjoy some of our local coral species during their snorkels.

Before placement, we identified a few environmental concerns specific to this site. The shallow waters at the staff beach tend to be consistently warm, frequently exceeding 29°C. Additionally, the presence of a sea wall may limit the natural circulation of water. Because of these factors, we have been closely monitoring the coral frames since their deployment. In particular, some of our Acropora colonies have begun to exhibit early signs of thermal stress, indicated by a noticeable shift in colouration toward bright fluorescent hues (photo). This fluorescence may precede bleaching if conditions do not improve.

Pocillopora are generally regarded as more thermotolerant than Acropora, potentially making them better-suited for high-temperature, low-flow environments. By observing how different species respond under the same conditions, we hope to gain insights into coral resilience and refine our planting strategies. Our goal remains twofold: to enhance staff engagement with the reef, and to continue learning how different coral species adapt in various microhabitats. This ongoing monitoring will inform future planting decisions and may help identify local coral genotypes with greater tolerance to thermal stress.

At Kuda Huraa this month, our coral experts transplanted 5 new frames, kindly sponsored by guests (4), the Resort (1), and online (0). In addition, we monitored and repopulated 67 growing coral frames.

To see the progress of your frame, please visit our dedicated Four Seasons monitoring page where we upload new photos every 6 months or so.

Coral Predators

We continued to encounter a decrease in corallivorous gastropods, with only 31 individuals of Drupella spp. encountered this month. Consistent efforts from the team to remove Drupella from transplanted corals at our restoration sites as well as the natural reefs seems to be resulting in an overall decrease in predators throughout the year. We collected four crown of thorns starfish (Acanthaster planci) from the wild Montipora digitata patch behind the channel restoration site over a two-day period. No corallivorous starfish were encountered at the water villas, blue hole, or the house reef this month.

Reef Maintenance

We have been conducting maintenance on all four restoration sites around Kuda Huraa: the blue hole, the channel, the water villas, and the house reef. Work on the house reef has been largely limited by unfavourable weather conditions, so the majority of our efforts were focused on ensuring the sites accessible from the beach are maintained and monitored. The few times that weather conditions permitted access to the house reef, we continued maintenance of frames located at Maw’s Rock, Noah’s Rock, the Pyramids, and the Christmas trees.

At the channel site, our frames continue to be threatened by both algal overgrowth and seasonal sand movement. Recent storms have unfortunately impacted the health of some colonies of Pocillopora spp. at this site, as well as some fragments of Porites cylindrica. All frames have been cleaned, dead fragments replaced, and the site has been monitored. During this time, our apprentices not only learned how to snorkel and free dive, but also gained valuable experience in coral restoration and being a part of this ongoing project. By the end of the month, they had learned how to identify Porites cylindrica, collect fragments, and transplant them to frames independently.

Frame Relocation – Water Villas

We relocated all frames in the water villas to a deeper area without the overgrowth of wild Montipora digitata. At the previous location, the tops of the frames emerged at low tide, and Montipora digitata was beginning to encrust onto the legs of the frames and outcompete our transplanted corals. Relocating the frames to this new area also allows us to better showcase our work to guests as it is much easier to see the frames. We have also continued transplanting fragments of Montipora foliosa in amongst the Montipora digitata to increase the biodiversity of the rapidly expanding natural reef here.

At Landaa this month, we transplanted 23 new coral frames, kindly sponsored by guests (7), the Resort (16), and online (0), adding ~880 new coral fragments to the reef. Frames were planted at “Plankton”, a site located near Charlie’s Head, where they will be frequently seen by divers. We also monitored (cleaned, repaired, photographed) ~230 sponsored frames, mainly at our Dive Site and Whale Tail. A new project was also launched to place Four Seasons frames around the water villas, where they can be viewed directly from the villas.

To see the progress of your own frame, please visit our dedicated Four Seasons monitoring page where we upload new photos every 6 months or so.

Recycling & Retransplanting

Throughout August, we focused on recycling frames impacted by last year’s global mass bleaching event, removing frames with no live coral. This recovery effort maximizes coral survival by transplanting healthy fragments onto structurally sound frames. With support from our interns, apprentices, and Kuda Huraa colleagues, we made significant progress across several sites. By the end of August, 75 frames had been successfully recycled and restored, with more than 90% live coral cover. Additional small and medium frames within the Jetty area were also recycled.

Not all frames were equally affected by bleaching; we have observed that our deeper frames (10m+) retained many healthy corals. Of these, ~50% of the fragments were recycled, averaging 1,850 fragments retransplanted across the 75 frames. Fragments were sourced from opportunistic rescue corals (at risk of burial by seasonally shifting sands), and from sustainable coral gardening at The Manta, carefully trimming larger healthy colonies for low-impact.

Having finished three important patches, we will continue working on other sections of the house reef, with special attention to the Jetty area due to its visibility to guests. This focused strategy has allowed us to restore entire patches, so we plan to extend into other high-priority areas while monitoring survival and recovery of the transplanted fragments.

Water Villas – Stacking, Repopulation, Challenges

Our Reefscapers intern Libbie has been leading the Wave Villas Project to renew coral frames and relocate them to guest villas. She has trained a dedicated team of apprentices in the art of coral identification, fragmentation and retransplantation. The first task was to remove and stack any dead coral frames for collection. To transport frames to the Wave Villas, we dropped them from the main jetty, hauled in groups of six, transported by buggy, and re-deployed them into the lagoon close to individual villas. This unusual handling makes secure attachment essential, so we used pliers to tighten the ties to prevent the coral fragments from falling off during transit.

We prioritised resilient coral species that were seen to be thriving under similar conditions. This included opportunistically harvesting healthy fragments in the area, and collecting from The Elephant site (with similar environmental conditions). Special focus was given to the placement of species on the frames, to maximise survival based specific local conditions.

At Kuda Huraa this month, our coral experts transplanted 8 new frames, kindly sponsored by guests (6), the Resort (2), and online (0). In addition, we monitored and repopulated 41 growing coral frames.

To see the progress of your frame, please visit our dedicated Four Seasons monitoring page where we upload new photos every 6 months or so.

Reef Maintenance

This month, we conducted maintenance at three restoration sites around Kuda Huraa: the blue hole, the water villas, and house reef. Many thanks to our interns and apprentices for all their hard work, maintaining and monitoring the coral frames. Most efforts focused on accessible beach sites to ensure accurate mapping, maintenance, and monitoring. A total of four frames were recycled from two Junior Marine Saver activities and two school visits.

Since their relocation last month, and subsequent remapping, the water villa frames have shown significant improvement. Moving them to deeper water and away from the wild Montipora digitata patch has notably enhanced their health, particularly the paled/bleached fragments of Acropora muricata that have now regained their colour.

All eight new frames this month were outplanted at the blue hole site, where we also rearranged and remapped existing frames. The site is thriving, attracting diverse marine life including megafauna. Outplanting will continue to enhance this growing ecosystem.

Coral Predators

This month saw an increase in corallivorous gastropods, mainly concentrated in the Montipora digitata patch near the water villas. Higher numbers reflect increased monitoring efforts, with multiple focused removal dives. One crown-of-thorns starfish (pictured) was collected near the blue hole; none were found at water villas, blue hole or house reef.

At Landaa this month, we transplanted 10 new coral frames, kindly sponsored by guests (3), the Resort (7), and online (0), adding ~450 new coral fragments to the reef. Frames were planted at “Plankton”, a site located near Charlie’s Head, where they will be frequently seen by divers. We also monitored (cleaned, repaired, photographed) ~282 sponsored frames, mainly at our Coral Trail, Voavah, and Dive sites. A new project was also launched to place Four Seasons frames around the water villas, where they can be viewed directly from the villas.

To see the progress of your own frame, please visit our dedicated Four Seasons monitoring page where we upload new photos every 6 months or so.

Voavah Reef

All coral frames at Voavah were monitored this month in anticipation of guest arrivals and the return of sponsors. Not only are the coral frames thriving, but the surrounding house reef at Voavah is also very healthy. Following the 2024 mass bleaching event, such healthy gardens of Acropora are a very promising sign, as these corals may repopulate local reefs that are more degraded. A bay on the southern side of the island where 10 frames have been planted is particularly healthy and serves as a prime location for snorkelling/diving.

Recycling & Retransplanting

Maintenance efforts focused on removing coral frames that meet the criteria of >80% dead coral cover or are largely bare and/or degraded. Removing degraded frames improves the appearance of restoration sites and enables existing materials to be repurposed and recycled. Healthy colonies on severely degraded frames are removed and re-transplanted. Dead coral is hammered off, taking care not to expose the underlying metal rebar, which compromises the frame’s integrity. Preserving the coating makes the refurbishment process more efficient and helps extend the lifespan of the frames. Once cleaned and touched up, these repurposed frames can be deployed as new frames, a sustainable approach that reduces waste.

Focal sites for frame removal include the Water Villas, which endured ∼85% mortality during the 2024 bleaching event, and the House Reef. Following significant maintenance efforts, this month we collected 81 stacked coral frames in total from three key locations around Landaa Giraavaru:
– 22 frames from Al Barakat, 33 from the House Reef Dive Jetty, and 44 from the Water Villas area.
An additional 22 frames at the Water Villas site are still awaiting collection. We hope to continue this project for the following months, increasing stacking efforts and aiming for 200–300 frames in the next few months.

Additional focus has been on re-fragmenting viable frames with resilient shallow-water species. Acropora aspera and Porites cylindrica have been collected and brought to the villas for transplantation. Fragments from these species attached six weeks ago are already showing promising signs of calcification (growing over the cable tie and encrusting on the frame).
Most common species rescued from sand and older frames to maximise the use of local coral: Pocillopora damicornis, P. meandrina, P. verrucosa.
Predator management was also carried out, with over 100 Drupella snails (corallivores) removed from colonies around the villas.

Water Villas – Recycling Project

Our Reefscapers-JCU intern, Libbie, has continued to lead the Water Villas recycling and re-fragmentation project. Between Villas 301–309, a total of 42 degraded frames have been removed and transported to the Staff Jetty for collection and recycling, with a further 30 frames in this area scheduled to be recycled. New sponsored frames have been planted in this cleared area.
Work has now begun around Villas 401–409, where approximately 70 frames will be prepared for collection and recycling once this section of the Water Villas is complete.

Research Publication

This month, Reefscapers’ research paper on coral spawning was published in Frontiers of Marine Science: “Multi-specific coral spawning and monsoonal transitions: assemblage-level observations from Baa Atoll, Maldives” — Errington, Moody & Le Berre, 2025. The findings serve as a key baseline for reef managers, researchers, and restoration practitioners utilising sexual reproduction for large-scale reef restoration.

Our study documents the exact spawning times of 375 colonies of 28 species between February 2024 and April 2025. It revealed two peak annual spawning seasons: in March/April and from October to December, coinciding with transitions in the monsoon season. Larger spawning events in a given month were significantly correlated with lower wind speeds, higher sea surface temperatures, and increased solar insolation, highlighting the influence of environmental conditions.

At Kuda Huraa this month, our coral experts transplanted 4 new frames, kindly sponsored by guests (3), the Resort (1), and online (0). In addition, we monitored and repopulated 55 growing coral frames.

To see the progress of your frame, please visit our dedicated Four Seasons monitoring page where we upload new photos every 6 months or so.

Reef Maintenance

This month, we maintained the coral frames at all four restoration sites around Kuda Huraa: the Blue Hole, the Water Villas, the Channel, and the House Reef. Improved weather conditions and greater whaler access allowed us to visit the House Reef more frequently than last month. During these visits, we monitored guest frames and checked coral colonies for mature gametes, in preparation for the upcoming coral spawning season in early October. At this site, we observed pale eggs in several Acropora colonies.

A total of two frames were recycled during Junior Marine Savers activities. To celebrate PADI-Aware week, we built a small coral frame with members of staff from multiple departments. We delivered a short fifteen-minute presentation on coral reefs and our restoration and rehabilitation work before heading to ‘secret beach’ to build the frame. It was great to talk to fellow members of the Four Seasons family about our role around the island and answer their questions!

Coral Predators – This month, we observed a rise in corallivorous starfish but a decline in corallivorous gastropods. A total of 7 Corallivorous Starfish and 72 Drupella snails were removed from our sites. 

Frame Remapping & Repopulation

The 8 pre-existing flat coral frames in the Blue Hole that had died during the bleaching event last year were repopulated this month, using fragments of Pocillopora that have been thriving at this site. We also relocated the flat frames away from the centre of the Blue Hole, where sediment tends to settle. We outplanted five new frames (two guest and three recycled) to the Blue Hole to enhance the already thriving ecosystem. We have already seen encouraging megafauna activity at this site throughout the month, including a juvenile nurse shark, a hawksbill sea turtle, eagle rays, and many blacktip reef sharks.

Frame Relocation & Coral Maintenance

After the successful relocation of most Water Villa frames to a deeper area with less wild Montipora digitata, we moved most of the remaining at-risk frames to the same deeper area. All Water Villa frames have now been monitored, and the site is performing well. We will continue to closely monitor the Montipora digitata overgrowth and to outplant fragments of M. foliosa.

At Landaa this month, we transplanted 25 new coral frames, kindly sponsored by guests (7), the Resort (17), and online (1), adding ~1000+ new coral fragments to the reef. Frames were planted at our “Plankton” site (to be seen by divers) and around the Water Villas (for guest interest). We also monitored (cleaned, repaired, photographed) ~160 coral frames, mainly at our Bissie’s Reef site.

To see the progress of your own frame, please visit our dedicated Four Seasons monitoring page where we upload new photos every 6 months or so.

Coral Predators

To date, over 1,000 Drupella snails have been removed from the House Reef and Water Villas, and they are now becoming increasingly difficult to find – an encouraging sign that ongoing maintenance efforts are working. The most frequently observed species, Drupella cornus, is also regarded as the most destructive of the genus, known for rapidly consuming live coral tissue and often nesting in large aggregations.
Thanks to our intern Libbie, we have developed a shell-cleaning and recycling system to ensure nothing from the removal process goes to waste. Collected shells are naturally cleaned using ants before being redistributed, some to nearby vegetation for land crabs, others returned to the sea for marine hermit crabs. And thanks to our intern Molly, selected shells are also being prepared as coral spawning settlement tiles, potentially offering a sustainable and cost-effective alternative to ceramic plugs.

Sea Wall Corals

The coral recruits on the sea wall are continuing to thrive, showing healthy growth and vibrant coloration. We observed this month that a large proportion of the corals on the sea wall are approximately the same size, indicating that the recruitment of these corals most likely came from a single event. It’s encouraging to see these young corals adapting well to their environment – a positive sign that our restoration efforts are helping to create suitable habitats even in modified reef areas.

Water Villas – Recycling Project

Our Reefscapers intern Libbie has continued to lead the Water Villas Coral Frame Recycling and Re-fragmentation Project, maintaining steady progress across the site despite periods of poor weather. Villas 301–309 are now fully completed, with 108 frames re-fragmented and 80 degraded frames recycled. Of these, 42 frames have been transported to the Staff Jetty for collection and recoating, while 38 remain stacked underwater awaiting transport. Work has also advanced between Villas 401–409, where 18 frames have already been cleared and stacked, with an estimated 100 further frames to be prepared in the coming weeks. Viable coral fragments from degraded frames continue to be carefully relocated to healthier structures for re-fragmentation, ensuring minimal coral loss and maximizing restoration success.

As Libbie’s placement at Landaa Giraavaru comes to an end, she is preparing a detailed handover guide for our Reefscapers coral biology team to ensure smooth project continuity. The remaining restoration work at the Water Villas will be passed on to the next incoming JCU Master of Marine Biology intern, who will continue frame recycling and monitoring in collaboration with the Reefscapers team. Libbie’s efforts over the past months have greatly contributed to the long-term restoration goals of the site, strengthening both coral health and operational efficiency across the program.

Coral Spawning – October Full Moon

This month, we expanded our team to 7 divers, with everyone eager to witness coral spawning for themselves! Both freedivers and scuba divers covered different parts of the reef and were able to capture as much spawning activity as possible. During these night dives, we were thrilled to witness several coral genera releasing their gametes into the water column, including: Acropora, Galaxea, Goniastrea, Astraea.

Gamete Checks for November Spawning

In preparation for next month, our team has been heading out to the reef to check which colonies and species are gravid (ready to spawn). This involves freediving down to selected colonies, carefully taking a small branch from near the centre, and examining it for the presence of oocytes (developing eggs). These early checks help us understand which species are readying to spawn and allow us to plan our monitoring dives accordingly.
When gametogenesis first starts, the eggs are white; as the time gets closer to spawning, the eggs mature and become pale pink, slowly turning dark pink/red just before spawning!

Spawning Device (staff beach)

During October, we have been busy restoring and refining our coral spawning device in preparation for the upcoming spawning events. The device is designed with a square base and conical sides that slope inward toward the centre, guiding gametes to float up through a central tube. Inside, the gametes fertilise and develop for around 3-5 days before drifting back down into the surrounding reef environment, where they can naturally settle and grow.
In previous years, the conical shape of the structure was maintained using floating buoys. This season, we’ve improved the design by constructing a rectangular frame with the middle section sitting about one metre higher than the corners. This modification creates a more stable and efficient setup, helping the device capture and retain gametes more effectively while withstanding currents and wave action.
Alongside the structural improvements, we carried out essential maintenance and site preparation. Two damaged concrete anchor blocks were replaced to secure the device firmly in position. We also removed old, dead frames and non-viable coral colonies, making space for new growth. Finally, gravid (egg-bearing) colonies were carefully attached beneath the tent structure, ready to release their gametes and kick-start the next generation of coral life on the reef.

November Spawning Plan Settlement Preparation

During the November spawning events, we hope to collect Acropora tenuis gametes for rearing ex-situ in our Fish Lab tanks to monitor settlement and early development. A range of settlement substrates have been collected, including ceramic tiles, coral plugs, and (experimentally) Drupella shells (which offer a calcium carbonate surface that mimics the natural reef environment to encourage larval attachment).
Within the tanks, environmental conditions such as light intensity, temperature, and salinity will be carefully monitored and adjusted to maintain optimal conditions for coral larval settlement. These controlled setups allow us to better understand the preferred settlement cues of A. tenuis and improve future restoration and larval propagation efforts.
A collection of resident herbivores will help to reduce the spread of biofilm and algae within the tanks. We have identified a few herbivores that could be useful, including : bubble snails (Bulla vernicosa), sea hares (Dolabella auricularia), urchins (Echinometra mathaei), and Trochus (Trochus maculatus).

At Kuda Huraa this month, our coral experts transplanted 6 new frames, kindly sponsored by guests (4), the Resort (0), online (0), and recycled (2). In addition, we monitored and repopulated 55 growing coral frames, and monitored a total of 61 frames.

To see the progress of your frame, please visit our dedicated Four Seasons monitoring page where we upload new photos every 6 months or so.

Reef Maintenance

This month, we performed maintenance tasks across all four restoration sites around Kuda Huraa. Some rough weather prevented access to the House Reef for our maintenance and monitoring tasks, as well as scheduled spawn-monitoring dives. When conditions allowed, we deployed our temperature loggers on the reef, and performed gravid checks. Additionally, two frames were recycled during two Junior Marine Savers activities.

The Channel Repopulation

The fragments of Porites cylindrica at our Channel site continue to be threatened by algal overgrowth and sediment movement. Many fragments from recent repopulation efforts have died or remain unattached to the frame. This month, huge effort has been taken to improve the overall appearance of the channel restoration site. All active guest frames have been monitored, and many previously buried frames have been lifted out of the sediment and relocated. For frames that proved difficult to remove, we repopulated these with large Porites cylindrica colonies or Montipora digitata fragments. We hope that the fast growth rate of Montipora digitata will quickly improve the appearance of these frames.

The Channel Species-specific Experimental Frames

Since Porites cylindrica is not thriving at our Channel site, we initiated trials with alternative species to see which would be more suitable for frame repopulation. We repopulated four experimental frames with three species: Pocillopora verrucosa, Pocillopora damicornis, Montipora foliosa.

P.verrucosa – has demonstrated high resistance to bleaching, and several large, thriving colonies exist on our Channel coral frames. Across the Vaboh Huraa reef break, there are also many wild P. verrucosa colonies. We used fragments from both the resident channel colonies and Vaboh Huraa reef break colonies to build two experimental frames in the Channel. Surprisingly, only the Vaboh Huraa fragments have survived, while the channel-site fragments died. These surviving fragments are, however, exhibiting heavy algal overgrowth, so we will monitor that frame closely.

P.damicornis – At the channel site, there are several wild colonies of this species, as well as a few thriving colonies on our coral frames. Therefore, we created an experimental frame using fragments from these existing mature colonies. Unfortunately, these fragments did not fare well, bleaching quickly after placement and subsequently dying.

Montipora foliosa – an incredibly fast growing and beautiful species. Although not naturally occurring in the channel restoration site, it would be an incredible addition. So far, the experimental M.foliosa frame has shown no signs of bleaching. We will monitor this frame closely and hope that the fragments attach in the coming months.

Coral Predators

This month, our team conducted an increased number of cull dives targeting corallivorous organisms across our restoration sites. At the Water Villas, a total of 746 Drupella spp. were collected this month, marking a significant rise compared to September. Among other coral predators at this location, Coralliophila erosa was the most abundant species, with 25 individuals recorded, followed by Drupella cornus and Coralliophila costularis. During the night dives for coral spawning and morning maintenance dives at the House Reef, three cushion starfish (Culcita schmideliana) of small to medium sizes were removed.

Coral Reproduction Programme

This October’s full moon marked the beginning of the second annual spawning window. We carried out gamete checks on several species of Acropora prior to the full moon, but only found white immature oocytes. Due to poor weather in the early evenings, we were unable to perform all our scheduled night dives on the House Reef, and no spawning was observed.
Subsequently, we have located pigmented oocytes in multiple Acropora colonies, along with further white and pale-pigmented oocytes. We are hopeful that the November spawning window will allow us to continue our observations, witness spawning in action, and collect data from any spawning colonies.

Photos below – coral eggs at different stages of maturity (pigmentation increases before spawning).

At Landaa this month, we transplanted 23 new coral frames, adding ~1000+ new coral fragments to the reef. New guest frames were outplanted at our “Plankton” site (to be seen by divers) and new Resort frames located at the Water Villas (for guest interest). We also monitored (cleaned, repaired, photographed) ~159 coral frames, mainly at our Bissie’s Reef site.

To see the progress of your own frame, please visit our dedicated Four Seasons monitoring page where we upload new photos every 6 months or so.

Coral Cookies … Small wins !

Back in November 2023, gametes were collected during a coral spawning event and settled within our Fish Lab coral tanks. In November 2024, the coral team outplanted them back on to the reef on cement ‘cookies’. This November 2025 celebrates 2 years of growth and 1 year back on the reef! (photos, above).

Coral Spawning

During the November full moon, a multi-species mass coral spawning event was observed around Landaa, marking a significant ecological milestone for the local reef system. Our team documented the spawning of branching Acropora species alongside several massive and encrusting coral species, highlighting the broad participation across different coral growth forms. Notably, for the first time in two years, spawning activity was sufficiently intense across two separate nights to generate a visible surface ‘slick’ (concentrated layer of eggs and sperm on the water’s surface). The formation of this slick is a strong indicator of successful synchronized spawning and overall reef reproductive health.

This event was particularly encouraging given that the previous year coincided with a strong El Niño, during which elevated sea surface temperatures and associated stressors likely contributed to a substantial reduction in both the abundance and synchrony of spawning corals. In contrast, the robust spawning observed this year suggests a positive trajectory toward recovery and resilience within the reef ecosystem.

This month marked the second November in which our teams have successfully collected data surrounding spawning patterns of massive and encrusting corals, uncovering annual spawning trends. By tracking coral spawning annually, our coral restoration project is able to get better insight into overall coral reef ecosystem health and spot any deviation from the norm.

Coral Settlement – We were excited to successfully introduce 3,500 coral juveniles into our Fish Lab tanks.

Throughout both the November full moon and new moon periods, our team carried out intensive in-water monitoring to document precise coral spawning times. This involved entering the water for one-hour observation sessions at 2 different times during each evening, allowing us to accurately track the onset and progression of spawning activity. We strategically deployed specially designed spawning nets over coral colonies that had been identified as likely to spawn during this lunar cycle. Once spawning began, the buoyant gametes (eggs and sperm) were released and naturally rose upwards, where they were guided into collection bottles positioned at the top of each net. This method effectively protected the gametes from predation while ensuring clean and efficient collection.

We were delighted to be joined by the Manta Trust team during the November spawning event. While data collection and research remained our top priorities, this unique and highly anticipated spawning also provided an invaluable opportunity to showcase this remarkable natural phenomenon to fellow marine conservationists. By witnessing coral spawning firsthand, they were able to deepen their understanding of reef reproductive processes, fostering greater appreciation and passion for coral reef conservation.

At Kuda Huraa this month, our coral experts transplanted 3 new frames, and monitored and repopulated 124 growing coral frames.

To see the progress of your frame, please visit our dedicated Four Seasons monitoring page where we upload new photos every 6 months or so.

Reef Maintenance

This month has been highly productive for our coral team. We completed maintenance across all four restoration sites, and thanks to favourable weather, we dedicated much of our effort to House Reef. We witnessed and documented spawning in five different Acropora species and monitored 75% of Noah’s Rock. In addition, we carried out cull dives and maintenance at the water-villa reefs, refreshed the Blue Hole, and are preparing the channel restoration site ahead of the upcoming festive season. Overall, it’s been a strong month of progress across all our reef sites.

Noah’s Rock Maintenance – The coral frames are thriving and it has been a joy to see this significant growth when taking monitoring photos. Over the past month, we focused on monitoring and maintenance at this site: lifting frames, brushing off sediment, replacing dead fragments, and removing any algae. We’ve now monitored well over half of the frames and plan to have the entire site monitored by early next month.

Maw’s Rock Maintenance – We hammered away any dead corals and cleaned the frames thoroughly to remove persistent green algae and sponge. Since this site is one of our main spawning areas, regular upkeep is essential. We aim to keep these frames clean so that the thermally tolerant corals that survived the bleaching have the best chance to pass on their heat-resistant genes during spawning events.

Species-Specific Channel Experimental Frames – We have been monitoring these frames closely. Unfortunately, the Montipora foliosa experimental frame rapidly bleached and succumbed to algal overgrowth. For the frame repopulated with fragments of Pocillopora verrucosa from the Vaboh Huraa reef crest, most fragments died but a few remain alive, and we will continue to monitor them closely.

Removal of Degraded Frames – Thanks to the recreation team’s support, we removed more than 20 old degraded frames from the channel restoration site. Several of these frames have already been cleaned and can now be reused as recycled frames for our education & awareness activities. Refurbishing frames in this way reduces waste and maximises resources.

Ongoing Sand Pumping Activities – Throughout November, we have noticed large amounts of sediment suspended in the water column at our House Reef, creating poor visibility. The Hulhumale Phase III “Sand Borrowing” project began at the beginning of the month and will continue until April 2026. This Maldives Government project will require 4 million cbm of sand for land reclamation and shore protection.
Dredging can be catastrophic for coral health, as sand pumping dramatically increases water turbidity, limiting sunlight and impairing the photosynthesis of zooxanthellae – a process that coral needs to survive. This displaced sediment then settles onto the sea floor which can smother and bury corals. With over 1,100 coral frames situated on our house reef, this is potentially bad news for our restoration project. Indeed, the sand has also already started settling on our coral frames, so we are closely monitoring our frames to document any impacts, while doing everything we can to mitigate the damage.

Coral Predators

Corallivorous organisms feed on live coral tissue that can significantly weaken colonies, slow their recovery, and increase the vulnerability of stressed reefs. Regular removals are therefore essential to protect our restoration sites. During our cull dives and routine maintenance at our restoration sites this month, a total of 194 corallivorous organisms were collected. Drupella spp. represented the majority, with 163 of the snails removed primarily from the Water Villas.  Seven medium/large-sized Acanthaster planci (crown-of-thorns starfish) were removed, mainly from the House Reef site, with a few found around the island. Additionally, seven Culcita schmideliana (cushion starfish) were removed from the House Reef site, and five Coralliophila erosa snails were collected from the Water Villas.

At Landaa this month, we transplanted 22 new coral frames, adding ~1400+ new coral fragments to the reef. New guest frames were outplanted mainly at our “Coral Trail” and “Jetty” sites for guest snorkelling. We also monitored (cleaned, repaired, photographed) ~160 coral frames.

We have started relocating natural coral colonies that are starting to get buried in the shifting sand by Al Barakat to coral frames to increase their chance of survival. The frames give the corals increased height and reduces the risk of being smothered by sand. These frames are being outplanted on the Coral Trail.

To see the progress of your own frame, please visit our dedicated Four Seasons monitoring page where we upload new photos every 6 months or so.

Xmas Day Frame

To mark the festive season, we constructed a special Parrot frame on Christmas Day with the help of guests and the Landaa Dive Team. We began prepping the frame on Christmas Eve by placing the cable ties to mark each fragment location. The frame was then moved to its new home on the House Reef (6m deep) by 2 of our Reefscapers team who chose to freedive.
13 guests joined our 45-minute dive on Christmas Day, led by 4 of our team plus 3 Dive colleagues. The Parrot frame added 176 fragments of coral to Landaa’s reef and will be frequently seen by divers, located alongside the wedding arch and our other Xmas frames from previous years.

Coral Spawning

December Full Moon period – we were excited to witness a multi-species coral spawning event around Landaa, marking a significant ecological milestone for the local reef system. Our team documented the spawning of several massive, encrusting and branching coral species, highlighting the broad participation across various coral morphologies and the understanding of their specific spawning times. In total, we observed 48 different coral colonies (8 species, 7 genera) with some split-spawning over multiple days. The species most frequently observed spawning was Montipora monasteriata.

Most of the spawning coral species that we observed were wild colonies of massive and encrusting species, along with 3 colonies of branching Acropora spawning on our Reefscapers coral frames. Following 2024’s mass bleaching event, the spawning data collected by our team this year provides hope for coral reefs’ increasing resilience and ability to recover from rising ocean sea temperatures. The synchronised spawning of colonies from different species provides robust data for what to expect in the following years in terms of coral spawning and changing climates.

Back in November, we had witnessed a colony of Lobophyllia spawn for the first time, during one of our sunset monitoring jumps. This month, our luck continued as we were able to record 4 spawning colonies of Lobophyllia, providing vital new information on the spawning patterns of this species.

Annual Spawning Trends

This month marked the third consecutive December that Reefscapers has collected coral spawning data from massive, encrusting and branching corals, uncovering annual spawning trends. By tracking coral spawning annually, our coral restoration project is able to gain better insights into overall coral reef health and reproduction patterns. A greater diversity of coral species were observed spawning this season, but some of the massive colonies observed spawning this year were repeat spawners from 2024, which indicates improved reproductive health since the 2024 bleaching event.

Coral Settlement

In November, we successfully settled Acropora tenuis larvae in our Fish Lab tanks. This month, we are pleased to report that the coral juveniles have been growing extremely well! Their tentacles are now visible with the naked eye, and polyps that were separated are fusing, starting to form colonies. The colour of the polyps provided by the Zooxanthellae algae indicates that the polyps are now self-sufficient, as the algae provides ~90% of the corals’ nutrients!

We feed each tank 80ml of blended brine shrimp daily. After the polyps established themselves on the various substrates, we introduced a fragment of Acropora tenuis to each tank to allow the Zooxanthellae to colonise the new recruits. The algae provide the coral polyps with their colour.

Some recruits have started the asexual reproduction process of budding, where the initial singular polyp grows more polyps genetically identical to the first one, forming the start of a juvenile coral colony. The polyps that settled on empty Drupella snail shells have been growing faster. We also introduced different herbivores (sea hares, sea urchins, bubble snails) into the coral tanks to observe the effects on algal growth (and subsequently coral growth).

At Kuda Huraa this month, our coral experts transplanted 5 new frames, and monitored and repopulated 124 growing coral frames.

To see the progress of your frame, please visit our dedicated Four Seasons monitoring page where we upload new photos every 6 months or so.

We celebrated the festive season by building two special coral frames. On Christmas Eve morning, we constructed our disco ball coral frame with the help of many in-house guests.
We are truly grateful to everyone who helped build the frame and support our mission to restore the reefs around Kuda Huraa. The frame is populated with 84 fragments of Acropora digitifera, A. humilis, A. gemmifera, and Pocillopora verrucosa. These species feature digitate and upright branching growth forms that we hope will grow well on the frame and accentuate its spherical shape as they develop.

With help from the dive centre, we built a Christmas tree coral frame and offered guests the unique experience to scuba dive and decorate it with coral fragments while underwater. This frame was populated with coral fragments (A. muricata, P. verrucosa) and placed at the Pyramids site on the House Reef, along with the Christmas tree frames from previous years. This site is regularly visited by the dive centre, and we hope this frame will flourish and be a lovely feature for guests to enjoy during their dives.

Reef Maintenance

This month we completed maintenance at all four of our restoration sites. With the recent shift in wind direction, access to the House Reef has significantly improved, as the island now provides greater shelter from the wind on the sunset side. We witnessed and documented spawning in Acropora tenuis. At the Water Villas site we continued culling corallivorous organisms, while at the Blue Hole we lifted frames, and cleaned frames at the Channel restoration site. We also celebrated the festive period by building this year’s festive coral frame and Christmas tree frame.

Noah’s Rock Maintenance – Over the past month, the house reef restoration site has seen significant progress. Noah’s Rock is now fully maintained and monitored, with all frames updated with current monitoring photos. Due to ongoing sand pumping around the island, sediment accumulation on frames has increased dramatically and many frames at this site require fortnightly lifting to prevent burial.

Maw’s Rock Maintenance – Following the completion of monitoring at Noah’s Rock, we shifted our efforts to Maw’s Rock, where we have made good progress. A total of 70 frames at this site have been repopulated and monitored. Additionally, approximately 20 frames have been hammered and cleared of dead coral. Once repopulation and monitoring are finished, we will proceed with remapping and retagging these frames.

Pyramid Frames – Like the frames at Noah’s rock, the frames at the pyramid site on House Reef are also prone to burial from sediment. We lifted all these frames and have started repopulating this site too. We will remap this site post-repopulation.

Coral Predators

Corallivorous organisms continue to exert considerable pressure on coral health by feeding directly on live tissue, thereby weakening colonies and slowing reef recovery. We’ve ramped up our monitoring and removal efforts across all our restoration sites, and also the surrounding reefs, resulting in the collection of 2,100 coral predators. Two targeted cull dives were conducted at the Water Villas site in response to high densities of Drupella snails. Additional removals were made during routine monitoring and maintenance dives, as well as during coral spawning night dives in other restoration sites.

The assemblage being dominated by Drupella spp. indicates sustained predation-pressure on restored corals. Other corallivores recorded this month included six Drupella cornus, eight Coralliophila erosa, and eight Coralliophila costularis from the House Reef and Water Villas sites. Additionally, one Culcita schmideliana (cushion starfish) was removed from the House Reef, and one Acanthaster planci (crown-of-thorns starfish) was collected from the Back Jetty area, reinforcing the need for continued and proactive coral predator management.

Coral Spawning

Across both the December full-moon and new-moon periods, we clocked up a total of 24hrs of coral spawning monitoring. Our team completed 15 night-dives, with spawning recorded in 17 coral colonies, representing 2 different Acropora species over three different nights. Based on gravid checks, we inferred that two colonies of Acropora spp had spawned (though actual numbers were likely higher).