Four Seasons Team Diaries: May 2026

At Landaa this month, we transplanted 22 new coral frames, kindly sponsored by guests (2), the Resort (18), and online (2), adding 875 new coral fragments to the reef. New frames were outplanted mainly at our House Reef Dive Site and under the guest water villas. We also monitored (cleaned, repaired, photographed) a modest total of 60 coral frames.

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 Frames

The Coral Team and Apprentices spent a lot of time at Voavah this month, doing both in-water and out-of-water projects. We recycled 20 large frames in the water over two days, with the help of scuba divers and free divers. On land, we constructed 37 large frames across multiple days with around 10 team members helping each day. The water team collected 4,000 coral fragments by scuba and free diving to complete the task!

Staff Reef Update

Our Staff Reef received 6 frames this month, making a total of 14 frames at the Landaa Reef Garden (10 Staff Reef Frames, 2 Staff Transfer Frames, 2 Special Frames – Earth Day and Apprentice Frame). The new frames were planted to the left side of the Wedding Pavilion as more light is available. The existing frames that had been placed underneath the Wedding Pavilion were relocated closer to the seawall as they were becoming covered by macroalgae. The corals on the older frames are mostly growing well, with fragments successfully calcifying around the cable ties and to the bar, with some corals starting to fuse with other fragments. All the frames were scrubbed and new fragments were attached to replace any mortality.

Coral Spawning

We observed 51 coral colonies spawning during the May Full Moon period. We had already conducted a gamete check dive prior to spawning, and found maturing pigmented eggs in several Acropora species. We started jumped for spawning checks across 8 nights. Scuba diving checks were carried out for the Acropora spawning as most of House Reef’s is deeper than 5m. Switching to freediving to check for massive growth forms in the shallows, we recorded spawning in : Astreopora, Montipora, Goniastrea, Galaxea, Cyphastrea.

At Kuda Huraa this month, our coral experts transplanted 6 new frames, and monitored and repopulated 114 growing coral frames, across all our coral restoration sites around the island. As sea surface temperatures remained at levels detrimental to coral health, bleaching at our shallow-water sites continued to intensify. In response, much of our effort was directed toward mitigating these impacts and closely monitoring any bleaching progression. To help reduce stress on corals at the Blue Hole Restoration Site, shading structures were introduced to minimise UV radiation exposure.

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

Predator removal efforts continued throughout the month as part of our ongoing strategy to reduce corallivore pressure on both natural and restored reef habitats. Through three dedicated cull dives, supplemented by collections made during routine monitoring and maintenance activities, a total of 710 coral predators were removed from restoration sites around the island. Predatory starfish accounted for seven individuals, comprising three crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster planci) from the House Reef and four cushion stars (Culcita schmideliana) around Reef Wall and Noah’s Rock.

Corallivorous snails represented the vast majority of removals, with 703 individuals collected during the month. Drupella snails remained the most abundant predator, with 689 individuals recorded across the Water Villas, House Reef, and Channel sites. Identified species included five Drupella cornus, seven Coralliophila erosa, and two Coralliophila violacea. While overall predator abundance was lower than in previous months, the continued presence of these coral-feeding species highlights the importance of sustained surveillance and targeted removals to minimise impacts on coral recovery and restoration success.

Coral Bleaching

Coral bleaching and paling persisted throughout May, and unfortunately we observed intensified bleaching across several of our restoration sites. The Blue Hole remained the most heavily impacted site, while the shallower side of Noah’s Rock also showed concerning levels of coral bleaching. We continued our bleaching monitoring study across three restoration sites, with shallow-water sites remaining the most affected. However, bleaching was also recorded at depths greater than 6m this month, indicating the widespread extent of thermal stress. At the Blue Hole, we introduced shading structures made from PVC piping and tarpaulin in an effort to reduce UV exposure. The use of shading has been shown to help mitigate coral bleaching and we will continue to monitor these structures to assess their effectiveness at reducing coral bleaching at the site.

Bleaching Batifaru – Significant bleaching and coral fluorescence (a stress indicator) were also observed at a nearby snorkelling excursion site, Batifaru. This location is known for a high abundance and diversity of hard corals and has historically shown some resilience to previous bleaching events. However, during this year’s period of elevated sea surface temperatures, a substantial proportion of corals across the shallow reef crest seem to have been impacted, but we hope they will start to recover with the onset of the SW monsoon rains and cooler weather.

Coral Reproduction Programme

Species of Acropora and Galaxea were observed spawning during May. We conducted night dives across both the full moon and new moon periods, completing a total of 24 night dives. Spawning activity was documented in 25 colonies during six different nights, with some colonies exhibiting split spawning across two or more nights.