Coral Reef Propagation Projects

During the month of August, a total of eight coral frames were transplanted and deployed in the waters around the island of Kuda Huraa, bringing our yearly total to 168 and our overall total to over 1,400 frames.

At Landaa Giraavaru, 36 new frames were transplanted in August, and we now have a total of 2,274 frames in our lagoon around the island. We also monitored (repaired, cleaned and photographed) a total of 388 frames this month, and we are trialling new techniques for attaching the ID tags.

We have also started to form a new coral frame structure in the shape of a shark. Located by the Sea Bar, the contour outline will use approximately 70 frames, and we are testing the suitability of the area with an initial installation of 6 frames.

GPS map showing all our Reefscapers coral frames, in the lagoon surrounding Landaa Giraavaru

The “Coral Gardens” at Kuda Huraa has an excellent natural reef and abundant marine life. One type of fish of interest is the various species of Butterflyfish, many of which are “obligate coralivores”, meaning they feed on the living coral tissue. If the reef is healthy, then it can easily tolerate the constant grazing and support large numbers of Butterflyfish. But if the corals are stressed due to environmental conditions (pollution, warmer oceanic temperatures) then the corals become less nutritious and so the Butterflyfish move to healthier reefs or die off.