Coral restoration in the Maldives: what works, how to help
Coral nurseries, frames and baby corals raised from spawn: how reef restoration works in the Maldives, what the evidence shows, and how visitors can help.
By Dhiffushi Island Council8 min readUpdated
Coral restoration in the Maldives means helping damaged reefs recover, mostly by growing coral pieces in nurseries and replanting them, and more recently by raising baby corals from spawn. It can help in small places, but scientists agree it cannot replace healthy reefs or action on warming seas. The most useful thing a visitor can do is simple: keep off the coral, take nothing, and choose reef-friendly trips.
Why the Maldives needs reef restoration
The Maldives is built on coral. Reefs made the islands and the sand, and they also break ocean swell, feed island families and support tourism. Our guide to coral reefs of the Maldives explains how they work.
The main threat is heat. When the sea stays too warm for too long, corals bleach and many die. Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, working with the Maldives Marine Research Institute (MMRI), lists major bleaching in 1998, 2016, 2017 and 2020, with smaller events in 2022 and 2023, and mass bleaching was reported again during the global event of 2024. Local pressures add to this: dredging and building on reefs, sediment, anchors, and careless feet and fins. Big land projects are covered in our guide to land reclamation in the Maldives.
Reefs can recover on their own if they get enough quiet years between heat waves. Restoration tries to help where recovery is slow.
Who leads restoration work
The national programme
MMRI is the government body responsible for monitoring the country’s reefs. It has run the National Coral Reef Monitoring Programme since 1998, and in 2019 the government set up the National Coral Reef Restoration and Rehabilitation Programme, hosted by MMRI, to plan a nationwide response to reef decline (as reported by the International Coral Reef Initiative).
MMRI’s base is on Maniyafushi, a small island in South Malé Atoll within Kaafu, and much of the newer work happens there.
Research partners
- CSIRO (Australia). Since 2020 CSIRO has worked with MMRI on larval restoration, which had not been tried on Maldivian reefs before. Training began online and moved to field and lab sessions on Omadhoo, with participants from government, consulting, tourism and education. CSIRO and MMRI also published free standard operating procedures for larval-based restoration of Maldivian reefs.
- Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS). AIMS supplied ReefSeed, a portable coral-rearing system in a shipping container. According to the Ministry of Fisheries and Ocean Resources, as reported by PSM and MMTV in March 2025, it is a three-year programme funded by a USD 1.5 million G20 grant, able to raise up to 100,000 young corals at a time, with five young Maldivians trained by AIMS.
- University of Milano-Bicocca. Its MaRHE research centre on Magoodhoo in Faafu Atoll has worked in the Maldives since 2009, studying rope nurseries and running hands-on restoration workshops. The university has also agreed with the government to list the techniques in use and help draft national guidelines.
Many resorts also run coral projects on their own house reefs. They vary widely in scale and in how well they are monitored.
The main methods
Coral gardening (nurseries)
This is the most common approach worldwide and in the Maldives. Small fragments, often broken pieces that would otherwise die, are tied to ropes or set on tables in a calm spot. Once they have grown, they are moved onto a damaged reef.
- Rope nurseries hang in mid-water, away from sand and grazing animals.
- Table nurseries sit just above the sea floor.
- Fast-growing branching corals are used most, because they show results quickly.
Coral frames
Metal frames are planted with fragments and set on sand or rubble, giving coral a stable base off the bottom. They are easy to see and photograph, which makes them a common “adopt a coral” offer.
Direct transplantation and relocation
Healthy pieces are moved straight from one reef to another, without a nursery stage. In the Maldives, corals are also relocated from areas about to be dredged or built on. The former Environmental Protection Agency issued a guideline on choosing recipient sites, which stresses matching conditions (depth, light, current) to the place the coral came from.
Larval restoration
Corals reproduce in mass spawning events, which in the Maldives peak in March–April and again towards the end of the year, according to MMRI. Researchers catch the spawn in nets, rear the larvae in tanks, and settle them on small tiles or seeding devices that are wedged into the reef. AIMS reported that, after the April 2025 spawning, the MMRI team reared more than three million larvae from four coral species and placed more than 10,000 young corals on 720 devices at nine reef sites. These are output figures; long-term survival results have not yet been published.
The appeal is scale: one spawning produces millions of larvae, and the young corals are genetically varied rather than clones.
What the science says about effectiveness
The best overview is a 2020 systematic review in the journal *PLOS ONE* (Boström-Einarsson and colleagues), which looked at restoration projects around the world. Its findings are a useful reality check:
| Finding | What the review reported |
|---|---|
| Average survival of restored corals | about 66% |
| Typical size of a restored area | median of 100 m² |
| Typical monitoring period | median of 12 months; about 60% of projects under 18 months |
| Larval methods | rare, about 1% of studies |
In plain terms:
- Corals can survive and grow. On average, two in three replanted corals were alive at the last check.
- Areas are tiny. A typical project is about 10 metres by 10 metres.
- Follow-up is short, so little is known about whether restored patches survive the next heat wave.
- Goals are often vague. Many projects lacked clear aims and consistent monitoring.
The review is clear that restoration is not a substitute for cutting greenhouse gas emissions. A nursery can save corals locally, but if the sea heats again, replanted corals bleach like any others.
Restoration helps most with clear, local goals: repairing a damaged patch, keeping coral alive through hard years and training people. MMRI has said it wants to move from small, scattered projects to methods that can work at a larger scale, which is why larval work is getting attention.
How visitors can help
Protect the reef you swim on
The biggest gift a visitor can give is to avoid damage in the first place. A broken colony can take years to regrow.
- Never stand on, kneel on or hold coral, even if it looks dead. Rest on sand or float on your back.
- Wear a snorkel vest if you are not a confident swimmer, so you never need to touch the reef.
- Keep fins high and away from the bottom, especially at low tide.
- Do not feed fish or touch marine life.
- Take nothing: no coral, shells or “dead” coral pieces. Many marine products need a permit to leave the country (Maldives Customs), so don’t buy or collect them.
- Ask boat crews to use a mooring or drop anchor on sand, never on coral.
Our snorkelling guide and diving guide cover kit, buoyancy and currents.
Ask good questions about coral projects
If you are offered the chance to sponsor or plant a coral, ask who monitors it and for how long, whether the project has approvals or research partners, and what happens to the corals in the next bleaching. Clear answers are a good sign; vague ones suggest your money may do more good elsewhere.
Be a citizen scientist
Your photos and observations can feed real research. Reporting bleaching, joining a reef clean-up when an island organises one, and sharing wildlife photos with research programmes all help. Our guide to volunteering and citizen science explains how. For the wider picture, see our responsible travel guide.
Seeing reefs from a local island
You don’t need to join a restoration project to see living coral. On Dhiffushi, on the eastern rim of North Malé Atoll, the Coral Garden is a shallow reef close to the island, and the same reef-safe habits apply there as anywhere. Watching a reef for an hour, slowly and without touching, teaches more about why restoration matters than any brochure.
Questions people ask
Does coral restoration actually work in the Maldives?
It works at small scales. Corals grown in nurseries and replanted on reefs often survive and grow; a global review found average survival of about 66%. But restored areas are usually tiny, monitoring is short, and replanted corals still bleach when the sea gets too hot. Researchers in the Maldives see restoration as one tool alongside protecting reefs and tackling warming, not a fix on its own.
Who runs coral restoration in the Maldives?
The national lead is the Maldives Marine Research Institute, which hosts the National Coral Reef Restoration and Rehabilitation Programme set up in 2019. It works with research partners such as Australia’s CSIRO and the Australian Institute of Marine Science, and universities including Milano-Bicocca. Many resorts also run their own projects on house reefs, which vary in scale and in how carefully they are monitored.
What is larval coral restoration?
It uses coral spawn instead of broken fragments. During mass spawning, researchers collect eggs and sperm, rear the larvae in tanks, and settle them on small tiles or devices that are fixed to the reef. One spawning can produce millions of larvae. Larval restoration was first tried on Maldivian reefs through MMRI’s work with CSIRO, and later with the AIMS ReefSeed system.
When do corals spawn in the Maldives?
According to the Maldives Marine Research Institute, corals spawn mainly in March–April and again from about October to December. Most species release their spawn on only a few nights a year, so researchers watch the corals closely and time their larval collection around those nights. Visitors are unlikely to see spawning by chance, and it is not something to chase on a night snorkel.
Should I pay to adopt or plant a coral?
You can, but ask questions first: who monitors the corals and for how long, whether the project works with researchers or has approvals, and why that reef needs restoring. A well-run project will answer clearly. If you would rather help for free, protecting the reef you swim on and sharing observations with research programmes are both genuinely useful.
Can I touch or collect coral if it is already dead?
No. Dead-looking coral is often still alive, or is home to small animals and new coral growth. Standing on it breaks the reef apart. On the beach, coral pieces and shells are part of how islands rebuild their sand. Many marine products also need a permit to leave the country, according to Maldives Customs, so leave everything where you find it.
