And It’s a Wrap! Velaa Private Island Ends the Year with Transplantation of 2000 Corals

Tuesday 12th of January 2021

One of the largest coral restoration projects in the Maldives, Velaa Private Island Coral Restoration Project wraps up the year 2020 with the successful transplantation of 2,000 corals back onto the reef. Throughout the year, the team has made several achievements in coral reef restoration and has been sharing their journey to protect the beautiful coral reefs in the Maldives.

During the beginning of 2020, they discovered a new manta ray “Hazaanaa” (local name for treasure), first sighted by the marine team at Velaa. Her sightings were submitted to Manta Trust, which is a UK registered charity that coordinates global research and conservation efforts on manta rays. But the big project they were working on was building "mini-reefs" under all the glass windows in Velaa Island Resort’s stunning water villas!

The latest addition to the house reef is an artificial structure with an assemblage of mixed species – Pocillopra, Acropora, Porites and Astreopora. If the assemblages grow successfully, the artificial structures can be implemented on the house reef in areas lacking natural substrate to transplant corals on at a larger scale. Can’t wait to see what they achieve in the future? Follow them here.