Growing a Reef, One Coral Frame at a Time

Reefscapers, a Maldives-based marine consultancy founded out of the company Seamarc in 2000, has run one of the world's longest-continuously-operating coral restoration programs, working with island resorts to grow fragments of storm- and heat-damaged coral on steel frames anchored to the reef. Marine biologists collect coral fragments broken off by storms or bleaching events, attach them to frames placed in shallow lagoons, and monitor their survival and growth over years, gradually rebuilding reef structure and fish habitat. At Four Seasons Resort Landaa Giraavaru alone, the team surpassed its 9,000th planted coral frame in 2025, part of a restoration effort spanning multiple islands across the Maldives since 2005.