Under the ‘Adopt a Coral’ Environmental Initiative
In conjunction with Earth Month, Sheraton Maldives Full Moon Resort & Spa planted its 100thcoral frame in April 2021, a milestone in the resort’s coral propagation initiative that started back in February 2020. To date, over 5,619 coral fragments from 15 different species of corals have been transplanted.
As one of the largest man-made coral structures in the Maldives, the resort has teamed up with Reefscapers, a coral propagation organization appointed by the Maldivian Government to protect the marine habitat. The program also echoes back to Marriott International’s “Good Travel with Marriott Bonvoy” initiative across Asia Pacific, providing first-hand connections with local communities and the environment.
North Male Atoll is home to over 40 world-class diving points, all of which are easily accessible from Sheraton Maldives Full Moon Resort & Spa. A number of common marine species can be sighted, such as the Blacktip Reef Shark, Spotted Eagle Ray, Batfish, Hmbug, Puller, Juvenile Sweetlips, Surgeonfish, Boxfish, Pufferfish, Butterflyfish and Trumpetfish.
“We observed that there is an increase in fish returning to our house reef since we started the coral propagation initiative, which further proves that our program is working towards creating a more positive impact. We will continue to make this a key priority for our community at the resort.” said Emilio Fortini, General Manager.
Three adult nurse sharks were found under a coral pyramid on the 19th of March. They were spotted around 11am and stayed there all day.
Humbug Damsel (black and white vertical bands body), Indian Humbug (light colored body with two dark stripes and blue fins) and green Puller (Pale blue to green body) are some of the common found around the coral frames in resort house reef.
Adopt a Coral at Sheraton Maldives Full Moon Resort & Spa invites guests to participate in the fun and interactive coral-fragment plantation activity in an effort to promote reef habitats and generate new coral. The resort has teamed up with Reefscapers, a coral propagation organization appointed by the Maldivian Government as custodians of the coral colonies in the Gulhi Falhu lagoon which was slated to be destroyed as part of a reclamation project. The activity is led by experts and offers a hands-on experience to participants while also providing an alternative business to the 250 inhabitants whose sole previous source of employment was fishing.
