Coral Conservation

Bringing Colours Back To Our Lagoon

Coral reefs, the magical underwater colonies, are now dwindling world over because of global warming, ocean acidification, and pollution. The coral bleaching in 2016 had left the reefs around Sangeli island barren with dead coral rubble and sandy lagoon beds. Without the life-sustaining reefs, marine life also dwindled. In response to these threats, OBLU SELECT Sangeli initiated the Muraka Conservation Center in January 2019.

The first step was to build an artificial coral reef to help restore the lost coral cover. Located in the main lagoon, the coral garden uses the coral frame method. More than 80 metal frames with more than 7000 fragments were placed in 2 different locations around the island. The coral garden has thrived in the last years. These sites are nurtured and regularly monitored to remove marine debris and replant broken corals.

Thanks to all the conservation efforts, under the watchful eye of in-house Marine Biologists, Giorgia, Samantha, and team, the lagoon bed now has a lush coral cover, with many fish and other marine animals visiting and inhabiting the frames. Snorkelers can see a myriad of ocean life with parrotfish, Hawksbill sea turtles, eagle rays, sharks, and many other fish species and invertebrates.

In addition to caring for the reef, the team at OBLU SELECT Sangeli hosts a variety of sustainable initiatives that allow guests to engage directly with the conservation efforts. These include turtle adoptions and coral fragment adoptions, giving visitors the opportunity to contribute meaningfully to the protection and restoration of marine life. Through these programs, guests can stay connected to the coral gardens and the island’s marine ecosystem even after their stay, creating a lasting bond with the environment they helped nurture.

Our Impact So Far

As of 2026, together with our guests, we’ve been proud to:

Plant over 80 coral frames
Grow and outplant more than 7,000 coral fragments
Identify 120+ individual sea turtles around our reefs
Record sightings of more than 40 manta rays
Document 2 whale sharks passing through our waters

Each of these numbers represents hours spent in the water, careful monitoring, and a shared effort to give marine life a healthier future.

Conservation Experiences & Events

One of the most rewarding parts of our work is getting to share it. Throughout the week, we host a range of conservation experiences where guests can meet our team, ask questions, and see what happens behind the scenes, including:

Meet the Coral Doctors Saturday Presentation
Snorkel at the Muraka Coral Garden
Kid’s Club EcoExplorers activity
Live underwater coral garden streaming

Whether you’re curious about something you spotted while snorkeling or want to learn more about reef restoration, we’re always happy to talk ocean.

Join Us in Protecting the Reef

We’ve created several sustainability initiatives that allow guests to take part in conservation in a meaningful way. From adopting corals and turtles to helping us repurpose marine debris or supporting ocean plastic recovery through sustainable apparel, every initiative directly supports the care and expansion of our coral gardens. Many of our guests love knowing they can follow the journey of a coral they helped plant or receive updates when “their” turtle is spotted again on the reef, creating a connection that lasts long after they leave the island.

Coral fragment and coral frame adoptions, with ongoing growth updates
Sea turtle adoption, supporting monitoring and protection efforts
Ghost net bracelet program, transforming marine debris into meaningful keepsakes
Ocean plastic apparel initiative, partnering with OceanЯ and FishPeople to turn recovered marine plastics into sustainable clothing

Supporting Local & Sustainable Products

Inside the Muraka Conservation Center, you’ll also find a small selection of locally made Maldivian products and eco-conscious items. These are things we genuinely believe in, from handcrafted pieces to sustainable apparel, and many of them help fund ongoing conservation work.

Why We Do This

At Muraka, conservation isn’t just a program, it’s part of our daily life. We’re in the water, on the reef, and in the nursery every day, learning, adapting, and doing our best to protect the ocean that surrounds us. We love sharing this journey with our guests and hope that, in some small way, it inspires you to see the reef not just as a beautiful place to visit, but as something worth protecting. Whether you choose to join an activity, adopt a coral or turtle, or simply stop by to chat, you’re already part of the story, and we’re grateful to have you with us.

Partnership with Maldivian Environmental Regulatory Authority

Our commitment to sustainability does not stop at the resort level, with our collaborations reaching across the Maldives at both the local and national level. One of the most important of these collaborations is our ongoing partnership with the Environmental Regulatory Authority (ERA), designed to align resort-based reef restoration with national conservation priorities.

This partnership first began at OBLU SELECT Sangeli, where their Muraka Conservation Center team worked closely with the ERA to install new coral nursery structures, including suspended coral “trees” and nursery tables. These nurseries allow us to actively restore reef habitat while also serving as research platforms, where we can monitor coral growth, test restoration methods, and better understand how corals respond to environmental changes. As part of this work, we track temperature fluctuations, document coral health and survival, and record the sounds of the reef using hydrophones, adding an additional layer of insight into reef activity and resilience.