The famed corals of the Pigeon Islands, off the beach at Nilaveli 20 km north of Trincomalee, were almost completely destroyed by the crown of thorns starfish (Acanthaster planci) in the mid-nineteen seventies. These two small islands and their satellite rocky islets, just 500 nr off shore, were a snorkeller's paradise until hundreds of the voracious, coral-polyp feeding starfish laid waste to its abundant corals. Now largely reestablished, it is once more an easily accessible coral reef w ith a varied assortment of fish and invertebrates— including several not generally seen on the west coast. This reef was chosen by NARA for Reef Check '9S (see box). We found that it was entirely unaffected by the El Nino ocean-warming phenomenon, which had resulted in large extents of corals of the northwest and south coasts, as well as at Kalmunai on the east coast, bleaching and subsequently dying. The Pigeon Islands were chosen as the site for Reef Check '99 by SLSAC. which organised it this time under the superv ision and participation of Arjan Rajasuriya front NARA. w ho serves as country coordinator for the Reef Check programme in Sri Lanka.