The recovery and recolontzatton of a 42 m² area on the back reef previously damaged by blast fishing was investigated. At the start of the study, this site was further cleared of all visible living coral to simulate severe denudation by dynamite blasting. Algal and invertebrate recruitment was monitored by the sampling of coral tile substrates which were amplaced on the backreef. Four permanent 1 m plots were also demarcated to gauge recovery of the area. Permanent quadrat sampling and a full census of the 42 m showed only 1-3% living cover after a year. Montipora ramosa is the most dominant colonizer through fragmentation while Pocillopora and Porttea were dominant planular recruits in the settlement tiles. Aspects of the diversity of the colonizing groups are also presented.