In July 2006 the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources provided 100 concrete blocks to act as a new artificial reef at Phi Phi Ley island.
The Adventure Club was commissioned by the DMCR to monitor and assess the marine life and corals that were soon after transplanted to the blocks.
With a carefully selected team of professional Divemasters and Instructors the blocks were carefully lifted and positioned to form 3 concrete underwater pyramids. Each concrete block measures 1.5 cubic meters and weighs 1000 kgs.
The work took 3 months to complete.
What's the Point?
There is much conjecture on the so-called benefits surrounding artificial reefs. Some people like to use reef balls, some people use rubber tires, while some prefer to send electrical shocks through iron bars. Some people are of the opinion that the reefs can look after themselves as they have done for hundreds of thousands of years, so why interfere?
Global impacts through anthropogenic stresses such as commercial net fishing, blast fishing, cyanide fishing, the tourism industry, loss of coastal habitats such as mangroves, and now global warming to name just a few, are putting added stress on the reef's natural ability to regenerate.
Unfortunately at the rate that reefs are being damaged and killed off, we shall see a significant loss of the world's coral reefs in the next 40 years. As important breeding grounds for many of the ocean's fish this will also force a loss in fish populations.
Considering the importance of the ocean's fish population's as a major food source, the implications are extremely severe.
Objective
After making a survey in the Andaman sea, the DMCR found that 80 out of 100 divers, would make contact with a reef either deliberately or unintentionally, 4 to 5 times within a normal dive.
Considering the thousands of dives made each year on each reef it is obvious that there is considerable impact to the reef.
The main objective of this project is to use it to encourage people to question their actions and to understand the values of the ocean. Projects such as these should highlight the damage that we are doing to the world's natural resources not just the oceans, but also mangroves, seagrasses and forests.
Our world needs our help, before it is too late.
Please visit our gallery to see more photos of the construction.
Follow this to data collection to learn more about the natural coral settlement so far on the Artificial Reef.