Artificial reef

From Freepedia

An artificial reef is a man-made, underwater structure, typically built for the purpose of promoting marine life in areas of generally featureless bottom. Ships may be scuttled to create artificial reefs, but a large variety of objects, including structures purposely built for use as marine benthic habitat are used. Objects that have been used for the creation of artificial reefs include cars, aircraft, demolition spoil, military tanks, and oil rigs. All of these provide hard surfaces to which algae and invertebrates such as barnacles, tunicates, corals, sponges, and oysters attach; the accumulation of attached marine life in turn provides intricate structure and food for communities of fishes. Marine life fairly rapidly establishes on and around these submerged structures. Barracuda, for example, establish rapidly around newly sunk vessels.

Artificial reefs enhance the diversity of marine life in the midst of barren sea beds, providing a venue for ecotourist SCUBA divers, reducing overuse of historically valuable wrecks. A variety of such features constitute the destination of submarine tours off Waikiki in the Hawaiian Islands.

The term "artificial reef" is really a misnomer since these artificial structures are not actually reefs. However, reefs have been created for surfing purposes, with the world's first such man-made reef at Cables in Western Australia. This reef was constructed of large granite rocks placed in a pyramidal shape to form an appropriate breaking wave form that would suit surfers.