Artificial Reefs: Reborn by Nature
The Christ of the Abyss statue in Pennekamp State Park celebrates Jesus Christ and provides substrate for sea life Photo: Tara McNaylor Fred Stratton Instructor and Technician fred@bubblesornot.com Perceptions persist that wreck diving is deep, cold, boring and bereft of color. In this two-part series we explore artificial reefs and wrecks. Artificial reefs are manmade structures purposefully planted on the seafloor to provide marine habitat, relieve pressure on natural reefs, and to provide playgrounds for divers. Wrecks are ships or structures that met their fate through storms, collisions, sabotage or war at sea. ARTIFICIAL REEFS Bleaching, storms and overuse take their toll on reefs. Given time they will recover. However, building artificial reefs is an alternative method of providing more sea life habitat which creates underwater playgrounds. Think of an artificial reef as manmade substrate that Mother Nature populates with turtles, fish, molluscs, mammals