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By Shafaat Ahmed
DUBAI, UAE — Conservation of natural reefs is the only solution to arrest continuous decay of the aquatic ecosystem, observed a marine biologist from Emirates Wildlife Society (EWS), even as the idea of installing artificial reef balls on the seabed is catching fancy among many in the UAE and beyond.
Coral reefs are one of the most biologically diverse and vulnerable marine ecosystems.
The reefs play important ecological, economic and recreational roles. As well as providing food and shelter for numerous fish and marine species, reefs play a major role in protecting coastal areas from storm surge, preventing coastal erosion and supporting commercial fishing.
But the condition of coral reefs has continued to decline across the world and the UAE is no exception. According to a recent report, 27 per cent of the world’s coral reefs are already degraded and probably lost.
The Arabian reefs appear to be one of the most severely affected. Recent estimates show, up to 35 per cent of the coral reefs in the region may have been lost.
However, conservation efforts are gathering pace in the country thanks to various initiatives of EWS and its partner organisations. There have also been efforts to develop artificial reefs in some quarters.
The EWS has already done extensive mapping of coral reefs and installed monitoring dives in the water around Abu Dhabi and Fujairah.
The organisation has devised several ways of conserving and enhancing coral reefs in the UAE, but developing artificial reefs doesn’t seem to be one of its methods.
Though not wholeheartedly encouraged by some environmentalists, there have already been successful initiatives to develop artificial reef ecosystem in the UAE, like the Le Meridien Al Aqah’s Reef Block Structure project.
Initiated in June 2009, Le Meridien in partnership with Al Boom Diving, introduced 35 man-made reef structures on the seabed several hundred metres off the Al Aqah coast.
Although the artificial reef structures are already home to several aquatic species, scientists are wary of them being a viable solution.
“The current trend among coral reef specialists worldwide is against reef balls because they do not tend to attract the bigger species of fish,” said Christophe Tourenq, a marine biologist with EWS-WWF.
Tourenq, who is the project manager of EWS’s Fujairah division, explained that the position of EWS-WWF follows the one of worldwide coral reef specialists of International Coral Reef Action Network (ICRAN) and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
“We praise any initiative that helps protect biodiversity, but we fear increasing commercialisation. In recent years, a major industry has developed, which proposes to build artificial reefs, such as the reef balls installed at Al Aqah.
They propose this as the ultimate solution to replace the natural reefs and create new amenity value. Although the costs of such structures are decreasing, this approach is expensive and not feasible for large areas.
“Most importantly, an artificial structure such as this will never replace all the ecosystem services of a natural reef. Therefore we advise that before investing in potentially risky ‘engineering’ solutions to reef restoration, it is essential to first protect the existing natural coral reefs (which are a source of coral seedlings) and seek advice from scientists and other experts,” opined Tourenq.
But Patrick Antaki, a wildlife enthusiast and Le Meridien Al Aqah’s General Manager, begs to differ.
Not because this is his pet project, his enthusiasm “is based on evidence.”
“The artificial reef is already a viable fish reef. The effects are already visible and we are laying the foundation to sustain marine life for future generations. All of the needed plankton and plant life is growing on the reef and in time we hope to see signs of corals,” enthused the visibly buoyant Antaki, after a diving expedition with the Khaleej Times recently.
Even though the reef structures seemed abuzz with life around it, “all is not as well as it appeared.”
“Dumping structures such as reef balls on a bare sand surface will always attract fish and marine life. So compared to the bare area around, the artificial structure will immediately attract fish, especially if natural reefs are destroyed around. Of what I have seen myself from my dives, the holes in the reef balls are getting closed by algae, sponges or oysters and they become useless. Furthermore, I have learned from experienced divers that when a grouper chooses a reef ball to be his home, no other fish can get closer, as the grouper is territorial. So you can have only one big fish by the structure at the end,” explained Tourenq.
He also cautioned that, if not done properly, artificial structures might release toxic material like paint, oil, metal, etc. in the environment, which is obviously harmful for aquatic life.
However, Antaki – who is hoping to make this project a key platform of Le Meridien’s environmental programme – said the initiative was undertaken after a thorough study and consultations with environmentalists and marine biologists.
“We have taken utmost care to adhere to the highest standards of environmental best practices and the project is in compliance with the green guidelines. The results are there to be seen, with a lot of fish – big as well as small – already taking accommodation on the reefs.
“We are very strong on the environmental issues. We have a dedicated green team in our hotel that makes sure all our practices are environmentally friendly. We give top priority to reduce our carbon footprint by using eco-friendly light bulbs as well as using solar energy to power our beach lights,” insisted Antaki.
The fact that the project was undertaken with the blessings of Fujairah Municipality bodes well for the initiative and its green credentials.
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