September 23, 2016 / By Groupa Concrete
Artificial coral reefs have been around a long time now but their history has not always been glamorous due to the materials involved. This however has not deterred people from continuing to try. In 2013 Phil Saye, the owner of Dive Grenada, decided to do something about the decline of coral around the beaches close to his home.
This was achieved through stacking concrete breeze blocks on top of one another to create a tower that was later submerged to a predetermined spot in the ocean. Once left there, the blocks are transformed with the passage of time to become safe havens for multitudes of marine life.
When asked by a reporter at The Guardian what his motivation behind the project was, Phil responded, “We can use this area for training new divers without damaging the proper reefs, and we’re creating new reefs at the same time.”
While the decline of coral reefs could be subject to many factors such as storms, pollution and global warming, our own environmental footprint cannot be ignored. It is therefore our responsibility to safeguard and ensure the future existence of our coral reefs.