For years now, governments around the world have been sinking large pieces of outdated or damaged equipment into the ocean, turning them into artificial reefs. Subway cars, naval ships, tanks and more rest on the sea floor, making homes for sea life and attracting divers. Artists have been busy as well, erecting underwater sculptures and memorials.
I still remember that during my early years, maybe somewhere in between of 1988-1990, government used to show propaganda documentary about how artificial reef out of used tires were made. There artificial reef then dump to Malaysian ocean for fish to used as their new home.
Interestingly, my mom said not only old tire can be made as artificial reef, as there are lots of others thing can be use. Me, being a rebel kid at that time, I'm not agreed to my mom. I believe fish would be scared of man made structure and not treat it as their home. Hahahaa...
Collected here are images from the past few years of some of these man-made reefs, both big and small.
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| Divers swim above the former missile-tracking ship Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary off Key West, Florida May 21, 2010. Algae and sponges are already growing on exterior surfaces of of the 523-foot-long vessel and more than 113 different species of fish are now calling it home. The artificial reef was intentionally sunk May 27, 2009. (Reuters/Don Kincaid/Florida Keys News Bureau) |
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| The Oriskany, a decommissioned aircraft carrier, was towed 24 miles off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, Wednesday, May 17, 2006, to form an artificial reef. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy/Jeffrey P. Kraus) |
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