Overview on artificial reefs in Europe

Abstract

A B S T R A C TArtificial reefs in Europe have been developed over the last 40 yrs. Most of these reefs have been placed in the Mediterranean Sea, but there is an increasing interest on the part of northern European countries. Fish stock enhancement and fishery management are the main purposes of reef construction in the Mediterranean Sea and on the Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula, while nature conservation/restoration, research, and recreation have been the main purposes served in the other European regions to date. Artificial reef deployment falls under some general regulations concerning the protection of the sea against pollution due to the dumping of unsuitable materials. Specific Regional Plans relating to the use of artificial reefs in the marine environment and Guidelines for reef construction have been derived from these general regulations. In spite of recent developments, national and/or regional programs for the deployment of artificial reefs and/or their inclusion in overall management plans for integrated management of coastal zones are in force only in the majority of Mediterranean countries, while only a few projects have, to date, been undertaken in the other European Regions. Moreover, there is a noteworthy lack of plans, in many countries, for the management of the reefs after their deployment. R E S U M OOs recifes artificiais, na Europa, foram desenvolvidos nos últimos 40 anos. A maioria desses recifes foram instalados no Mar Mediterrâneo, mas despertam um interesse crescente por parte dos paises do norte europeu. O incentivo aos estoques pesqueiros e o manejo da pesca são os principais objetivos da construção de recifes no Mar Mediterrâneo e na costa Atlântica da Península Ibérica, enquanto a preservação / recuperação da natureza, a pesquisa e a recreação tem sido os principais objetivos das demais regiões européias até hoje. A implantação de recifes artificiais está submetida a algumas regulamentações básicas quanto à proteção dos oceanos com relação à poluição devido ao despejo de materiais. Projetos Regionais específicos relativos ao uso de recifes artificiais no ambiente marinho e Instruções para a construção de recifes são decorrentes dessa Regulamentação Geral. Apesar de avanços recentes, programas regionais e/ou nacionais sobre a instalação de recifes artificiais e/ou a sua inclusão nos planos gerais de planejamento para a gestão integral das zonas costeiras tem mais destaque somente em grande parte dos paises do Mediterrâneo, enquanto que, poucos projetos até hoje tem sido realizados nas outras Regiões Européias. Além disso, em muitos países, há uma notável falta de projetos para o manejo dos recifes, depois de instalados.

CARAH (International Conference on Artificial Reefs and Related Aquatic Habitats): an historical perspective of accomplishments

“…Spanier et al (2011) offered a detailed examination of the use of artificial reefs in lobster management. Also, on a grand scale, Fabi et al (2011) presented a more complete overview of artificial reefs in Europe. Concomitant with this effort, we are now seeing the results of long-term (10 years or more) studies that are giving a broader appreciation of space and time to artificial reef research (e.g.…”

The Power of the Wreck

“…In the wake of the above reflections, the choice has been to intentionally sink artificial objects with the aim to increase the biotic potentialities of certain areas. It is surprising to examine the range of objects used purposely in the various geographic-cultural areas in order to set up artificial reefs (Fabi et al, 2011): a sort of catalogue of unacknowledged objects, generally regarded as polluting garbage of our artificial world, from end-of-life New York subway train carriages, to hollow reinforced-concrete blocks, to the cumbersome tyres of lorries.…”

Artificial reef along theFrench Mediterranean coastline: toward innovative integrated biodiversity management

“…For fifty years, Artificial Reefs (AR) have been deployed ( Figure 1) to respond to the decrease in fish stocks [12]. The main objective of these structures was to sustain artisanal fisheries and to enhance fish stocks [5]. The materials used were mostly decommissioned products like old, concrete pipes [12].…”