People have been dumping almost all kinds of waste into the oceans, for a past good number of years, not to forget, even the coast guard ships. The idea behind? To make new corals latch on these massive objects which can attract fish. But does the sinking of these objects really coming of any help? The fact is, in fact, some of these objects end up damaging the pre-existing corals.
A company has come forward claiming that their artificial reef is completely safe for all kinds of marine life, and the secret ingredient is the remains of the dead! There can be found thousands of memorial reef balls off the Eastern Seaboard. They provide protection to hundreds of millions of dollars of real estate from storm surge flooding and have successfully become a habitat. But the death of natural reefs at such a concerning rate, can underwater graveyards as these can be of any help?
The most important factors to a good reef are the materials used and if it stays put. Larry Beggs, with his team at Reef Innovations, makes these bottom-heavy reef balls that can withstand strong sea currents. These reef balls can weigh up to 5 tons. In conventional concrete, the chemicals can potentially harm the sea creatures, so the team at reef innovations uses a special mix for the purpose. “The concrete is a pH-neutralized, marine-grade concrete that is very important for coral growth. Oysters, corals, invertebrates, and stuff that will grow on the reef can attach to the reef ball very easily”, says Larry Beggs, president at Reef Innovations.
The team uses fiberglass panels to form the basic shape and insert an inflated buoy to keep the center hollow, creating holes for the fish to swim through. Once dried, they rinse the reef balls with a sugar-water mixture which exposes the surfaces where sea life will eventually grow.
A company, Eternal Reefs, is using Larry’s creations in their memorials and over the past 20 years, they’ve successfully dropped over 2,500 of them. “We work with families who have lost somebody and had their loved one cremated. They will come to one of our project sites”, says George Frankel, CEO of Eternal Reefs.
What these families do is mix cremated remains and concrete together, to make a different centerpiece for the reef ball. They call it a pearl. The remains replace some amount of sand that goes into concrete. The families then take the finished reef balls to the open water, say a few words of prayer, and drop the memorial of their loved ones down to the seabed.
As for now, reef burials are not that much in focus. But healthy reefs provide a home to a vast variety of marine life and protect our coasts from many known and unknown damages. And now is the time when we need healthy reefs and oceans more than ever, so no matter whatever ways are already out there, they are indeed worth giving a thought to, and maybe trying.
Tazeen Fatma