Study: Artificial Reefs Draw Visitors Away From Fragile Natural Coral 

A new Israeli study has found that the creation of artificial reefs helps to preserve natural coral reefs, by offering an alternative site for humans whose presence can prove damaging to the delicate ecosystem.

The study was carried out by Prof. Nadav Shashar of Ben Gurion University of the Negev’s Marine Biology and Biotechnology program, in cooperation with the Israel Nature and Parks Authority and the OBS investment company. 

Coral reefs worldwide are endangered due to different factors, including physical damage caused by fishing and diving. Many divers cause damage to reefs by unintentionally touching or hitting them and by scaring fish away.  

The creators of the study placed artificial reefs on the border of a natural one in Israel’s Red Sea resort city of Eilat in 2006. Corals grown in a special nursery were planted at the artificial reef a year later. 

Since then, the study found, the artificial reef has attracted a variety of fish species and other invertebrates that live inside natural coral reefs. 

Tracking divers at the site before and after the creation of the artificial reefs, the researchers also discovered that since their placement, fewer people dive near the natural coral, preferring instead to visit the manmade version, which it says has become a “magnet” for humans.
The results of the study were published this month in the Oceans, an international journal of oceanography.