Reef Ball Foundation Photos and Project Description Database

May 1999: 10 Reef Balls were successfully deployed just offshore of Castaway's Hotel on the Carribean Island of Dominica by the Reef Ball Coalition and ecotourist participants. This on-going reef building program will continue to have Reef Balls built and deployed by eco-tourists and potential volunteers can find out more at http://www.reefballcoaltion.org The Dominica Minister of Agriculture met with the Coalition and will have the Reef Ball site declared as a protected Marine Reserve/Sanctuary similar to two other reserves already set up on the Island. Reef Ball Development Group actively supports the creation and protecion of Marine Reserves worldwide and is proud to assist in this important project to protect biodiversity of Carribean reef systems. Meanwhile, the Castaways dive centre on the central west coast has just begun its own artificial reef project using concrete ?reef balls?. These hollow honeycomb blocks are cast in concrete and laid along the sand off the beach in front of the resort. Earlier this year 2 batches of 12 or so balls were cast and sunk, with more to follow. The objective is to lay a continuous chain across the sand to the reef crest 200 metres out to sea.

The Reef Ball Foundation donatied Reef Balls to CEDAM (www.cedam.org) for on going research on Reef Balls in Dominica. "I was a member of a project cosponsored by CEDAM and AMT. We placed two artificial reef balls offshore of Dominica and started 15 local species of coral on one reef ball while leaving the other alone" CEDAM plans to seed some Reef Balls with hard corals and others without the seeding treatment to study differences in growth of the fouling communities over time. CEDAM is a volunteer scientific organization. Labor for the donated Reef Balls is being provided by the Reef Ball Coalition (www.reefballcoalition.org) and concrete is being donated by Castaways Dive Resort of Dominica. www.castaways.dm

Tanya Streeter, World Record Title Holder for Free Diving is a Reef Ball Foundation Honary Board Member. She went on a Reef Ball Coalition trip to Dominica to build and deploy Reef Balls at Castaway Resort. Quote from Tanya Streeter, "The Reefball Foundation is an organization [that] restores, rebuilds and places new reefs in different areas if they?re needed either for tourism, local fisheries, when reefs are damaged or even to protect the beaches from erosion. Instead of dumping a big old car engine in there, they?ve come up with this very cool design that kind of gives nature a?start. They?ve placed a reefball down there?designed with water flow in mind, with how the coral can stick and grow, how the fish are going to use it, different things like this. I help to promote their work and I go on trips with them."