Reef Ball Foundation Photos and Project Description Database

Reef Balls: A promising sign for coral reefs by Natayla Al-Kindy: As coral reefs continue to decline globally due to damage from human activities, various organisations around the world are seeking ways to protect them. Objects such as fishing nets and boat anchors, and indirect processes such as pollutants, sedimentation, temperature increases and Ultra Violet radiation are mainly the causes for the damage. In the last edition of PDO News Joppe Cramwinckel and Barry Jupp wrote about a joint project between Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) and the Ministry of Environment and Regional Municipalities (MRME) to test artificial reef materials and structures in the Omani marine environment of Mina al Fahal. PDO staff and Contractors constructed three modules, each 4 metres square and 1.5 metres high. Two were made of scrap tyres and one of reinforced concrete pipe. The modules were deployed from the barge Fahal on March 12, 1997. Only three weeks after deployment, astonishingly vigorous colonising algae and animal growth on the structures and thousands of juvenile fish were already observed. But initial conclusions are that although tyres form an attractive habitat for fish, they are not suitable for long term reef restoration because of their toxicity and instability.

The second phase of a joint artificial reef project between the Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Environment (MRME) and PDO was launched during 1998. Phase 1 of the project consisted of the deployment of three modules of scrap tyres and concrete pipes during 1997. Evaluation of the phase 1 project concluded that although tyres form an attractive habitat for fish, they are not suitable for long-term reef development because of their relative instability. The second phase is based on the "Reefball" concept, which claims to use the most advanced technology in artificial reef development. Reefballs are chemically adjusted concrete structures designed to create stable artificial reef modules which form an attractive habitat for fish and a foundation for coral growth.

al-Fahal, July 1998 Concrete 'reef ball' Project to shed light on coral growth By Ruby Ormerod THE first of a number of `Reef balls' have been deployed in Ras al Hamra Recreation Centre's bay, launching a PDO-sponsored Ras AI Hamra SubAqua Club (RAHSAC) project to study ways of restoring and fostering marine growth. A general decline in the diversity and proliferation of the world's reefs over the years due to anchoring, over-fishing and pollutants motivated the dive club to join in the international campaign to save the reefs. Their initiative--Project Reef Creator or 'Pro-Creator' for short--is the result. "Pro-Creator is designed to test the Florida-based `Reefballs' concept, which is said to represent the world's most advanced artificial reef technology," says RAHSAC Environmental Officer, Nic Heymans. Reefballs are concrete beehive-type structures about a metre high. They weigh 1.2 tonnes and are criss-crossed through the middle with tunnels. The concrete consists of an environmentally-friendly composite which, over time, becomes pH-neutral to encourage coral growth. The tunnels imitate the cracks and crevices found in natural reefs. REEFBALLS: Inflatable bouys give shape to the concrete tunnels (left); and a finished ball (right) The first Reefballs were constructed in the Mina al Fahal harbour under supervision of PDO's Coastal Operations Supervisor, Abdullah Hall, with technical assistance from Al Turki Materials Manager Dr L.V. Raja and Grace Construction Products' L.P. Samant, who supplied some of the environmentallyfriendly additives for the concrete. The first three balls were lowered from the PDO barge onto the sandy bottom of Ras Al Hamra bay......

Al-Fahal Arabic Version.

Welcome to the ball. Environment Reefballs Al Fahal, August 1999

Good Reef....picture of a lobster curled up in a Reef Ball hole.

Coral reef research yields good results MUSCAT ? The Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Environment has joined hands with the Sultan Qaboos University to work out ways and means to protect the coral reefs from human activities such as fishing and water sports. In a project sponsored by the Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), the ministry and the university are investigating whether artificial reefs can be built by means of reef balls: large, perforated, spherical shells of chemically adjusted concrete that provide a ready-made habitat for fish and a substrate amenable to marine growth, according to a press release issued by the Department of Public Affairs, PDO. With the help of the Ras Al Hamra Sub Aqua Club, 40 reef balls were lowered into place last year around the Fahal Island and at other locations in Muscat?s Ras Al Hamra bay. The reef balls were originally intended to stimulate the growth of ?soft? coral. But recent examination of the sites by SQU researchers have shown that ?hard? coral begun growing on the structures as well. Frans Willekes, PDO?s health safety and environment manager, said, ?We have some great results with the soft coral?. The fact that hard coral has started growing on the reef balls by chance shows that this type of coral can be transplanted here. ?We now want to monitor this juvenile coral and explore the possibility of transplanting other species?, he added. The speed with which the reef balls have been colonised by coral also surprise the researchers. ?It was thought by many that it would take years for coral to establish itself, but the results with soft corals show that nature can do much better than that,? Frans stated in the press release. In a separate initiative, PDO is also helping to stop the erosion of existing, natural coral reefs by donating 17 mooring buoys that will be deployed at reefs along the Batinah coast and at Damaniyat islands. The buoys are being given to the Royal Navy of Oman who will place them near sites popular with divers. Dive boards will have to moor on these buoys rather than dropping anchor, thereby avoiding damage to the reefs. From Oman Observer (July 27, 2000)