Reef Ball Foundation Photos and Project Description Database

Vol.3 No.1 Environment Reef Balls: A Concrete Solution Text & Photos by: Sylvie Yaffe Earth Day was celebrated all over the world, but in Thailand it went beyond the usual beach clean up. An exciting event took place in Phuket; Thailand became the 50th country to launch a reef ball. This is an important first in the race to protect the marine environment in Thailand. The Reef Ball Foundation, together with The Racha resort and Racha Seamaster Divers are the first in Thailand to make a commitment to this new reef conservation program. It started on Koh Racha Yai, one of Phuket's most visited diving sites and will hopefully be copied through all of Thailand. It was a learning experience for all who participated: Phillip Goh, director of Racha Seamaster Divers, Jesada "Man" Na Ranong, a dive master working there, Sabine Brosch from Sea Bees Dive Center, some of the staff from The Racha and myself. At the end of the 4-day program, after completing Thailand's first four reef balls, we all received our official certification as Reef Ball volunteers, not to mention some invaluable education about reefs, making reef balls, handling and saving corals. Commited to the environment The Reef Ball Foundation was invited to Thailand by the new 5-star resort and dive shop on Racha Yai. The Racha, which is managed by Sanctuary Resorts, is a company that aims to be environmentally responsible. The Racha along with the dive shop at the resort, Seamaster Divers, have taken the initiative to protect, preserve, restore, and enhance the reefs at Koh Racha Yai. They have set aside a budget of two million baht for the initial phase of the Reef Ball programme. Representing the Reef Ball Foundation and providing the training was Todd Barber, C.E.O. and founder of the Reef Ball Foundation, which is a non-profit, environmental (NGO) organization. Its aim is to promote the concept of marine reserves and protect areas around the world while promoting public awareness. As Mr. Barber said during the first day of the programme, which was attended by some government officials, "we encourage the dignitaries here to take as many protection measures as possible." His first idea for a reef ball came after covering a beach ball in cement over 10-years ago. However, after many years of scientific research and development the beach ball covered in cement has evolved into a time and cost-efficient concrete reef ball. The structures usually resemble pyramids more than balls, with a heavy square base used to anchor them to the bottom and they come in six different sizes, ranging from 15cm (6-inches) to nearly 2m (6ft). There are over 3,500 reef ball projects around the world and 500,000 reef balls in use. One huge advance took place when Todd met John Walch, an expert in coral propagation, and developed a way to transplant fragmented coral pieces on to the reef ball, giving it a head start for coral growth. Even before making the reef balls, the first step, is to carefully decide were to put them. After surveying the bay in front of The Racha, Seamaster Divers, Todd, John and Phillip decided on a sandy area not too far from some reef, about 8m (26ft) also suggested putting the reef ball on top of a discarded old tyre to cover it up. Their goal is to mimic Mother Nature as much as possible while creating a natural environment. Fibreglass To construct a reef ball a fibreglass mould is used, we used one brought over from America and purchased by The Racha and Seamaster Divers. However, it is possible to buy pre -constructed reef balls or rent the moulds. The mould is three main fibreglass pieces held together with pins. Inside the reef ball mould, small inflatable balls are attached to create spaces in the reef ball. A large bladder surrounded by various sizes of inflatable balls to make holes, is inflated and placed in the centre of the mould so that the reef ball is hollow in the middle; this also acts as a flotation device to ease deployment of the reef ball once it is in the water. Because a porous surface is best for coral growth, sugar water is sprayed on the inside walls of the mould to stop the concrete drying with a smooth surface. The concrete used contains silica and has a similar pH to natural seawater. The silica helps give the reef balls an expected life of 500-years or more. When the concrete hardens there are small indentations, usually one ball will have about 18, which are used to hold the coral fragments that are transplanted. The concrete is mixed and poured into the mould; we used our hands to help with getting the concrete around the balls. It took 4-6 hours for the concrete to set. Once the concrete was set the three pieces that make up the mould were easily taken apart and a reef ball was born. At first it was not a pretty sight and it is hard to imagine it being functional a mass of concrete, with a rough uneven surface, strange holes and an unusual shape. It is amazing that this object has so much potential to improve the world's marine resources and within a few months will be more than just a lifeless grey object underwater. Within a few weeks algae will be growing on the surface and it will soon become a marine habitat. It was then ready to be deployed into the ocean. The bladder inside was left inflated to be used to control the reef ball's decent and make it easier to manage in the water. Our reef balls, the mini bay balls, weighed approximately 135kg (298lb). Our reef balls were built on the beach and we rolled them to the ocean. Once there they floated easily with a little bit of guidance from Todd and Philip. Slowly they were deflated and sank down to the sandy bottom. They are designed to be bottom heavy so they can withstand even heavy storms. Before the balls even hit the sand the fish were coming around to check out the new structures in their neighbourhood and determining who would be the first to move in. Transplanting doomed corals Next we learned how to save and transplant otherwise....