Nakheel testing artificial reefs at the breakwaters of The Palm, Jumeirah

The project team that is involved with the reef trials brings together a wide range of stakeholders including government, private, academic and environmental organisations.

Nakheel has volunteered to coordinate this important environmental project and has worked closely with the Zayed International Prize for the Environment to launch the trial of SeaCult's artificial reefs. The four reefs will be tested to determine whether they are effective in increasing the diversity and abundance of marine life. This will be the first time that this design of reef has ever been tested in a warm water marine environment, such as the Arabian Gulf.

"The objective behind the concept of the new artificial reef is to provide both food and shelter for an array of marine life. The key design principle is the extremely high ratio of surface area to volume providing an environment suitable for the establishment of differential and selective habitats. The choice of polypropylene pipes of varying diameter and length effectively makes the reef attractive to a very diverse range of species," confirmed Mounir Haidar, Head of Technical Department for Nakheel.

The basic artificial reef design comprises of a central hollow concrete core, with numerous protruding polypropylene pipes. Each reef module provides over 250m2 of surface area that is available for colonisation by marine flora and fauna. The pipes provide up to 350 meters of cavities available for occupation by crustaceans, molluscs, fish, corals and macroalgae.

The precise positioning of the reefs on the seafloor was conducted by Nakheel's Scuba team. The reefs rest on the sea bed at 10 to 12 meters below sea level, just outside the breakwater of The Palm, Jumeirah. The site was surveyed by Nakheel divers prior to the installation of the reefs to define the baseline environment in terms of the existing seafloor conditions and the abundance and diversity of marine life. The effectiveness of the artificial reefs in attracting marine plants and animals will be monitored through inspections, which will be conducted every three weeks over a six month period. The monitoring programme will be conducted by Nakheel's in-house marine biologists. The data from the trials will be used to measure the increase of the marine activity associated with the artificial reefs.

"The artificial reefs are positioned ten metres apart and weigh six tonnes each. The positioning process was only possible with the combined efforts of the Palm Marine and Nakheel scuba teams, Van Oord and SeaCult. The final analysis of the performance of the reefs will determine their suitability as a mechanism for augmenting the existing marine habitat in the waters of UAE," concluded Haidar.

The report will provide Nakheel and other interested parties with comprehensive data of the Dubai marine life, specifically around the reefs.

A report on the progress of the artificial reef systems will be presented by SeaCult at Waterfront 2005 Dubai, a conference sponsored by Nakheel.