#artificial reef

Here's my full pieces for Sea Unseen! Had so much fun with these even if the artificial reef scene was some of the most intensive pieces I've done to date!

Check out the zine and all the wonderful pieces within below!

Photos of the SS United States on her final voyage at sea, somewhere off the coast of North Carolina. Taken by the captain of the tug "Vinik." Thank you David Silver for allowing me access. It's hard to believe this ghostly vessel is the very same ocean liner that once plowed through the North Atlantic at over 40 miles per hour, carrying 2,000 passengers in safety and luxury. She's now making 6.5 knots and his handling the rough seas quite well in spite of being 72 years old, a testament to her superb construction and design. If you squint, you can imagine her tearing through the ocean again.

So yeah. The big news pulled me out of hiatus. If you haven't heard, the SS United States was on the move. After 30 years of sitting in limbo in Philadelphia, the plug has finally been pulled on the old liner. She will be sunk 30 miles offshore of Okaloosa Island in Florida to create an artificial reef for diving.

Under tow, the SS United States left Philly on Feb. 19 and traveled down the east coast of America, around the Florida coast, and then, keeping in tradition with being the fastest liner ever built, docked in Mobile, Alabama a few days ahead of schedule on March 3.

Over the following year, she will have her masts and cranes removed, all the paint will be sand blasted off, the boilers and engines will probably have to come out, her aluminum funnels and possibly parts of her superstructure will be saved for a future museum, but all other aluminum will have to be removed, and holes will have to be cut into her watertight compartments to ensure she sinks on an even keel.

It's a sad end, but at least it's better than being scrapped.

 Kuwait, 2022.

This photo was taken at the remote oil rigs site in Kuwaiti waters, east of Qaruh Island. The inactive oil rigs have come to represent an important artificial reef in Kuwait, attracting divers and fishers alike.

Photo by Suliman Alatiqi

The Prince Albert II Of Monaco Foundation Environmental Photographer Of The Year 2023

Studies have found that reef building corals ingest microplastics when exposed to temperatures above normal.

Normally,corals rely on the photosynthetic algae on their surface to provide them with energy.

When temperatures rise, the algae are expelled (bleaching) and most corals eventually die from starvation but some corals start feeding on zooplankton in the water column and in turn also take in microplastics.

So how is this a problem? Feeding on large amounts of microplastics can result in:

Bleaching

Reduced growth as energy reserves drop since plastic has no nutritive value

Reduced feeding on nutritious prey

Tissue necrosis( a coral disease that causes peeling of tissues and death)

Reduced mineralisation of coral skeletons thus reduced growth rates

“Here’s a good example of the concept of upcycling, if there ever was one.

Sportfiskarna is a Swedish sports fishermen’s association, which has come up with a unique and novel idea to reuse Christmas trees once the holidays are over. In their case, they’ve found that the spruce plants can make ideal habitats for fish, giving them a place to lay their eggs.

Every year, Sportfiskarna--together with Stroma tour operator, Stockholm City, WWF, and Skansen och Stockholms hamnar--collects old Christmas trees and lowers them in the waters in and around Stockholm. This creates new habitats for fish and fry since exploitation is threatening current habitats. The fir trees are bundled together and lowered into the water. The branches of the trees then become aquatic spaces where fish can play and reproduce with freedom and safety.

Reflecting the change in natural habitats

Christmas trees are collected in January every year. They are bundled together and a heavy stone is attached so they can sink and remain at the bottom without floating up. Then they are lowered into the water and new habitats can be formed at the bottom where fish get to use them as their new home.

The waters in Stockholm city and archipelago are today heavily affected by exploitation such as dredgings, boat traffic, quays and marinas. This affects the reproduction of fry because former untouched habitat areas are slowly vanishing...

“The fish’s natural habitat has been eradicated and there is currently not enough vegetation and structures in Stockholm’s polluted water, which is something the fish need. But by adding the spruce to the seabed we can make a kind of artificial reef that forms structures for the fish,” explained John Kärki, project leader at Sportfiskarna, speaking for the Stromma blog.”

Every week, Eco India brings you stories that inspire you to build a cleaner, greener and better tomorrow.

A Goa-based NGO is helping to protect the marine environment with its adopt-a-coral scheme. Climate change, overfishing and pollution are destroying the area's reefs. The NGO Coastal Impact hopes to stop the decline with coral adoption.

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Credits:

Supervising Producer: Nooshin Mowla

Script and Field Producer: Bharat Mirle

Video Editor: Sujit Lad

Associate Producer: Ipsita Basu

Director of Photography: Mithun Bhat

Underwater Cinematographer: Ron Bezbaruah

Voiceover: Chandy Thomas

Production Assistant: Rebekah Awungshi