Recent Advances In Artificial Reef Technology

Prefabricated designed artificial reef units which can be used to build effective, relatively permanent reefs at a wide variety of sites have been developed recently in Japan and other East Asian countries, where they are used to enhance fisheries resources, promote extensive aquaculture, and aid in rehabilitating areas impacted by coastal development, pollution, and overfishing. Because the design flexibility of these units expands the purposes for which artificial reefs can be used and extends the range of sites available for such activities, this technology has been introduced in the United States to address the limitations inherent in traditional American approaches to reef construction and siting.