Caribbean coral reefs are in decline and the deployment of artificial reefs, structures on the sea bottom that mimic one or more characteristics of a natural reef, is increasingly often considered to sustain ecosystem services. Independent of their specific purposes, it is essential that artificial reefs do not negatively affect the already stressed surrounding habitat. To evaluate the ecological effects of artificial reefs in the Caribbean, an analysis was performed on 212 artificial reefs that were deployed in the Greater Caribbean between 1960 and 2018, based on cases documented in grey (n = 158) and scientific (n = 54) literature. Depending on the availability of data, reef type and purpose were linked to ecological effects and fisheries management practices around the artificial reefs. The three most common purposes to deploy artificial reefs were to create new dive sites (41%), toperform research (22%) and to support ecosystem restoration (18%), mainly by stimulating diversity. Ship wrecks (44%), reef balls© (13%) and piles of concrete construction blocks (11%) were the most-often deployed artificial reef structures and metal and concrete were the most-used materials. The ecological development onartificial reefs in the Caribbean appeared to be severely understudied. Research and monitoring has mostly been done on small experimental reefs that had been specifically designed for science, whereas the most commonly deployed artificial reef types have hardly been evaluated. Studies that systematically compare the ecological functioning of different artificial reef types are virtually non-existent in the Caribbean and should be a research priority, including the efficacy of new designs and materials. Comparisons with natural reef ecosystems are scarce. Artificial reefs can harbor high fish densities and species richness, but both fish and benthos assemblages often remain distinct from natural ecosystems. Studies from other parts of the world show that artificial reefs can influence the surrounding ecosystem by introducing non-indigenous species and by leaking iron. As artificial reefs attract part of their marine organisms from surrounding habitats, intensive exploitation by fishers, without clear management, can adversely affect the fish stocks in the surrounding area and thus counteract any potential ecosystem benefits. This study shows that over 80% of artificial reefs in the Caribbean remain accessible tofishers and are a risk to the surrounding habitat. To ensure artificial reefs and their fisheries do not negatively affect the surrounding ecosystem, it is imperative to include artificial reefs, their fisheries and the surrounding ecosystem in monitoring programs and management plans and to create no-take zones around artificial reefs that are not monitored.
MULTIFILE
Green Bubbles is an EU-funded project dedicated to recreational SCUBA diving, an activity engaging millions of people worldwide. Green Bubbles will maximise the benefits associated with diving while minimising its negative impacts, thus achieving the environmental, economic and social sustainability of the system. Funded by European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement, Green Bubbles is run by a consortium of nine entities, including universities, research organisations, educational organisations and SMEs from Italy, the Netherlands, Malta, Turkey, South Africa and the United States. Breda University main responsibilities are the development of a communication and media plan as well as a Virtual Reality diving experience to make people aware of how to dive in a more sustainable way.Partners: Polytechnic University of Marche, Studio Associato Gaia. Communication, UBICA, Innovasub, DAN Europe, North-West University, College of Exploration., DAN South
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