Artificial Reefs to Improve Marine Life

HISTORY
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History
The use of oil rigs to create artificial reefs the sea is an improvement to marine life. The primary issue that cannot be disputed is the level to which the platforms improve the ecosystem functions specifically secondary fish production than close by natural reefs. For instance, “the high vertical relief platform mid water habitats of these structures are important nursery grounds for young rockfishes that settle to the platforms as larvae or pelagic juveniles,” (Claisse, Pondella, Love, Zahn, Williams, Williams, Bull, 2014). The recruitment production for each square of mid-water rig-to-rag platform habitat is estimated to be 3.7 times much than natural reefs. With harder substrates situated across the platform’s habitat is accessible compared to natural reefs where fishes happen to live in the last 100m of the platforms during the pelagic stages. Further, “the recruitment and somatic production of smaller fishes on platforms is likely further enhanced over natural reefs because predation rates on small fishes may be lower in platform mid water hab...