Phi Phi Ley Artificial Reef
Phi Phi Ley is the location of one of the island’s most exciting dive sites simply known as the Artificial Reef. In July 2006 the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) approached The Adventure Club to discuss the idea of constructing an artificial reef that would create a new dive site to attract divers. The concept behind this was based on a DMCR survey that many divers and snorkelers were actually causing unintentional damage by making contact with the reef multiple times on each dive and that by offering an alternate attraction it would provide some respite to the natural coral reef.
Phi Phi Ley Artificial Reef
Phi Phi Ley is the location of one of the island’s most exciting dive sites simply known as the Artificial Reef. In July 2006 the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) approached The Adventure Club to discuss the idea of constructing an artificial reef that would create a new dive site to attract divers. The concept behind this was based on a DMCR survey that many divers and snorkelers were actually causing unintentional damage by making contact with the reef multiple times on each dive and that by offering an alternate attraction it would provide some respite to the natural coral reef.
Present Day
On the older part of the Artificial Reef natural settlement of corals is more abundant having had more time to develop. However on the newer part of the structure natural coral settlement has been successful.
Thousands of corals have also been transplanted from our coral nursery to the blocks over the years and this has increased the amount of available acropora coral donors for natural coral reproduction of the species.
The site is now habitat to many other species of reef fish, invertebrates, anemones, soft corals and many other organisms
Stage One
Construction of the Artificial reef came in two stages.
The blocks for stage one were delivered in 2006. With no fixed plan on how to position the blocks, they were dropped at the approximate area of where they were to be assembled. Each block weighs approximately 1 tonne and measure 1.5 cubic meters. The blocks are made from concrete re-enforced with rebar.
The site selected ranged from 10 to 19 meters depth.
Present Day
On the older part of the Artificial Reef natural settlement of corals is more abundant having had more time to develop. However on the newer part of the structure natural coral settlement has also been successful.
Thousands of corals have also been transplanted from our coral nursery to the blocks over the years and this has increased the amount of available acropora coral donors for natural coral reproduction of the species.
The site is now habitat to many other species of reef fish, invertebrates, anemones, soft corals and many other organisms
Construction – Stage 1
Construction of the Artificial reef came in two stages.
The blocks for stage one were delivered in 2006. With no fixed plan on how to position the blocks, they were dropped at the approximate area of where they were to be assembled. Each block weighs approximately 1 tonne and measure 1.5 cubic meters. The blocks are made from concrete re-enforced with rebar.
The site selected ranged from 10 to 19 meters depth.
Dive Team
The work would not have been possible without the dedicated assistance of the volunteer dive team. The team consisted of professionally trained Instructors and Divemasters that committed their time and energy to help build the Artificial Reef. A special thanks to Jon Morton, Christopher Berry, Sam Kerridge, Ryan Weber, Champ Sorsomboon, and Andrew Hewett who were inspirational in helping to complete the work.
Dive Team
The work would not have been possible without the dedicated assistance of the volunteer dive team. The team consisted of professionally trained Instructors and Divemasters that committed their time and energy to help build the Artificial Reef. A special thanks to Jon Morton, Christopher Berry, Sam Kerridge, Ryan Weber, and Champ Sorsomboon, who were inspirational in helping to complete the work.
Site selection
Prior to installing an artificial reef or conducting any coral restoration it is important to consider a number of elements to ensure that the site selection is a suitable location. Site selection was based upon the following conditions:
- Do corals naturally settle in the the area? (This would show that the site is suitable for natural coral recruitment.)
- Is the site shallow enough to allow divers and snorkelers to enjoy the new dive site?
- Is the site protected during the monsoon season to allow diving all year round?
- Is the location accessible or close enough to our base to make it easy to access?
- What is the bottom composition? (It was important to survey the bottom to ensure that there were no corals could be damaged during the installation.
Site selection
Prior to installing an artificial reef or conducting any coral restoration it is important to consider a number of elements to ensure that the site selection is a suitable location. Site selection was based upon the following conditions:
Do corals naturally settle in the the area?
Is it shallow enough for divers and snorkelers to enjoy the new dive site?
Is the site protected during the monsoon season to allow diving all year?
Is the location close enough to our base to make it easy to access?
Is the bottom compostion clear of any other marine life to avoid damage?
Installation
The blocks were literally dropped into the water from a barge using a forklift truck. However the barge had to be moved every few meters to avoid allowing the blocks to land in one pile as this would cause the blocks to break. After the first few dives a map of the location of all the blocks was created so as to plan which blocks would be moved to which location.
Installation
The blocks were literally dropped into the water from a barge using a forklift truck. However the barge had to be moved every few meters to avoid allowing the blocks to land in one pile as this would cause the blocks to break. After the first few dives a map of the location of all the blocks was created so as to plan which blocks would be moved to which location.
Assigning Jobs
Since working underwater is limited to how much air we have available each team member was assigned a specific job.
- Equipment management
- Ropes
- Safety strap
- Lift bag team
- Safety officer
Assigning Jobs
Since working underwater is limited to how much air we have available each team member was assigned a specific job.
Equipment management
Ropes
Safety strap
Lift bag team
Safety officer
Ropes
Ropes were pre-tied with loops so making new knots underwater was not necessary. We simply passed the rope through itself, attaching one rope to each corner of the block. One person would attach ropes to a couple of blocks so that the next block would be ready straight away for the lift bag.
Ropes
Ropes were pre-tied with loops so making new knots underwater was not necessary. We simply passed the rope through itself, attaching one rope to each corner of the block. One person would attach ropes to a couple of blocks so that the next block would be ready straight away for the lift bag.
Safety Strap
A heavy duty safety strap would be attached between an ‘anchor’ block and the block we were going to lift. This way we could control the amount of ascent of the block preventing it from ascending out of control to the surface. We would adjust the length of the strap according to how far the block would need to travel. If it was more than a few meters we would have to leapfrog the block up and down across the bottom and reattaching the safety strap to a closer anchor block.
Safety Strap
A heavy duty safety strap would be attached between an ‘anchor’ block and the block we were going to lift. This way we could control the amount of ascent of the block preventing it from ascending out of control to the surface. We would adjust the length of the strap according to how far the block would need to travel. If it was more than a few meters we would have to leapfrog the block up and down across the bottom and reattaching the safety strap to a closer anchor block.
Lift bags
A 500 liter lift bag was attached to the four ropes and inflated just to the point of neutral buoyancy. At this point the safety officer would signal whether all members of the team were in a safe position to move the block. One member would be in charge of managing the buoyancy of the lift bag, while 3 or 4 other persons in the team would ‘walk’ / ‘pull’ / ‘swim’ the block into position.
Lift bags
A 500 liter lift bag was attached to the four ropes and inflated just to the point of neutral buoyancy. At this point the safety officer would signal whether all members of the team were in a safe position to move the block. One member would be in charge of managing the buoyancy of the lift bag, while 3 or 4 other persons in the team would ‘walk’ / ‘pull’ / ‘swim’ the block into position.
Stage Two
300 more concrete blocks were added in 2015 to extend the size of the artificial reef. The units were lowered into the water pre-assembled in units consisting of 27 blocks.
A team of two divers then positioned the units running north starting just a few meters from stage 1 blocks.
The work took one day to install.
Stage Two
300 more concrete blocks were added in 2015 to extend the size of the artificial reef. The units were lowered into the water pre-assembled in units consisting of 27 blocks.
A team of two divers then positioned the units running north starting just a few meters from stage 1 blocks.
The work took one day to install.
As a Dive Site
The Artificial Reef (AR) is one of the most regularly dived sites at the Phi Phi Islands. It’s shallow location is perfect for divers of all levels, and has played a huge role in educating divers and the local community to the importance of protecting our coral reefs from destruction. In fact it was due to this program that developed the practice of creating safety areas around shallow coral reefs protected by a rope and buoy system to prevent boats from entering the shallow areas and throwing in anchors and discharging waste water in the shallows.
The Artificial Reef is now a healthy habitat to hundreds of species of reef fish and other organisms. Schools of snappers are abundant. Batfish are seldom found at other sites but there always a number of them around the AR. Scorpionfish, seasnakes, lionfish, damselfish, anemonefish, moray eels, hawksbill turtles are among the many species found here.
The Artificial Reef has also been used to as a a transplant site for corals harvested from the coral nursery, but many species of corals have settled naturally to the AR as is more evident on the 1st stage as it is older.
Present Day
The Artificial Reef (AR) is one of the most regularly dived sites at the Phi Phi Islands. It’s shallow location is perfect for divers of all levels, and has played a huge role in educating divers and the local community to the importance of protecting our coral reefs from destruction. In fact it was due to this program that developed the practice of creating safety areas around shallow coral reefs protected by a rope and buoy system to prevent boats from entering the shallow areas and throwing in anchors and discharging waste water in the shallows.
The Artificial Reef is now a healthy habitat to hundreds of species of reef fish and other organisms. Schools of snappers are abundant. Batfish are seldom found at other sites but there always a number of them around the AR. Scorpionfish, seasnakes, lionfish, damselfish, anemonefish, moray eels, hawksbill turtles are among the many species found here.
The Artificial Reef has also been used to as a a transplant site for corals harvested from the coral nursery, but many species of corals have settled naturally to the AR as is more evident on the 1st stage as it is older.
