Artificial Reef: Status, Life Cycle, and Environmental Impact Assessment

The main objective of constructing artificial reefs is to improve the environment, increase the bio-productivity of marine ecosystems and their biodiversity. For this reason, any underwater object designated as an artificial reef gets a positive ecological image. This effect is often used to solve problems by methods that do not improve the ecological situation. For example, some sunken ships and unused underwater structures are often declared artificial reefs. As a result, the costs of lifting and dismantling them are not considered necessary. It has also been proposed to include the legs of offshore oil platforms in the category of artificial reefs and to consider them the objects that contribute to the improvement of the aquatic environment quality. In some cases, artificial reefs are constructed from waste, such as old car tires. When they are destroyed, the sea is polluted. Another important problem is the absence of control over the state of most artificial reefs. They are not maintained or repaired. Therefore, many artificial reefs are degrading. In time, they are losing their biomeliorative and recreational potential. To solve these problems, it is necessary to give all artificial reefs the official status of a separate class of hydraulic structures. It will define an exact purpose of subsea structures and will allow analysing the environmental impact of artificial reefs during all stages of their life cycle, including decommissioning. In addition, the construction of all types of artificial reefs should be considered as creation of natural-technical systems that should be managed. © 2021, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.