For a new experiment we asked our captain Ali if he could arrange a traditional fishing trap for us. Not to catch fish, but to create an artificial reef patch consisting of natural resources. A couple of local fishermen made a large hexagon shaped cage which we loaded on our diving boat the next morning. We brought the fish trap down to 12m of depth and positioned it along a field of coral rubble. We filled the trap up with rocks and closed it with palm leaf strokes. On a second dive we collected broken coral colonies from the natural reef which we attached in different ways to the trap to see how they will do over time. We hope to find that the corals will grow and the whole structure will be covered. If the experiment succeeds we will create more of these reef patches where fish can find food and shelter. For now let's keep our fins crossed!
Comments