Norway's first artificial reef launched

Eight tons of concrete and 370 metres of little tunnels are what make up Norway's first artificial reef. Sunk in the Nord Fjord just outside Risør, it will act as an alternative fish farm.

The structure will provide a total of 250 square metres of growing surface for marine organisms. Two of them have already been set out in the Nord Fjord. Given the name of 'Runde Reef', it has several potential applications, the first being to provide pasture for fish after seaweeds and other organisms have begun to inhabit it. Later, it can provide alternative living quarters for lobsters. The idea is that lobster fry will grow in the tubes and crawl out of them when they are big enough. The structures can also be used near fish farms to rehabilitate the seabed environment under seacages.

The man behind the idea, which he came up with ten years ago, is Sverre Meisingset in Reef Systems AS in Tønsberg. The idea was to provide a little extra help to set up a marine environment in which fish could graze and lobsters grow. Meisingset has also built a slightly different version called 'Grip Reef', which is a horizontal structure intended to prevent seabed erosion.

Good concept

Reef Systems gave SINTEF Fisheries and Aquaculture's Dept. of Aquaculture Technology the job of quality-assuring the technical aspects and evaluating the concept.
"These are small structures, about five metres in diameter, and should not be a danger to anyone. We have looked at the dimensions and safety on the seabed, and at the possibility of them being capsized by waves", explains senior scientist Jørgen Krokstad. "We have also looked at the operational aspects of sinking and raising such reefs. Many people in Norway have looked at the idea of artificial reefs before, using everything from old car tyres to piles of stone. This is a well thought-out concept in which everything can be removed again, which is a great advantage".

As artificial reefs, these structures offer excellent conditions for organisms to attach themselves and thus create a good environment for culturing commercial species. They should also be suitable in technical terms for the task of reducing local coastal erosion. The need for systems of this sort is great in global terms, but there is also a great deal of competition. SINTEF has also been looking at new concrete casting methods for this concept.

Lobster housing

The Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA) is in charge of the studies of "Runde Reef", and will be following up happens eight metres beneath the surface of the Nord Fjord. NINA will be concentrating on the marine biological aspects of the project. "This is a pioneering project in Norway", says research scientist Hartvig Christie. In Japan they are spending about a million kroner a year on artificial reefs, and they are quite common in other parts of Europe. This autumn, Christie will be diving and fishing at the reefs, in order to check out what is happening. Later, NINA will be trying out lobster production in practice. Each reef includes three tons of stone that will provide the four-week-old lobster fry with a habitat when they are placed in the tunnels, where they will be left in peace to a much greater extent than if they had been set out in other ways.

Contact:

Sverre Meisingset
Reef Systems AS
Phone: +47 33 36 29 90
Email: Sverre@reef-systems.com

Jørgen Krokstad
SINTEF Fisheries and Aquaculture
Phone: +47 73 59 56 30
Email: Jorgen.R.Krokstad@sintef.no