By Eduardo Nuno Borges Pereira, Associated professor, University of Minho

Southwestern Europe and Portugal have more than a decade of experiences with Artificial Reefs. 

The aimed functions are multiple, spanning from the flourishment of specific species such as lobsters, or the development of lively habitats to serve as tourist attractions. In general concrete structures have been used until now, seen as a mineralogically favourable substrates and flexible enough as a construction material to obtain the required habitat complexity at multiple scales. 

After a brief review of these past experiences, recent studies on novel construction systems and materials will be discussed, as well as the preliminary results on colonization studies.

Fra temadagen Kunstige rev: Erfaringer, krav og muligheder