Baha Mar Installing Artificial Reef

The $3.5 billion Baha Mar resort in Nassau, Bahamas, will have an artificial reef with 48 concrete reef balls and more than 300 pieces of antler-shaped artificial coral. Each of the 55-pound ceramic antler pieces was assembled by a team of Baha Mar volunteers and placed in the sea near the shoreline at the resort site.

The reef balls provide protective spaces for fish while encouraging coral growth; the pieces of artificial coral create ecological conditions for coral settlement, growth and adhesion. Fish are attracted to the layout, which resembles a naturally occurring coral reef. Over time, the reef balls and antlers will be filled in and covered by a living reef.

Work on the reef began last April. The environmental team has documented a number of marine species that now call the artificial reef home, including parrotfish, sea urchins, sponges and coral. The reef will be accessible to snorkelers.

Baha Mar, scheduled to open next spring, will have five hotels, a casino, a golf course, a spa, art galleries, bars and clubs, a conference center, retail space, restaurants, pools and gardens.

Source: Travel Weekly