Scientists worry about impacts of artificial reefs

One of 200 old garbage trucks which are going to be sunk into the Gulf of Thailand

Kasetsart University expert Thorn Thamrongnasawadi said marine ecosystems in the South could be damaged by the dumping.

"We have to consider what and how much we are dumping into the sea before we start," he said.

Thorn is afraid iron in the lorries will pollute the sea when it rusts and harm ecosystems. Nevertheless, he is not 100 per cent against the idea of "manmade reefs". But he demands they be well designed and built by marine experts.

Fisheries Department directorgeneral Jaranthada Karnasuta insisted officials and Prince of Songkhla University scientists would closely monitor the project.

"Don't be afraid about rust - it is iron oxide; a natural mineral," said Jaranthada.

He added it would not be the first time manmade objects had been dumped into the sea to create artificial reefs. Each year the department constructs concrete reefs in the gulf. Five years ago, several hundred train carriages were dumped off the Narathiwat coast. All potential toxic substances were removed before they were sunk, he said.

Some 200 decommissioned Bangkok city refusecollection and water vehicles were recently loaded aboard vessels bound for Pattani.

Jaranthada said they would be sunk off the Pattani coast tomorrow.

The reefs they create will become a habitat for fish and other marine life and sustain smallscale fishing, he added.

The Nation

Published on Wednesday, July 11, 2007