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36°07′16″N5°21′20″W / 36.121178°N 5.355542°W /36.121178; -5.355542
TheGibraltar Artificial Reef, or simply theGibraltar Reef, is the ongoingartificial reef project for theMediterranean waters surrounding theBritish overseas territory ofGibraltar. The initiative was started in 1973 by Dr. Eric Shaw of theHelping Hand Trust.
There are more than 40 dive sites to visit in Gibraltar. Biodiversity is claimed to be high on both natural and artificial reefs.[citation needed]
It consists of a collection ofsunken wrecks designed to givemarine wildlife an environment to breed and colonise.
The reef project has been the centre of political disagreements between Spain and the UK government.
Initially experiments were tried withtyres chained together but sand movement and currents proved to be too strong and washed the tyres away or buried them.Benthic stones were used but they also suffered fromtidal force and proved too expensive. This was followed by sinking ofcars and monitoring the effects of sealife upon them, including aMercedes-Benz that was towed out behind a boat prior to being sunk, driven by diver and instructorSteven Hensaw.
Finally boats andbarges were to be donated by theGibraltar Port Authority and localmarinas. These boats were thoroughly cleaned and emptied of allpollutants prior to sinking and every location mapped. The first boats were two barges donated byGibunco in 1974 and sunk inCamp Bay.
In 2006 the 65 ton wooden boatTrue Joy, also known as "Noah's Ark", was sunk here.[1] The last major addition was the remains of theMVNew Flame, a mid-sized bulk carrier that foundered offEuropa Point in 2007.
In 2013 a new type of reef was created by sinking of concrete blocks, with metal spikes attached. This caused a diplomatic row, as Spain claimed that these blocks were ripping fishing nets used fortrawling and began discussions of whether to place a tax on visitors into Gibraltar from Spain, and close Spain's airspace for flights inbound to Gibraltar.[2]
Greenpeace commented that "such reefs are a very common practice. This is a diplomatic conflict over maritime sovereignty and not an environmental one." Spain regularly "deployed hundreds of [concrete blocks] to protect its waters" fromfishing trawlers.[3]
Gibraltar'sreef has attracted a large variety of marine life,[3] becoming a major attraction for both local and Spanish recreationaldivers.
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