Do Something concrete for the environment

With the population of almost all large marine predators up to 90% of its pre-1970 numbers, conservation groups and responsible fisheries management organizations need to stop talking and start doing something concrete for the conservation and restoration of our dwindling fish stocks.

In this context, Captain Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, was on the right track last year, when he has something concrete to put an end to downward pull off the coast of Newfoundland.He did get hold of concrete blocks on the floor and destroy the cursed drag nets.

But the concrete blocks is not much more than simply an obstacle to the fishery. They create a new safe habitat for the animals that live in the region. A place where they can make their numbers once again free from the horrors of the bottom dragging.

Concrete waste is a major problem in the U.S., and many companies are on their capital by expensive education and recycling services. The material will be removedbroken up, separated by metal re-enforcement materials, and fill then crushed for recycling in clean surfaces and to aggregate. It would be much easier to download large portions of foundations, road beds, septic tanks, and other materials - concrete, metal, fiberglass, or wood - to barges, they scatter on the ocean floor that have been decimated by dragger and trawler.

Funding could come from "bycatch" - the dead and dying creatures, longliners, seiners, trawlers anddragger are required to throw back, dead or alive. Most of the catch could be sent to the local government systems for processing into food for human consumption or for conversion to fish or animal feed. A percentage of the profits could then be used to rebuild fish and shellfish populations.

It is not a new idea. Highly successful artificial reefs by sinking ships were put out of service and buildings constructed of concrete or stone breakwater. There are a number of artificial reefs in someArea along 127-miles New Jersey Atlantic coast tmade small sunken vessels or piles of tires. And now, engineers are preparing for a concrete reef off the coast of Cape May County to install demonstrate how to counteract beach erosion. If successful could the project is elsewhere, and save the taxpayers in the state millions of dollars each year in the sand replenishment and beach restoration - and additional habitat for fish.

A concrete reef designed tomake "fish ranches" from the west of Scotland has an outstanding success. Scientists built 12 reefs in an area that has not been used for fishing, said she now full of fish and shellfish.

The Scottish Association for Marine Science in Oban, the experiment began a year ago to find out when trying to determine whether large-scale reefs would be profitable for the commercial fishery. Since then, 600 tons of concrete blocks were sunk to the seabed. The reef is with sealifeProtection and safety and nesting areas in the blocks and already a large number of young cod and other species of cod have taken residence. They will only stay there the first years of their lives, but they have a chance to grow before they move out to other areas.

The group plans to have one million concrete blocks, donated by a local firm to decline the bottom of the sea within two years. Dr Martin Sayer, director of the project, said: "reefs such as this are verywidespread in countries like the United States, Australia and Japan, but they have never been attempted before on this scale is. The overall goal is to see whether these reefs on a large scale does not affect how to make a commercial fishery, or if they act as a provider for the commercial fishery. "

The thing is that artificial reefs of everything from sunken cars or boats, concrete blocks, sandbags, culverts, railway sleepers, light poles can be made, and other large concrete or metalObjects - including offshore oil platforms. Everything to gain and provide protection for marine life can be. The fact is that such structures do not only win that the fish live in the region, it actually increases the lake through the provision of safe nesting areas.

There's an old proverb: "One man's trash is another man's treasure and a building made of concrete, which seem doomed to human habit, like a palace for thousands - even millions - of marine organisms. Instead of a pollutant, a lotof what we actually serve better as garbage to the environment.

What do you think? Instead of worrying about the reefs disappear, that we do nothing, we build some reefs, climate change and acidification to be tight. If you want to participate please contact me. Maybe together we can do something worthwhile.