Thailand has decided to dump 27 army tanks, 273 old train carts, and 198 garbage trucks into the sea. It's a whole lot of scrap metal hitting the ocean floor, but it's all in an effort to create an artificial reef to solve the problem of overfishing. Government officials believe that by providing more habitat for species, the fishing industry can be sustained. While skeptical at first, locals are also latching on to the idea. Video report after the jump. Huffington Post Green points us to this news report from Al Jezeera:
Artificial reefs are often created by sinking ships or other crafts to help regrow coral reefs -- as the corals begin to thrive on the new structures, the other flora and fauna dependent on corals for survival also begin to thrive. However, the idea of artificial reefs is not without controversy. As some advocates state, it is more important to enact conservation measures to save the reefs growing naturally, rather than create second-rate artificial reefs at whim. And whether or not simply having more reefs will be enough to spare Thailand's waters from poor fishing practices is also up for question -- it sounds more like a band-aid solution, with a better answer being significant changes to fishing practices themselves. Though, something like that is easier said than done in areas that rely on fishing for a main source of food and income. We'll have to wait and see what improvement these sunken vehicles will make.
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