Comparison of fish assemblages among an artificial reef, a natural reef and a sandy-mud bottom site on the shelf off Iwate, northern Japan

1996 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 351-364 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toshihiko Fujita ◽  
Daiji Kitagawa ◽  
Yusaku Okuyama ◽  
Yasutoshi Jin ◽  
Yoshio Ishito ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fish Assemblages ◽  
Artificial Reef ◽  
Natural Reef ◽  
Northern Japan

scholarly journals Using ecological evidence to refine approaches to deploying offshore artificial reefs for recreational fisheries

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig Blount ◽  
Valeriya Komyakova ◽  
Lachlan Barnes ◽  
Marcus Lincoln Smith ◽  
Dilys Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fish Assemblages ◽  
Artificial Reef ◽  
Artificial Reefs ◽  
Recreational Fisheries ◽  
Fishing Activity ◽  
Ecological Literature ◽  
Optimal Shapes ◽  
Natural Reef ◽  
Quantitative Indicators ◽  
Natural Reefs

Artificial reefs have many applications but are best known for their deployments to enhance recreational fisheries by creating new habitat in areas where natural reef is otherwise limited. The expectation is that fish assemblages will take up residence on artificial reefs and that these assemblages will become at least similar, if not more diverse and abundant, to those on natural reefs. Although designed, purpose-built artificial reefs are becoming more widely used in support of recreational fisheries and many of the historic issues have been resolved, conservation practitioners and managers still face challenges as to the type, number, and arrangement of structures and where to deploy them to maximize benefits and minimize risks. The ecological literature was reviewed to develop and enhance contemporary principles of artificial reef best practices for utilization. Our review identified optimal shapes, vertical relief, void spaces, and unit arrangements for increasing volumes and diversity of catch to recreational fishers and we provide a tool for identifying the least constrained areas for artificial reef deployment. We suggest; (a) monitoring of noncatch motivators in combination with quantitative indicators of the fishing activity (e.g., catch rate and effort) will provide the best understanding of success or failure of an artificial reef deployment; (b) choosing target species for informing purpose-built artificial reef designs to be reef-associated, demersal, philopatric, territorial, and obligatory reef species that are desired by local recreational fishers; and (c) considering the ecosystem services provided by artificial reefs beyond those associated with recreational fishing.

scholarly journals Fish densities associated with structural elements of oil and gas platforms in southern California

2019 ◽  
Vol 95 (4) ◽  
pp. 639-656 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin L Meyer-Gutbrod ◽  
Li Kui ◽  
Mary M Nishimoto ◽  
Milton S Love ◽  
Donna M Schroeder ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Southern California ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Fish Assemblages ◽  
Fish Habitat ◽  
Artificial Reef ◽  
Offshore Structures ◽  
Structural Elements ◽  
Structural Element ◽  
Young Of The Year

There are thousands of offshore oil and gas platforms worldwide that will eventually become obsolete, and one popular decommissioning alternative is the "rigs to reefs" conversion that designates all or a portion of the underwater infrastructure as an artificial reef, thereby reducing the burden of infrastructure removal. The unique architecture of each platform may influence the size and structure of the associated fish assemblage if different structural elements form distinct habitats for fishes. Using scuba survey data from 11 southern California platforms from 1995 to 2000, we examined fish assemblages associated with structural elements of the structure, including the major horizontal crossbeams outside of the jacket, vertical jacket legs, and horizontal crossbeams that span the jacket interior. Patterns of habitat association were examined among three depth zones: shallow (<16.8 m), midwater (16.8–26 m), and deep (>26 m); and between two life stages: young- of-the-year and non-young-of-the-year. Fish densities tended to be greatest along horizontal beams spanning the jacket interior, relative to either horizontal or vertical beams along the jacket exterior, indicating that the position of the habitat within the overall structure is an important characteristic affecting fish habitat use. Fish densities were also higher in transects centered directly over a vertical or horizontal beam relative to transects that did not contain a structural element. These results contribute to the understanding of fish habitat use on existing artificial reefs, and can inform platform decommissioning decisions as well as the design of new offshore structures intended to increase fish production.

Subtidal assemblages associated with a geotextile reef in south-east Queensland, Australia

2005 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rhys A. Edwards ◽  
Stephen D. A. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Fish Assemblages ◽  
Benthic Communities ◽  
Artificial Reef ◽  
Demersal Fish ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Marine Habitats ◽  
Sessile Invertebrates ◽  
Hard Structures ◽  
Asymmetrical Design ◽  
Natural Reefs

In marine habitats, the use of geotextile materials as a ‘soft-engineering’ solution is increasingly being considered as an alternative to hard structures. However, very little is known about biological assemblages that develop on geotextile structures. This study provides the first ecological comparison of subtidal assemblages between Narrowneck Artificial Reef (NAR), a geotextile reef in south-east Queensland, Australia, and three nearby natural reefs. Benthic community structure, fish assemblages and habitat complexity were compared between reef types using an asymmetrical design. Although natural reefs supported distinct biotic assemblages, as a class, these reefs differed significantly from NAR. The artificial reef was dominated by macroalgae and supported fewer benthic categories, whereas the natural reefs were characterised by a diverse range of sessile invertebrates. Benthic and demersal fish assemblages were less diverse on NAR, but pelagic fish assemblages were similar on both reef types. The substratum of NAR was less complex than that of the natural reefs; this physical variable was correlated with some of the differences in benthic communities and benthic and demersal fish assemblages. It is likely that the key determinants of the biotic patterns observed in this study are interactions between the age of NAR and the physical properties of geotextile substratum.

scholarly journals WITHDRAWN: Fish assemblages of three common artificial reef designs during early colonization

2020 ◽  
pp. 100021
Author(s):  
Alwin Hylkema ◽  
Adolphe O. Debrot ◽  
Ronald Osinga ◽  
Patrick S. Bron ◽  
Daniel B. Heesink ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fish Assemblages ◽  
Artificial Reef

scholarly journals Benthic biodiversity on old platforms, young wind farms, and rocky reefs

2018 ◽  
Vol 77 (3) ◽  
pp. 1250-1265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joop W P Coolen ◽  
Babeth van der Weide ◽  
Joël Cuperus ◽  
Maxime Blomberg ◽  
Godfried W N M Van Moorsel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wind Farm ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Steel Substrate ◽  
Artificial Reef ◽  
Wind Farms ◽  
Rocky Reefs ◽  
Psammechinus Miliaris ◽  
Natural Reef ◽  
Offshore Oil And Gas ◽  
Offshore Oil

Abstract The introduction of artificial hard substrates in an area dominated by a sandy seabed increases habitat available to epifouling organisms. To investigate this, samples were taken on old offshore oil and gas platforms, and data were compared with data of a young wind farm and a natural reef. Depth, sampling date, abundance of Mytilus edulis, Psammechinus miliaris, Metridium dianthus, and the presence of Tubulariidae and substrate (rock or steel) all correlated with species richness. Multivariate analysis showed a large overlap in communities on steel and rock and between the wind farm and platforms. The community changed over a gradient from deep rocks to shallow steel substrate, but no strong community differentiation was observed. Deep steel was more similar to natural rocks than shallow steel. When an artificial reef is intended to be colonized by communities similar to those on a natural reef, its structure should resemble a natural reef as much as possible.

Marine Artificial Reef Research and Development: Integrating Fisheries Management Objectives

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Reef Fish ◽  
Fish Assemblages ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Construction Materials ◽  
Artificial Reef ◽  
Red Snapper ◽  
Artificial Reefs ◽  
Lutjanus Campechanus ◽  
The Status ◽  
Vermilion Snapper

<em>Abstract</em>.—Reef-fish assemblage structure was compared among multiple artificial and geologic (i.e., naturally occurring hard bottom) habitats in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico during 2014–2016 as part of a larger fishery-independent survey. Baited remote underwater video systems equipped with stereo cameras were deployed (<em>n </em>= 348) on 11 habitat types, classified through interpretation of side-scan sonar imagery. In the video samples, 11,801 fish were enumerated. Nonparametric analysis of reef-fish assemblages detected four clusters related to habitat; assemblages associated with geologic habitats were distinct, whereas the remaining three clusters represented groupings of artificial habitats of different size, scale, and complexity. While many species, including Vermilion Snapper <em>Rhomboplites aurorubens </em>and Red Snapper <em>Lutjanus campechanus</em>, were observed in greater numbers on artificial reef habitats, most species were observed in all habitats sampled. Among artificial reef habitats, the habitat cluster consisting of unidentified depressions, unidentified artificial reefs, construction materials, and reef modules was similar to geologic habitats in supporting larger individuals, specifically Gray Triggerfish <em>Balistes capriscus </em>and Red Snapper. In contrast, the habitat cluster consisting of smaller, generally solitary chicken-transport cages was inhabited by smaller individuals, including smaller Red Snapper. Although geologic reefs are the predominant reef habitat throughout much of the eastern Gulf, artificial reefs are important locally, especially in the Florida Panhandle. Accordingly, continued incorporation of artificial reef habitats within large-scale fishery-independent monitoring efforts is critical to the accurate assessment of the status of reef-fish stocks on broad spatial scales.

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