ARTIFICIAL REEF

rogeru at batelco.com.bh rogeru at batelco.com.bh
Thu Jun 3 03:10:02 EDT 1999


>Sjujono,

>I would strongly recommend against using rubber tires for artificial reef
construction.  From a purely technical standpoint, tire reefs have proven to
be very
>unstable, moving around in storms.  Keeping them all attached to each other
is also very difficult.  The actual placement of the tires is also very
difficult.
>
>Cheers
>James Wiseman
>Winmar Consulting Services
>Houston TX
>

Hi there:

We have a slightly different view of tires here in Bahrain. We do not have
hurricanes or typhoons to move tire reefs.  Depending on your local
conditions, tires may or may not be appropriate.  Are there any practical
alternative uses for tires?  Do you have strong storms and water currents?

We have had tires in the water since 1982.  We fill each tire with a few
shovels of cement (for additional wieght).  We string tires (20-40 tires)
together using 22 mm rope (like a strand of pearls).  Make sure that the
rope has slack through the tires.  This allows some tires to lay flat when
deployed, and provide a base for other tires to lean against.

This configuration makes deployment quick.  Just pick up each rope with
tires at the preparation site using a crane.  On the barge, use a crane to
dump in the water.

Hope that this helps.

Cheers,
Roger
K. Roger Uwate, Ph.D.
Advisor
Directorate of Fisheries
P.O. Box 20071
Bahrain

phone:  (973) 729-595
fax:    (973) 728-459
email:  rogeru at batelco.com.bh



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