The project and its different phases of its realization

The placing of artificial barriers has gone more developing in the last years in almost all of the countries of the world, mainly to alleviate the stress “by man” to which these environments are constantly submitted. Lately, besides, to the specific creation of materials destined to the artificial accomplishment of barriers it has gone replacing, specially in zones where it is present a strong tourist impact underwater, the use of old boats, destined however to their disarm, that are sunk and used starting point for the settling of new benthic communities and as news underwater dive sites.
Over the last few years, decommissioned vessels and oil platforms have progressively replaced the use of specialized materials as building blocks for artificial reefs. This is especially true of areas where scuba diving is very popular or of areas where there is a lack of a suitable substrate to support the organisms that make up a reef ecosystem.
The success, or rather, the outcome of an “artificial reef” is always bound to several environmental factors, such as the geographical location of the chosen site, its depth, its real distance from a natural reef, the trophic status of the water column, and the morphological and sedimentological characteristics of the sea bottom.

Evaluation of the environmental impact on the chosen site

Carrying out an environmental study of the target area is the first step in an artificial reef project.
All the important parameters that impact on the existence and distribution of reef organisms must be taken into account. A precise knowledge of the hydrodynamic characteristics of the area, such as the direction and intensity of the currents and the amplitude of tides, is extremely important in determining what the correct position and orientation of the wreck should be.
Other important factors to consider are the rate and nature of the sediments (generally sandy or muddy). This is important because sediments may be altered by the presence of the wreck, with the result that a new sedimentation pattern could muddy the wreck and render its position useless. Human impact and its potential use of the new site must also be assessed.
The wrecks’ impact on the marine habitat must also be considered; for example on established biological communities and their existent trophic relationships. Particular attention here must also be given to both endemic organisms and threatened or endangered species. It is therefore necessary to first launch a monitoring program that will allow us to: a) evaluate the reaction of the environment to the placement of the wreck and b) the time required for the “artificial reef” to reach a state of environmental balance.