Artificial reef expected to boost marine life in Pieria

A small marine paradise that is expected to boost fish stocks and enhance marine life is being planned in Pieria, northern Greece, with the construction of an artificial reef – the first of its kind in the area – that was completed a few weeks ago and will be monitored by scientists over the next three years.

The idea for a reef off the region’s northern coast, near the Kitros salt flats, was first explored around a decade ago, and the 1-million-euro project was eventually included for funding under the 2011 European Union-backed National Strategic Reference Framework, known in Greece as ESPA.

“The reason why Kitros was chosen was because of the sizable benefits that the project is expected to generate,” Pieria Deputy Regional Governor Sofia Mavridou told Kathimerini. “It is a project with obvious environmental benefits that will boost the fishing industry in the area and, by extension, the local economy.”

According to Triantafyllia Pipilianou of the regional authority’s technical department, the main part of the reef comprises seven underwater pyramids made up of 162 slate plates and cinderblocks and it has been enhanced with another 250 plates, blocks and pipes scattered around different parts of the area. All of the pieces were submerged at a distance of half a nautical mile northwest of Cape Atherida at a depth varying from 12 to 22 meters. The reef is marked with lighted buoys, while together with the protected zone to be designated around it, it will come to 4.3 square kilometers. The area where the reef is located is within the boundaries of the national park formed by the deltas of the Axios, Loudia and Aliakmonas rivers, and also includes the Kitros salt flats.

What benefits are the project’s designers expecting?

Penelope Voulgaridi, deputy head of the Pieria Regional Authority’s Fisheries Department, expects a small ecological paradise to form on and around the reef.

“By artificially reproducing the conditions of a reef and protecting it, we are creating a haven for the area’s marine life,” she explains. “So on the one hand we should see an increase in biomass and the populations of fish such as mullet, sea bream and skate, leading to richer fishing grounds.”

Experts also expect the reef to boost the marine environment’s biodiversity by attracting rarer types of fish and other marine life.

“The protected zone will also shield fish populations from illegal practices such as trawling,” adds Voulgaridi.

The success or failure of the reef depends largely on the whims of nature. For the next three years, therefore, experts from the Fisheries Research Institute will be keeping an eye on how it goes, monitoring factors such as currents, which will affect its growth, and keeping a record of the different species that eventually colonize it. They will also be responsible for drawing up a plan for the reef’s management depending on its biomass and fish populations so that it works not just as a haven but also a food source and reproduction ground for other marine life.

“It is the first time that something like this is being done in Pieria and we are looking forward to the results with great anticipation,” says Mavridou. “Depending on the scientists’ conclusions, we could in a few years explore other uses for the reef, such as diving tourism.”

Greece’s first artificial reef was constructed in 1999 in Fanari, Rodopi, also in the country’s north. Kalymnos, Ierissos and Preveza followed, and very successfully too, while another is currently being planned in Litohoro, also in Pieria.