PROJECT LEADER
Professor Rouzbeh Abbassi
AFFILIATION
Macquarie University and Smart Crete CRC
START DATE
January 2022
END DATE
July 2022
DURATION
6 months
PROJECT IN BRIEF
The Blue Economy CRC interests would be the application of the artificial reef (AR) to enhance the physical, biological, and socioeconomics process relevant to living marine organisms have received significant attention from researchers and industry. Artificial reefs have grown in popularity to enhance habitat enhancement and fisheries management. Concrete has been used for marine structures such as Gravity-based structures (GBS) and floating structures in both offshore oil & gas and wind industries. Yet, their application in emerging industries such as the aquaculture industry has not been fully scoped. Using artificial reef concrete has many advantages over artificial reef constructed by other materials. Due to the highly versatile nature of concrete, it considers as one of the best materials for artificial reefs.
This scoping study is devoted to exploring the opportunities and challenges of using concrete artificial reef from different aspects, including the material characteristics, design of size and shape, and application and management.
The objectives of this study are as follows:
- To review the previous attempts related to concrete artificial reef (AR) development and investigate the potentials of
using concrete AR in Australia. - To evaluate the site selection criteria for potential artificial reef installations.
- To select the most promising materials and construction method for AR construction.
- To assess general design considerations and available guidance for concrete materials for BE structures with a focus
on artificial reefs in Australia. - To evaluate the viability of using concrete materials for artificial reefs from different environmental perspectives.
- To evaluate the possibility of turning the decommissioned oil and gas platforms into artificial reefs.
- To analyse cost, operation, and maintenance, harvesting (seaweed, etc), and market opportunities.
- To assess the licence and regulatory obligations for deploying AR in AUS/NZ.
2023 PARTICIPANTS WORKSHOP PRESENTATION
The Blue Economy CRC interests would be the application of the artificial reef (AR) to enhance the physical, biological, and socioeconomics process relevant to living marine organisms have received significant attention from researchers and industry. Artificial reefs have grown in popularity to enhance habitat enhancement and fisheries management. Concrete has been used for marine structures such as Gravity-based structures (GBS) and floating structures in both offshore oil & gas and wind industries. Yet, their application in emerging industries such as the aquaculture industry has not been fully scoped. Using artificial reef concrete has many advantages over artificial reef constructed by other materials. Due to the highly versatile nature of concrete, it considers as one of the best materials for artificial reefs.
This scoping study is devoted to exploring the opportunities and challenges of using concrete artificial reef from different aspects, including the material characteristics, design of size and shape, and application and management.
The objectives of this study are as follows:
- To review the previous attempts related to concrete artificial reef (AR) development and investigate the potentials of
using concrete AR in Australia. - To evaluate the site selection criteria for potential artificial reef installations.
- To select the most promising materials and construction method for AR construction.
- To assess general design considerations and available guidance for concrete materials for BE structures with a focus
on artificial reefs in Australia. - To evaluate the viability of using concrete materials for artificial reefs from different environmental perspectives.
- To evaluate the possibility of turning the decommissioned oil and gas platforms into artificial reefs.
- To analyse cost, operation, and maintenance, harvesting (seaweed, etc), and market opportunities.
- To assess the licence and regulatory obligations for deploying AR in AUS/NZ.
2023 PARTICIPANTS WORKSHOP PRESENTATION
PROJECT PARTNERS
