RECREATIONAL DIVING OASIS WITH ARTIFICIAL REEFS

Research Directions:

Ecology and ecosystem management

Description:

This demonstration project of innovative technology of HCMR-IMBBC concerns the deployment and performance monitoring in the field of a complete arrangement of a new type of artificial habitats in order to create an "oasis" recreational diving. The experimental arrangement will be deployed in the "Underwater Biotechnological Park of Crete" an area of the seabed 25.000 m² at 20m depth located very close to the IMBBC land premises in Gournes, Heraklion, aiming to protect marine biodiversity and at the same time to support recreational diving tourism in Greece. The overall goal of this demonstration project is to promote the development of a network of recreation diving oases firstly in the Region Crete. The creation of this network could substitute or prevent, to some extent, the current trend for establishing diving parks in remote and environmentally sensitive large areas of the seabed with particular ecological value, high biodiversity and aesthetics but also characterized by significant environmental management and surveillance problems as well as conservation and protection of marine life. The use of the innovative technology of HCMR is expected to contribute to the development of a series of similar public or private projects in Greece as well as in other Mediterranean countries and overseas that can be installed very close to major urban and tourist centers, in small in size areas of the seabed (10-30 acres), in relatively small depths (from 15-30 meters) and in sites that do not show any particular ecological, fishing or archaeological interest. It should be noted that the innovative products " HCMR artificial recreational diving habitat " and " HCMR oasis for recreational diving" are already intellectual property trademarks (TM) of HCMR-IMBBC and also hold international patents offering industrial property protection in various Mediterranean countries and the USA. More information on the HCMR-IMBBC innovative technology can be found on the website: http://ubpcrete.hcmr.gr