Artificial Reefs: Shipwrecks become homes for fish!
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- Опубліковано 4 гру 2024
- In the Florida Keys, several ships have been sunk intentionally as artificial reefs to provide habitat for fish and entertainment for scuba divers. Jonathan visits three wrecks of different ages to see how these wrecks turn into reefs and what it means to the local marine life.
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In shallow tropical oceans, coral reefs provide habitat and protection for thousands of species of marine animals, especially fish.
In places where the sea floor is too sandy to give coral a place to grab on and grow, there is very little fish life because there is no protection from predators.
For years, fishermen have known however that a shipwreck out in the middle of a flat featureless sea floor becomes a magnet for marine life. Not only is it a place for fish to hide from predators, but it’s also a place where coral can take hold and grow. For this reason, shipwrecks are often called artificial reefs.
Most shipwrecks are the result of accidents or warfare. They have become popular not just with fish, but with divers who want to see the fish or explore the wrecks. Sometimes these shipwrecks are not in the most convenient place for divers however, far from shore, sometimes in deep water.
So why not intentionally sink a ship in a convenient spot? That’s exactly what people are doing all around the world--sinking old ships as a way to create an artificial reef in a particular spot, sometimes to help out the fishermen, sometimes to give divers a place to go, and sometimes to help out the local marine life. Yes, it’s hard to believe, but sinking a big piece of junk on the bottom of the ocean can be a huge help to local marine life!
In 2009, a 522 foot long decommissioned missile-tracking warship called the Vandenberg, was sunk off Key West.
We head over to Southpoint Divers in Key West where we load the boat and join a regularly scheduled dive to the Vandenberg. Since this wreck is the second largest artificial reef in the world, it’s pretty popular with divers who come from all over the world to see it.
The next day, we head north up the keys to Key Largo. Key Largo has some world-famous wrecks. We stop in at Horizon Divers, Key Largo wreck diving experts. Tim and I load our gear onto the boat. Soon we’re on our way, navigating through the canals to the open ocean on a beautiful Keys day.
We arrive at the wreck of the Speigel Grove. A slightly older wreck, the Speigel Grove was sunk in 2002. As the crew ties the boat up to one of the mooring lines, I’m getting suited up for my dive.
So this is the wreck of the Speigel Grove. It’s 11 years old-a little bit older than the Vandenberg. Let’s go see what it looks like.
Some sections of the wreck are so overgrown with sponges and coral that they are completely unidentifiable. And while I definitely know I’m diving a shipwreck, it’s undeniable that nature is taking this man-made object back.
There is also no denying that exploring a shipwreck is fun. Since the Speigel Grove was prepared in advance for divers like the Vandenberg, it is safe for exploration.
This if course makes me wonder…what would an even older wreck look like? Our captain drives us a few miles to another, even older wreck, the Duane.
120 feet beneath this boat is the wreck of the Duane, which is 25 years old! I’m really curious to see what a 25 year old shipwreck looks like.
Leaving the bridge, I investigate yet another staircase, still recognizable as such, but so overgrown with sponges and coral that it now looks more like an abstract sculpture.
Everywhere I look, the wreck has grown thick colonies of cup corals.
And under every overhang, a school of fish, hiding from predators. The fish don’t know this was once a warship. For them, it’s just a great place to live, like any other reef. It seems that 25 years old is a good vintage for an artificial reef.
All too soon the dive must come to an end and I head back towards the mooring line to the boat. My adventures on shipwrecks have been illuminating. What I have learned is that the Vandenberg has a bright future as an artificial reef as the years go by. I’ll be checking in now and then to see how she does as she progresses from a ship to a mature artificial reef!
I believe that ship wrecks are the best part of diving. Thank you Jonathan I'm learning so much from your films.
This is really cool. The fish and other creatures are enjoying their new home. 🐠❤
This is awesome! I've always thought that shipwrecks were detrimental to the sea, the same way a piece of waste laying there would be to the environnement. Thank you for showing me how they can actually help the ocean. :)
They also take out all of the hazardous stuff like oil, fuel
watching the episodes over and over again. every time is like the first time. same delight and appreciation to the great team who made this channel. for them i say THANK YOU.
I watched this video several times and every time I love it. I love diving on ship wrecks.
New video on the Kittiwake coming out next month!
Just brilliant how these artificial reefs are serving to the marine ecosystem, as they provide perfect habitat for hole spectrum of marine wildlife, just love to learn as much as I can about them.
seeing her sink is so cool it's good to know that they still serve a purpose after being decommissioned
Sinking ships to become artificial reefs is without a doubt one of the best ways to give a spent resource back to mother nature. They promote a healthy environment for ocean life to thrive in and grow. Give it a couple hundred years and these ships will collapse on themselves and disintegrate, effectively enriching the earth with material that we (humanity) had taken from it. Its so awesome that governments across the world are realizing this and doing it more often. :)
qwertylee queen
skyscougegod that's a lot. I couldn't understand it though
qwertylee dontcha mean porpoise?? I’m obviously kidding.
It's also nice to see if you're a seafarer.
The proper place for an old vessel is the bottom of the sea, not a scrapyard.
Jonathan this was simply awesome! Thank you so much for sharing this and other wonderful adventures with us.
i always thought that ship wrecks were a bad thing moslty. didnt think it would support life in that way. The more you know i guess. Good job blue world team!
This means we could utilise thousands of cars that we scrap every year for the benefit of Marine life.
It would likely be cost prohibitive to prepare them for sinking; fluids, electricals, etc. would need to be stripped.
Cars would not make good reefs as the steel is to thin would rust away and then disintegrate all life would just disappear as nothing left for marine life to hold on to.
Stephanie Huesler has to bring a little longer hi i
Stephanie Huesler has to bring a little longer than
It looks like you saw grand tour
After all the episodes i watch here thank you for welcoming onto your world!
The Duane is one of my favorite dives. Beautiful.
Fishes be like “what are stairs?”
The duanes bridge is spectacular under artificial light luminating all of the sponges and life clinging to her aging hull..Another moment..Thanks for this sir...
Probably one of my favorite episodes. :D
I love when you visit reef communities.
Great job! I love this episode! It’s amazing how the sinking of a ship could produce so much marine life to gather! Cool vid Jonathan! I appreciate everything that you do for the blue world.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Sometimes I love this planet so much.
Wow, that was truly beautiful! I love these videos! You have no idea how much you mean to me! Every episode is just more inspiration! I'm so glad I discovered your Channel! I hope I can be just like you one day!
The intro music is so light-hearted & uplifting haha
I've had the pleasure to dive the Spiegel Grove a few times, beutiful wreck!!!
In the future i will definitely go for a dive and explore artificial habitats. What an amazing job you have exploring the depths 👍👍
Thank you for exploring and showing what's being done to help marine life!
Ship wrecks that are turning into coral reefs I can’t imagine how much life it holds!
So good to get a new vid upload, I have been watching old Favorites to feed my habit! I would love it this show made it to a UK freebies channel, it would be really popular over here.
wait for it ''a bathroom'' -_- -_- -_-
Malik Neron omg it's a bathroom!! XD
BlueWorldTV Hi Sir Jonathan, you need to dive on Laje de Santos here in Santos City - Brazil. Thats a lot of marine life and would be great to see you right here. This location its also a marine reserve very well preserved by laws and the government.
Awesome video man! You never fail to impress when you release new episodes!!
If your running low on ideas of stuff to document try and see about these subjects:
1. The Titanic
2. Leatherback turtles
3. Tarpon
4. Mola Mola
5. Diving at Night
7. Squids
8. Orca Whales
9.Lions mane Jellyfish
10. Pollution
:)
Owen McFlowen Hey Owen, those are some great ideas. We have actually been working on Mola mola, Leatherbacks, Squids and Tarpon for a few years, but have not gathered enough footage yet. As for the Titanic....we're going to need a bigger budget! LOL!! We are definitely trying to find a place where we can do a decent Orca segment. They are complicated to film. Diving at Night is such a great idea. It never occurred to me to do a segment about that. Thanks for the idea. You get all the credit.
Your welcome about the night diving segment idea, there is a lot of interesting stuff that goes on at night, especially when I was in Croatia snorkelling at 9 o'clock and a reef shark came swimming by! 👌
+BlueWorldTV what was is it like when you first saw a shark?
NI Car Videography 2 brittanic 3 lusitania
BlueWorldTV plus u need a submarine the wreck is about 12 k feet deep
Awesome channel. Glad I stumbled upon it!
Your videos are awsome blueworldtv
jonathan GREAT!!!
I love your videos, they are so cool!
I love this show it is like I'm at Mexico again snorkeling.
Thanks for sharing your work with us! If there is one special dive I'd love to see you cover in your shows, it'll be the annual sardine run off South Africa! Cheers!
I just LOVE this content! :) It's very amazing!!! Keep it up, Jonathan and Blue World Team!
Thank you! Will do!
@@BlueWorldTV Welcome! :)
this is so relaxing
I'm glad we're helping create more reefs♡ Especially since we're responsible for the bleaching of them in the first place
Love your shows! Especially the shark films.
YEA!!! NEW EPISODE!!!
Oh and have you thought of trying to have your show on History channel?
MaddenNation We are on PBS
Ohh
BlueWorldTV my son seth loves when you dive He wants to be just like you
I always just thought shipwrecks looked gross. But this made me realize how important and even kinda pretty they are.
Nice...stay awesome
Illuminati_confirmed? Thanks bro! :-)
Can you go see the titanic soon I heard that it’s been under so long it is starting to fall a part
No one can scuba dive to the Titanic. The water pressure there would kill them.
The titanic is far too deep, in extremely cold water, and there isn't that much to see of it any more, it's disintegrating fast.
JackRabbitSlim There actually still is a lot left to Titanic, especially the bow
I love how the ocean claims everything that goes into it, nothing goes to waste.
That double hose reg works great for photography..And it looks really cool too..
I found this episode to be very interesting. Thanks!
Scuba Diving Is so cool!
But I never have understood why Scuba Divers Scuba Dive at night time.
Isnt it creepy and too dark too see? Even with a flashlight isnt your vision limited to what the rays of the flashlight touch, Or does the moon shine in through the water?
Nice Videos Jonathan!
Insany 14 A bight moon in clear water yields a surprising amount of light, but most of the time you are limited to your flashlight beam. It actually sounds a lot spookier than it is. Diving at night allows you to see animals that are only out at night.
BlueWorldTV Oh, Okay thanks. My Dad loves night diving. You should Scuba Dive in Thailand. I heard that the water there is Beautiful.
All the critters come out at night.Corals extend there feeders and the ocean floor is alive ..My best every night dive was off kona with manta rays...
Love the sea i want to get into diving again thanks to u great videos 👍
Have you been scuba diving at the Great Barrier Reef it's very beautiful and relaxing
AdminGamer 123 ua-cam.com/video/euUxQqsstWE/v-deo.html
Great work!
blueworld tv for life.
" wait for it " ( I gave it a drum roll 😂) " a bathroom " that cracked me up
Dragon_Slayer Technically a bathroom on a ship is called a "head" but the joke just isn't as funny if people don't get it. LOL
Hahaha I get it 😂😂😂😂😂🐙🐋🐟🐳🐠🐢
+BlueWorldTV the majestic bathroom ITS TINY AND ITS FOR SALE! 50 PERCENT OFF! BUY ONE FREE ONE
Thank you
The vandenburg was the ship featured in the film "Virus" staring Jamie Lee Curtis.
Well now it’s 2022 so that ship has been under the waves for 10-12 years
I was stationed on the Grove's Sister ship USS Hermitage LSD-34 1973 - 1974 on a Med Cruise
Those ship look likes a caption octopus ship in pirate of Caribbean movies
Its cool. Who's watching this in 2017
Watching this in 2024! 😱
I LOVE YOUR VIDEOS I'M YOUR BIGGEST FAN
I love your channel next try to find a dwarf lantern shark
Does the extensive coverage of marine life like corals extend the lifespan of the ship itself? I imagine the creatures living on the hull would help prevent corrosion and keep the structure strong and sturdy.
Would the corals, over time, end up creating something like a brand new reef extending outwards from the ship as they grew and compounded upon each other?
The metal rusts, but the coral keeps building. Eventually though the metal will collapse under the weight. But it takes well over 50 years for that process to start.
Neat, thanks for the quick reply. Well over 50 years is a hell of a long time.
I love this channel!
you are a very talented diver
Have you ever dove the mighty O? It is one of my bucket list dives!! Be a good video also.
Love all your videos 👍🏻👍🏻
It's so important that humans start caring equally about the oceans as we do the land. Our lives depend on it. Watching these beautiful creatures in their natural habitat is so amazing.
I agree!
Great video love it
Two hose regs are the coolest thing in diving. Long live sea hunt.
Too bad Phil at VDH just passed away.
God rest his soul.
I agree, doublehose regs are awesome and cool. Really sad about Bryan.
That's really cool dude😎👍
It's me Francess again Jonathan Bird ,I like this episode a lot it makes me think of pirates when there ship sank but I already know that these ships don't belong to pirates at all.They are boats that people sank.Oh and I was wondering if you could make a episode about a fish called an oarfish.
Your Friend,Francess 😃
KCF cousins Hey Francess, thanks for the comment! We haven't got an episode about the Oarfish, but I had an encounter with one before and got a picture. You can read the story here: www.blueworldtv.com/behind-the-scenes/sea-stories/encounter-with-an-oarfish
Jonathan you definitely should visit Vancouver Aquarium and dive in our tanks because we have some mammals that are not the most common in Aquariums like pacific white sided dolphin and false killer whale also blugas as well
I love reefs!! (Even though I haven’t been to one)
3:10 Look at the line attached to the tugboat. What is happening to it? Is that vibration caused by electricity going through it or something? (You can use < and > to scrub frame-by-frame)
That line is connected to the explosive charges on the ship. You're seeing them set off the charges, and the current that travels through the line.
Nice jhon
Big fan !! :)
He deserves a million of sub.😍💖
I agree!!
Are there any even older wrecks? Like more than 25 years? I mean the last one was kinda impressive already, but I'm anxious to see what a 50-year-old one would look like.
The oldest known shipwreck 2400 years old
11:52
And here you have, where fish use the restroom!
Wait I thought it's a sink
I love your vids
How much bottom time do you get at that depth? Also, how big is your tank and to what pressure is it filled.
Which depth? Tanks are filled to about 3,000 PSI
At about 100 feet. I just so happen to live in Florida and would like to visit some of those wrecks.
Finaly new video :3
I love this
I'm doing this for a homework assignment for science class
Seems like a pretty sweet homework assignment if you get to watch Blue World!
BlueWorldTV is cool
Bl
1:45 This fishes permanent scowl made me laugh so hard!
It's beautiful
Nice video!
This might be a common question but Sylvia Earle talked a bit about it in "mission blue" do you see a clear difference in the ocean from when you started diving? and how? also have you had the honor in meeting Sylvia Earle? would really enjoy seing a video about that subject from your view about the change
Camo_Dude Yes, I have met Dr. Earle many times. She is a lovely, charming lady. Very soft spoken, but with a big voice, if you know what I mean. I see many differences in the ocean. Many places have degraded significantly in the 25 years I have been diving. But other places have improved significantly with conservation, so it's not all gloom and doom.
BlueWorldTV yeah, i totally get that. would be interesting hearing more about that! maybe not just the bad stuff cause that's pretty much all we hear. its truly a shame that we don't look more towards our own ocean, its truly a magical place, just truly amazes me at times. im not sure we have that amazing sea life here in Norway but we do have king crabs and i would love to go and see that one day and there's always whales! but who knows i might get surprised
That bridge would look epic if you had an actinic light and polarized lens.
Very beautiful
Your awesome
cool wreak!!!
Mr. Bird, I love your videos. I think you deserve to be on a network. Animal Planet perhaps. I hope you continue making education fun for years to come
He does have one!! Check on his website :)
Thanks, will do =)
There was a very new wreck well fliped in south florida called rapa nui
its now been another 4 year you should visit this reef again
Hey Jonathan do you have a saltwater fish tank.
Hey Johnathan have you ever seen or swam with the Mako Sharks i gotta say Those are the best sharks!
This I why oil platforms off the Texas coast are so vital. Some people want them removed, but those old decommissioned rigs provide invaluable structure below and above the surface.
I agree! Have you seen our segment about that?
ua-cam.com/video/ZdGzeRD6N8w/v-deo.html
Awesome video +1+1+1. I wonder how wrecks do overtime in coder waters like California or other parts of the world compared to the warmer waters of Florida.
awww the fish is cute
The silver fox looked young at least he got you back to the dock 🎉
Why did they sink the first ship? I LOVE YOUR VIDEOS!!!!!!!!👏🏻🐠😍😎🤩