Sri Lankan Navy this week submerged old buses in the seas off the coast of Jaffna peninsula in an effort to create artificial reefs to nurture marine life.  This interesting experiment is aimed at increasing marine bio- biodiversity in its coastal waters. 

The project, launched this week, is led by Sri Lanka’s Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources with the assistance of the Sri Lankan navy to culture artificial reef off the Delft Island. The department expected to enhance biodiversity in the coastal waters off the islands in Jaffna peninsula; reported The Colombo page. 

At this stage, authorities have planned to submerge 20 discarded buses off Jaffna to help create an artificial reef conducive to the marine environment.

“Sayuru’, a dredging ship of the Fishery Harbors Corporation submerged four buses this week off the Delft Island. Integrated well with coastal biodiversity, officials expect the project will help increase fish stocks in northern waters in the time to come.  

Significantly, the recent incident of the fire on MV-X Press Pearl has significantly damaged the marine environment in the coastal waters off Colombo. The fire that raged for over 11 days rendered thousands of fishermen out of their livelihood. Authorities are also taking assistance from international organizations to mitigate the environmental impact. 
 
(SAM)