wrecks
WRECKS AS ARTIFICIAL REEFS Text ISADORA ABUTER GREBE Photo Arkadiusz Srebnik, Polanddivingphoto
As readers of this magazine, we share a deep connection with water and the ocean. Beneath the surface of the sea lies a world of wonder. It captivates the hearts of us divers.
THE HARSH REALITY: OCEANS UNDER PRESSURE Sadly we must confront the harsh reality – our oceans are under pressure. Science proves that marine ecosystems are facing imminent threats, including overfishing, climate change, and pollution. Human-induced impacts and structural development have significantly altered marine habitats. Even deep oceans are not spared from the impacts of human-generated waste and marine litter. Anthropogenic stressors have induced habitat changes, particularly in coastal waters, leading to the suffering of marine ecosystems through increasing industrialization, resource utilization, and coastal population growth, resulting in habitat degradation.
WRECKS AS MARINE SANCTUARIES Are you a wreck-diver? What attracts you to wreck diving? Overall, the combination of history, adventure, photography opportunities, skill development, mystery, community, and a sense of preservation makes wreck diving interesting to us scuba divers. If you are diving on wrecks, you may have noticed that there are wrecks that are fully overgrown by plants and animals. This is what made me become interested in wreck diving – realizing that I may be able to see life during wreck dives, simply because animals find a home on, in and around wrecks. This is where my curiosity arose: Could wrecks become marine sanctuaries, supporting marine life and mitigating the Photo Arkadiusz Srebnik, Polanddivingphoto
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pressure that marine ecosystems are facing? On the other hand, could wrecks have harmful effects by attracting invasive and non-native species, outcompeting the native ones? Thinking further I was wondering if there are differences in algae that colonize wrecks and present natural reefs or does algae find a proper breeding ground on wrecks, as it does on natural reefs? More questions arose… Does it make sense to scuttle wrecks to support and enhance the resilience of the marine environment while at the same time bringing people to the underwater world and promoting encountering the ocean?
FISHING PRESSURE AND SANCTUARY EFFECT Studies have shown that Shipwrecks act as de facto Marine Protected Areas in areas of heavy fishing pressure. How? The wrecks seem to serve as a sanctuary from fishing disruptions in the vicinity. Informal reports indicate that local fishermen tend to stay away from the shipwrecks, presumably to avoid potential entanglement of their gear.
ECOLOGICAL BALANCE AND HUMAN IMPACT One thing was for sure. In places I dove, I saw a high abundance of fish around wrecks. But is it enough to say: “There are lots of fish around wrecks, so it must be good for the environment”? Photo Bartek Trzciński