Workers prepare to load
the concrete pipes onto a barge, which were then brought out to sea to
become new homes for fish and coral.
Warunya Thongrod
Concrete pipes lying on Jomtien Beach will soon be
home to fish and other sea life when they are dropped into the ocean a
kilometer off shore as part of the ongoing Fish Home project.
The 1,300 pipes, as much as a cubic meter in size,
will be laid in about 10-15 meters of water between 1 and 1.5 kilometers
off Jomtien Beach between April 20 and May 19. The project is the latest
stage of the “Baan Pla” program, which saw the first concrete pipes and
cubes dropped in the bay five years ago.
Wilai Boononn, a tourism director with the Pattaya
Permanent Secretary’s Office, said Baan Pla has been very successful,
with populations of zebra crayfish, grouper and coral among the many
species now inhabiting the artificial reef. Five years ago, she said,
there was virtually no marine life in the area, due to overfishing.
With the Jomtien Beach project coming to a close, the
city is now working with the national government to find other places to
reboot the marine life population, she said.
