Artificial Reefs in the Caspian

Will artificial reefs help clean up the Caspian?

An Azerbaijani scientist suggests waiting for proof that this project works in the Russian sector of the sea

Thursday, 23.12.2010

R.Orujev
font size

Russian
media report that in their sector of the Caspian Sea it has been decided to turn to
building artificial reefs as a way to increase the biological
diversity of the underwater environment. In the Russian part of the Caspian Sea, which is not
rich in fauna, special biostations are being installed, and all kinds of fish
are flocking to them. The Kazakh side has already shown interest in this
project.

The bottom of the Northern Caspian looks deserted.
But scientists correct this: it only seems lifeless at first glance.
Of course, Caspian biodiversity cannot be compared with the rich underwater
fauna of the Black Sea, let alone the Red Sea, but there is life. And you can see it
in the areas where artificial reefs have been installed.

The video
of the underwater world was shot by oceanologist Vladimir Ushivtsev. His
colleagues say he is the best underwater cameraman not only in the entire
Astrakhan region, but even among all the Caspian countries. He
worked with the famous French explorer of the world's oceans
Jacques-Yves Cousteau. Vladimir Ushivtsev has been working on the problems of the Caspian Sea
for more than 30 years. He and his colleagues installed the first artificial reefs
at various depths of the Northern Caspian four years ago.

These
structures are also called biostations. They are made of ordinary
concrete with holes and stuffed with peas, millet and other feed. The fish
sense it and come to feed. Caspian roach,
herring, gobies and other fish species have already started feeding here. Scientists call this a success, as well as
what they discovered on one of their expeditions: small
sturgeon had come to the reefs.

The sturgeon was caught on camera not by a diver, but by the Gnome, a robotic vehicle. It was developed by Russian scientists at the Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

ADVERTISEMENT<a

href='http://www.adsahil.com/ads/www/delivery/ck.php?n&#61;a80a5678&amp;amp;cb&#61;INSERT_RANDOM_NUMBER_HERE&#039
target='_blank'><img
src='http://www.adsahil.com/ads/www/delivery/avw.php?zoneid&#61;109&amp;amp;cb&#61;INSERT_RANDOM_NUMBER_HERE&amp;amp;n&#61;a80a5678&#039
border='0' alt='' /></a>

The Gnome
can operate at depths of up to 300 meters and in strong currents, that is, in
conditions beyond human capability. It helps in examining these
concrete structures.

"It's hard to make various assessments, because
a diver swims up and exhales through the regulators (breathing apparatus). This vehicle is able
to swim up and hold still", says Dmitry Ermakov, chief
specialist of the Caspian branch of the Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

The Gnome
also surveys the areas where oil pipelines run and wells are located.
The data the robot provides to scientists is invaluable. After all, oil is already flowing from the Russian sector
of the sea, and this is how specialists monitor how the Caspian environment reacts to
it. If oil gets into it, the biostations will carry out
another of their tasks: cleaning up the polluted area. "These animals
absorb petroleum products, and microbes break it down", says the scientific
director, head of the Caspian branch of the Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Vladimir Ushivtsev.

Today there are 15 artificial reefs. Exactly
as many as the number of "LUKoil" wells in the Northern Caspian. The oil company
sponsors the scientists' project.

"The Caspian is divided into economic zones:
Russia got a fairly small zone. The Yuri Korchagin and Filanovsky fields are now being
developed, and that's where we work",
says Vladimir Ushivtsev. Sergei Kotenkov, scientific secretary of the Caspian
branch of the Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, reminds us: "We forget about
the transboundary transport of petroleum products. With the rise of the Caspian's level, 1500
wells were flooded. Every year they suffer
leaks".

Scientists say that it is primarily the Kazakh side that should think about cleaning
the sea with biostations. And
this Caspian neighbor has already shown interest in the Russian scientists' project.
The Russians believe they will also be working with
research institutes in Iran and Azerbaijan.

It is,
of course, interesting to find out how Baku views this initiative. As luck would have it,
it turned out that the director of the Center for Caspian Problems of the
Institute of Geography of the National Academy of Sciences
of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ramiz Mammadov, had met the Russian creator of artificial reefs in the Caspian not
long ago. The scientist mentioned this when "Zerkalo" approached
him for comment on whether it would make sense to apply
V.Ushivtsev's development in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian.

"The thing is, in
November I chaired an international conference in Astrakhan,
organised by the Caspian Research Center under
the Russian Hydrometeorological Center. And that is where
Mr. Ushivtsev approached me. He handed me papers with information about the artificial reefs
he had created and offered us cooperation," said
R. Mammadov. "However, I can't yet say whether this
project will justify itself in practice. We still have to wait and see. Besides, we need to
listen carefully to the author's arguments; at the conference he was not given
the opportunity to present a detailed report. But in general I believe that the idea
of cleaning areas of the seabed of oil pollution with the help of
multiplying bacteria still belongs to the realm of semi-fantasy,
a half-dream".

The thing is, bacteria consume and break down
oil leaks not in their pure form, but when the oil mixes with other
products, says the representative of the Institute of Geography. "So the question
is rather a slippery one. I don't really believe the project will succeed, although I can't
flatly and firmly say "no" either.