THE USE OF ARTIFICIAL REEFS IN ENHANCING FISH COMMUNITIES IN SINGAPORE

Intense development of the coastal zone in Singapore has resulted in t he degradation of much of the marine ecosystem. In order to restore an d enhance fish communities of denuded areas, an artificial reef consis ting of a tyre reef and a concrete reef, was established in the vicini ty of the southern islands of Singapore. Results from fish visual cens uses after the establishment of the artificial reef indicated an incre ase in numbers of juveniles and adults. A total of 37 and 32 fish spec ies were recorded over a period of 1 1/2 years at the concrete and tyr e reefs respectively. The dominant fish families were Pomacentridae, L abridae, Chaetodontidae, Apogonidae, Gobiidae and Nemipteridae. The ar tificial reefs also serve as a nursery ground for some species (e.g. N eopomacentrus sp.) which are important primary consumers of algae on n atural reefs. Greater numbers of 'target' (food-important) fishes were observed at the concrete reef while the tyre reef harboured more juve niles and smallersized adults. The results indicate that the concrete modules were more effective than the tyre reef in terms of fish abunda nce per unit volume. Such structures can enhance the biological resour ces of relatively unproductive areas.