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.
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.
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.
