Artificial Reefs

Artificial Reefs: Refining Their Role in the Environment and Local Economies represents the accumulation of over 50 years of research on artificial reefs, as presented at the 12th International Conference on Artificial Reefs and Related Aquatic Habitats (CARAH) held in Colombia in the spring of 2025. The edited, multi-authored chapters offer an up-to-date examination of broad areas of artificial reefs. These include fisheries, environmental management, survey techniques, sophisticated applications of statistical analysis, socio-economics, and the role of the citizen scientists in further expanding future research efforts.

A general theme throughout the volume is the consideration given to historical trends in methods, developments, and changes that have occurred during the past 50 years. This book builds on the strong foundation laid by our earlier colleagues and mentors. Each chapter brings together a long and fabled history of research but, more importantly, demonstrates the progress and development that artificial reef research has taken with the inclusion of modern technology, sophisticated analyses, and broadened goals of artificial reef deployments.

Careful consideration is given in every chapter to the relationships artificial reefs have with the local communities with which they are proximate. The subtitle of the book thus emphasizes the modern role that artificial reefs are playing in the economies of coastal communities.

This foundational material will provide guidance for the next 50 years of research on artificial reefs.