# Reef burials > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Reef_burials > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Reef_burials.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reef_burials > Source revision: 1286345294 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Burial process}} alt=Neptune memorial reef|thumb|Neptune memorial reef '''Reef burials''' are a type of "green" or "natural" burial considered by some{{who|date=March 2022}} to be an eco-friendly alternative to traditional [burial](/source/burial).{{Cite web|date=2012-01-09|title=Green Guru: How Eco-friendly Are Reef Ball Burials?|url=https://www.audubon.org/magazine/january-february-2012/green-guru-how-eco-friendly-are-reef|access-date=2022-02-22|website=Audubon|language=en}}{{Cite web|date=2005-09-09|title="Green" Burials Offer Unique, Less Costly Goodbyes|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/death-burial-green-living|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220222125042/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/death-burial-green-living|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 22, 2022|access-date=2022-02-22|website=Science|language=en}} [Cremation](/source/Cremation) ash is mixed with concrete to form objects that are placed on the seafloor to encourage wildlife in areas where sea life has been diminished. == Background == Reef burials are a new burial practice gaining a degree of popularity. Rather than being buried in the earth, a person's remains are cremated and the resulting ash is mixed with pH-balanced concrete to create structures which are placed on the seabed to help restore marine habitats similar to a coral reef.{{Cite web|date=2022-02-21|title=Reef ball burials: the new trend for becoming 'coral' when you die|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/feb/21/reef-ball-burials-the-new-trend-for-becoming-coral-when-you-die|access-date=2022-02-22|website=the Guardian|language=en}}{{Cite web|last=Miami|first=Lisa Orkin Emmanuel, Associated Press in|date=2008-05-12|title=Watery graves offer a haven for divers|url=http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2008/may/12/conservation.usa|access-date=2022-02-22|website=the Guardian|language=en}} The concrete is mixed using fibreglass rather than metal, so that it does not rust and has the same pH balance as the sea.{{Cite web |title=First memorial reef balls inaugurated in Venice lagoon |url=http://www.italianinsider.it/?q=node/8582 |access-date=2022-02-26 |website=www.italianinsider.it}} In areas where the seafloor or coral reefs have been destroyed the structures help to renew the sea-life by establishing new habitats for [fish](/source/fish) and [crustaceans](/source/Crustacean).{{Cite web|title=Other Disposition Options|url=https://www.greenburialcouncil.org/other_disposition_options.html|access-date=2022-02-22|website=GREEN BURIAL COUNCIL|language=en}}{{Cite news|date=11 Dec 2015|title=Artificial reef balls containing people's ashes lowered into the sea off WA coast|work=ABC News|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-12-11/reef-balls-containing-ashes-lowered-into-the-sea/}} The structures are expected to last for 500 years and are variously perforated domes called "[reef balls](/source/reef_balls)", pyramids, or similar memorial-style shapes chosen to be appropriate to the location. Reef balls weigh between {{convert|800|and|4000|lb|kg}} and their perforations ensure that storm pressure doesn't move them out of place on the sea floor.{{Cite web |last=Grundhauser |first=Eric |date=2018-10-29 |title=Bury Me in an Artificial Reef |url=http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/reef-burial-eternal-florida-ball |access-date=2022-02-26 |website=Atlas Obscura |language=en}} alt=Young lobster|thumb|Young lobster Reef burials are popular amongst divers and others who love the sea. Some people feel that such burials offer the deceased a second life as part of a living reef. Loved ones are given the [GPS](/source/Global_Positioning_System) coordinates of the resting place so that they dive to visit the site of the remains.{{Cite web|title=Eco-Afterlife: Green Burial Options|url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/eco-afterlife-green-buria/|access-date=2022-02-22|website=Scientific American|language=en}}{{Cite news|last=Fink|first=Kathryn|date=July 19, 2021|title=An increasingly popular way to be buried: Become part of an artificial reef|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/funeral-industry-green-reef-burials/2021/07/16/c6765322-cd24-11eb-8014-2f3926ca24d9_story.html}} A memorial plaque is installed with the person's name, date of birth and death. Thousands of reef balls are put into oceans each year. Large reef memorials can accommodate multiple sets of remains, so that families can be included and placed together. == Locations == In the United States there are more than thirty permitted locations for reef memorials, including off the coasts of Florida at [Mexico Beach](/source/Mexico_Beach%2C_Florida),{{Cite web |title=MBARA – Mexico Beach Artificial Reef Association |url=https://www.mbara.org/memorial-reef-program.cfm |access-date=2022-02-26 |website=www.mbara.org}} [Egg Harbor](/source/Egg_Harbor_Township%2C_New_Jersey), near [Atlantic City, New Jersey](/source/Atlantic_City%2C_New_Jersey) and [Texas](/source/Texas). In the UK, where the [Crown Estate](/source/Crown_Estate) owns the UK seabed, a square-kilometre site off the coast of [Weymouth](/source/Weymouth%2C_Dorset) and [Portland](/source/Isle_of_Portland) has been designated for this use in the 'Wreck to Reef' area,{{Cite web |title=Location |url=https://www.solacereef.co.uk/location/ |access-date=2022-02-26 |website=Solace Reef |date=25 January 2013 |language=en-GB}} with a particular focus on creating structures to shelter young [lobsters](/source/Lobster) until their shells grow.{{Cite web|title=Solace Reef: A Cemetery on the Sea Floor|url=https://www.funeralguide.co.uk/blog/solace-reef|access-date=2022-02-22|website=Funeral Guide|language=en}}{{Cite news|last=Bruxelles|first=Simon de|title=Ashes of the dead will keep lobsters company on monumental new reef|newspaper=[The Times](/source/The_Times)|language=en|url=https://www.thetimes.com/life-style/parenting/article/ashes-of-the-dead-will-keep-lobsters-company-on-monumental-new-reef-lp37zswx8qs|access-date=2022-02-23|issn=0140-0460}} Artificial reef balls were first used at Jurien reef in Western Australia in 2015.{{Cite news |date=2015-12-11 |title=Artificial reef balls containing ashes lowered into the sea off WA coast |language=en-AU |work=ABC News |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-12-11/reef-balls-containing-ashes-lowered-into-the-sea/7022570 |access-date=2022-02-26}} In [Bali](/source/Bali), Resting Reef operates two memorial sites in areas severely affected by [unsustainable fishing](/source/Unsustainable_fishing_methods) and [coral mining](/source/coral_mining). These reefs aim to restore marine ecosystems and create job opportunities for local residents.{{Cite web |last=Design Boom |date=2024-10-22 |title=Resting reef blends pet ashes with crushed shells for sustainable underwater urns |url=https://www.designboom.com/design/resting-reef-pet-ashes-crushed-shells-sustainable-underwater-urns-10-22-2024/ |access-date=2024-12-04 |website=designboom {{!}} architecture & design magazine |language=en}} In 2019, the first reef burials were placed in the water using a crane in the [Venice lagoon](/source/Venetian_Lagoon) in Italy. Despite growing popularity, the process still involves both cremation and concrete, both of which carry an environmental cost. Cremation, depending on the age of the crematorium, releases around {{convert|540|lb|kg}} of {{CO2}} and the concrete sector is responsible for 8 percent of global {{CO2}} production.{{Cite web |date=2022-02-25 |title=Reef Ball Burials: Come Back As Coral In Your Next Life? |url=https://www.greenqueen.com.hk/reef-ball-burials-green-funerals/ |access-date=2022-02-26 |website=Green Queen |language=en-US}} == Sea rewilding == Depending on the locations different varieties of [coral](/source/coral) can grow on the surface of the concrete and [algae](/source/algae), [diatom](/source/diatom)s, eels, fish and invertebrates will come to live on the structure. Each memorial contributes to a unique ecosystem and provides a permanent and environment for all marine life. alt=Colourful fishes swimming around the curved structure of the Resting Reef.|thumb|259x259px|The habitat of the resting reef four months after deployment. In the most established memorial reefs such as [Neptune Memorial Reef](/source/Neptune_Memorial_Reef), [Florida](/source/Florida), a marine study survey, estimated that the population numbers of wild sea life went from close to zero to thousands in the space of two years. The survey found [spotted eagle rays](/source/Spotted_eagle_ray), [damsel fish](/source/Damselfish) and [puffer fish](/source/Puffer_Fish).{{Cite web |title=The Neptune Memorial Reef – An Under Sea Cemetery |url=https://www.kuriositas.com/2010/09/neptune-memorial-reef-under-sea.html |access-date=2022-02-26}} Since then the numbers have continued to grow: a survey in 2018 showed the reef supports more than 65 different fish, [shrimp](/source/shrimp) and lobster and 75 other species including [sponges](/source/Sponge), and corals.{{Cite web |date=2021-04-20 |title=A coral reef cemetery is home to life in the afterlife |url=https://apnews.com/article/travel-fl-state-wire-tx-state-wire-boating-corals-0d871990bdcb4d23816dc342f0b34fbb |access-date=2022-02-26 |website=AP NEWS |language=en}} The structures created by [https://restingreef.co.uk/ Resting Reef] in [Bali](/source/Bali) play a key role in restoring diversity to degraded reefs. By offering a hard substrate for coral growth, they also provide refuge for small and juvenile reef fish, enhancing the overall health of the marine ecosystem.{{Cite web |date=2024-11-11 |title=Could Pet Ashes Help Restore Coral Reefs? The Surprising New Approach |url=https://dailygalaxy.com/2024/11/pet-ashes-restore-coral-reefs-sustainable-solution-marine-conservation/ |access-date=2024-12-04 |language=en-US}} In Resting Reef’s first round of ecological monitoring in October 2024, after just 4 months since deployment their memorial reefs were found to be already providing habitats to 41 species of reef fish.{{Cite web |title=Resting Reef — Monitoring report |url=https://restingreef.co.uk/monitoring-plan-2024/ |access-date=2024-12-04 |website=Resting Reef}} The Solace Reef in [Weymouth Bay](/source/Weymouth_Bay). England is seeded with baby lobsters.{{Cite web |title=Lobsters on the Reef |url=https://www.solacereef.co.uk/lobsters-on-the-reef/ |access-date=2022-02-26 |website=Solace Reef |date=19 September 2018 |language=en-GB}} == See also == * [Reef Ball Foundation](/source/Reef_Ball_Foundation) * [Neptune Memorial Reef](/source/Neptune_Memorial_Reef) * [Burial at sea](/source/Burial_at_sea) * [Sea rewilding](/source/Sea_rewilding) == References == {{Reflist}} Category:Burials at sea Category:Ceremonies Category:Coral reefs Category:Ecological restoration Category:Environmental conservation Category:Funerals Category:Reefs --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Reef burials](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reef_burials) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reef_burials?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.