Diving Pemuteran @ a abdat

Pemuteran is home to the largest artificial Biorock reef project in the world and there is a real spirit of marine conservation effort in this area. Biorock and Coral Reef right on the main beach is rare anywhere in the world.

The Biorock project in Pemuteran started in the year 2000, when the Karang Lestari Foundation was formed. The funds from Karang Lestari were combined with a small investment from local dive operators and hotels with the aim of rebuilding local coral reefs that had been heavily bombed in previous years. Since then, many workshops have been conducted by the scientists in Bali, and even in other areas of Indonesia, with the purpose of creating a network of Biorock projects. Up to six Biorock projects are currently operating in Indonesia, with Pemuteran and Gili Trawangan (Lombok) being the largest ones.

In Pemuteran, only a few years after the first structure was installed, the results are amazing to behold. The corals grow quickly and are healthy, and fish life is abundant. Invertebrates like crabs, sea slugs, and shrimp are abundant and now occupy every shelter inside the Biorock. Some local dive guides and instructors are working hard to get new funds from tourists and create new structures.

Since the base of the Biorock can be placed in whatever shape you choose, it can be an artistic way of regrowing corals. Sculptures such as metallic crabs, nudibranchs, a sea goddess, igloos, and even old bicycles have been sunk onto the reef and are now the basis of new coral reef formations.

The Biorock project is located exactly in front of the Taman Sari hotel, and it’s freely accessible from the beach. Even if just snorkeling, it’s possible to appreciate the incredible coral life, although scuba diving is the best way to fully enjoy the experience. It’s a very easy dive, with a shore-entry and a maximum depth of about 15 meters (50 feet), and it’s open to divers of every experience level. Any dive center in the area can organize a dive in the Biorock. Just make sure they support the Karang Lestari Project in some way.

A new Biorock® structure starts with the positioning of a submerged anode (negative pole), normally an electrically conductive frame made from wire mesh. The anode is connected to a low-voltage electrical current that is not harmful to fish or other sea life. A metallic submerged structure acts as the cathode (positive pole), starting an electrolytic chemical reaction that causes the precipitation of minerals naturally present in seawater, such as calcium carbonate and magnesium hydroxide, which are deposited on the structure’s surface. After only a few days, a whitish layer of minerals already covers the structure.

When the first layer of limestone has been deposited, some so-called baby corals (living fragments of broken corals coming from other areas) are implanted on the structure, where the current stimulates their growth. It has been calculated that they can increase their growth rate to almost five times that of a normal coral. The limestone deposit also helps the reef recover from other environmental stresses, such as fractures, high temperatures, waves, or excessive sedimentation.

This technology has been further developed and adapted for use in coastal environments, where it’s possible to use photovoltaic generators, or a device using waves or wind generators, to create a self-sustaining system using green energy to stimulate the coral recovery. One of the most awesome examples of this technology’s success is easily observable in few feet of water in front of the village of Pemuteran, North Bali.