Recife Artificial Marinho de Rio das Ostras

The reef was installed in 2003 by the Underwater Technology Laboratory of COPPE/UFRJ together with Petrobras, with structures made from recycled steel pipes from oil production, to serve as a marine nursery and fishing area. There are 68 structures over an area of 20,000 m²: 27 made of steel from the pipes of decommissioned platforms, among them a 7.6 m central tower, cubes, pyramids, prisms, tables and containers, and 41 pentagonal concrete modules. The tallest structure is a 9 x 9 m cube, with smaller cubes, a pyramid and a metal prism around it, 10–15 m from one another. Since this is a fishing area, several nets have been found caught on the structures, with a risk of entanglement. There are reef fish and invertebrates such as sponges, cnidarians, molluscs, echinoderms and crustaceans, schools pass between the structures and blennies occupy the crevices.