Oil pollution and Red Sea tourism lead the list

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Arabian Seas Expedition

Gulf Toil: Volunteers on the Reef Check '97 Bahrain team survey the reefs at Fasht al Adholm. Photo: Reef Check

This island nation has lost untold acres of mangroves to unplanned coastal development, and the resulting sedimentation has stressed coral reefs. A territorial dispute with neighboring Qatar has spurred development by Bahrain, including a coast guard station on a coral reef midway between the two states, and a tourism resort on an island nearby. Pollution from cities and oil spills is also a constant threat.

In an attempt to restore its dying coral reefs, Bahrain is building artificial ones by dumping concrete-filled auto tires into the sea. Bahrain's fisheries director, Jassim Al-Qaseer, claims that tires make good reef-building material since they don't disintegrate, and that artificial reefs started in the early '80s are now thriving colonies for marine life. "We cannot get rid of tires in Bahrain," he told the Gulf Daily News last year. "We cannot burn them nor bury them because of the serious environmental implications that they would have on us. So the best option is to use them for setting up more artificial reef colonies."