Dubai Police turn old vehicles into paradise for Gulf fish. Dubai Police have turned 15 surplus armoured vehicles into a seafloor paradise for Gulf fish.See more at: http://gulfnews.com/gntv
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00:00Dubai police have turned old, tired surplus vehicles into a seafloor paradise for exotic
00:12gulf fish.
00:14Several years ago, when faced with disposing of 15 armoured vehicles, Dubai police came
00:19up with the idea to sink the cleaned, scrubbed vehicles to the ocean bed to create a starting
00:25point for what is now dubbed the Police Armoured Vehicles Artificial Reef project.
00:30After two months of research and the approval of Dubai government, Dubai municipality chose
00:36a location near the World Islands in Jumeirah for the project.
00:40Adhering to environmental requirements, all tyres, paint, engines, oils and grease were
00:45removed from the vehicles.
00:48Diving teams and equipment such as cranes from the Transport and Rescue Department were
00:52used to sink the armoured vehicles.
00:55The location was chosen because it had no fish, and in less than three months from
00:59placing the vehicles, Dubai police divers who checked the progress of the project noticed
01:04that fish had started inhabiting the area.
01:07In less than one year, the artificial reef was home to 17 kinds of fish that had not
01:12previously inhabited the area, according to a Dubai Carbon report.
01:17Dubai police are the first known security organisation in the Middle East to carry out
01:21such a plan to help rejuvenate underwater marine life and the project currently covers
01:26an area of one nautical mile.
01:29After the success of the artificial reef in 2012, Dubai police proposed the idea of a
01:34coral nursery after researching best practices in other countries.
01:39The project was started in 2013 in an area of 55 square metres next to Palm Dera.
01:45Dubai police tried different methods to grow the coral, including ropes, coral trees and
01:50environmentally friendly frames.
01:53All the frames and the equipment used for the project were manufactured at Dubai police
01:57workshops.
01:58In the first phase, Dubai police divers used to run weekly checks to ensure the coral was
02:02adapting to its new environment.
02:05From the early stages of the project, fish began moving to the area to feed, and the
02:09coral nurseries grow 15 centimetres in one year.
02:13Dubai police are planning to expand the area as the coral has grown and will start to overlap
02:18if it is not removed.
02:19Three new areas in Dubai are being tested for suitability to relocate the excess coral
02:24and expand the project.
02:25Noorhan Barakat, Gulf News.