Reef balls, patented by the Reef Ball Development Group, Ltd, are concrete materials that are placed with natural reefs to help them survive. They are sized to fit into the habitat and are easy to place. Over 100,000 Reef Balls have been used in over 1,500 projects. Reef Balls are made by pouring concrete into a fiberglass mold containing a central buoy surrounded by various sized inflatable balls to make holes. Any type of concrete can generally be used, but additives are needed to give the Reef Balls strength.
All projects require monitoring.
Reef Balls are able to create fish, invertebrate and marine plant habitats. Seeding is a procedure now being implemented since 1999 by Rhode Island Sea Grant Marine Extension at an artificial reef in Narragansett Bay. Juvenile lobsters wearing microscopic tags were placed at the reef. Biologists are now able to monitor the reefs and hopefully will be able to determine how to increase local lobster populations. The tagged lobsters may provide information to determine how the hatchery lobsters survive and grow, and if stocking larval lobsters can increase populations.