Tham khảo tài liệu 'from turbine to wind farms technical requirements and spin-off products part 11', kỹ thuật - công nghệ, cơ khí - chế tạo máy phục vụ nhu cầu học tập, nghiên cứu và làm việc hiệu quả | The Potential for Habitat Creation around Offshore Wind Farms 189 flat plain environment dominated by mud clay and sand with very little natural rock bottom or reef habitat. A number of research programmes have followed the development of the rig structures as artificial reefs including those undertaken by the Minerals Management Service s own divers who recorded plant and invertebrate colonisation within only a couple of weeks of installation. Within a year of first installation as an operational rig the rig can be completed covered and already forming the base of a highly complex food chain. Researchers found that fish densities could be up to 50 times greater around the sunken platforms with each former rig serving as habitat for between 10 and 20 thousand individual fish many of commercial or recreational importance for the region Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Regulation and Enforcement 2010 . Although not all rigs are utilised by the rigs-to-reef programme every one which is has the potential to bring about large benefits for the surrounding marine environment. They have also been found to be of benefit economically with recreational charter boats fishermen and diving operators all listing the rigs as amongst their most popular destination for recreational fishermen and divers both keen to take advantage of the rich biodiversity the rigs create. The programme is so successful that in 2002 it was recognised as such with the main leaders of the project receiving special citation at the Offshore Technology Conference Houston. Other structures have been introduced to the marine environment with the direct aim of enhancing the populations in the surrounding area as well as bringing possible economic benefits through the attraction of human visitors. Large-scale examples of this are ships such as HMS Scylla off the south coast of England in 2004 and more recently in 2009 HMAS Canberra off Australia. These ships are often scuttled with the deliberate aim of .
