WO2009064085A1

WO2009064085A1 - The artificial fish reef

Info

Publication number: WO2009064085A1
Application number: PCT/KR2008/006467
Authority: WO
Inventors: Haing-Keun Kang
Original assignee: Woochang General Construction Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2007-11-16
Filing date: 2008-11-03
Publication date: 2009-05-22
Also published as: KR100852935B1; AU2008286250A1

Abstract

An artificial fish reef is disclosed, which includes a frame of at least three stories including an outer frame and an inner frame connected to the outer frame, a plurality of compartments each formed inside the frame and provided with at least one opening, and a plurality of supports each provided under the frame and provided with at least one groove. The compartments play a role of natural rock to provide various fishes from fly or fingerling to the higher member in the food chain with the hiding places.

Description

Description THE ARTIFICIAL FISH REEF

Technical Field

[1] The present invention relates to an artificial fish reef, and more particularly, to an artificial fish reef having compartments which are artificial habitats of various fishes. Background Art

[2] Generally, an artificial fish reef is a structure for habitat of various fishes which is dropped on a seabed in order to assist resource development of fishes living in the underwater.

[3] The artificial fish reef includes a frame structure formed in a hexagonal shape or triangular pyramid shape, and a sectional structure having walls formed on the frame structure and openings formed on the walls.

[4] With the artificial fish reef of frame structure, the opening is partially closed by coral reefs or the like on the seabed to shade the interior of the artificial fish reef, so that the interior provides small fishes with a hiding place. However, there is no hiding space for small fishes against superior predation fishes. Also, there is no means for intercepting the current when the current is strong. As a result, fishes living in the artificial fish reef of frame structure move from the artificial fish reef to natural rocks in order to find other hiding places or take shelter from the current.

[5] The artificial fish reef of sectional structure provides the fishes with more effective hiding place by forming walls on the artificial fish reef of frame structure, as compared with the artificial fish reef of frame structure. However, it is difficult for the artificial fish reef of sectional structure to effectively intercept the current.

[6] Although the object of the artificial fish reefs of sectional and frame structure are to provide the fishes with the hiding places, but it is not suitable to provide living places for various fishes comprising higher members and lower members in a food chain. Therefore, the artificial fish reefs are suited to the ecological community that constitutes a continuation of food energy from one organism to another. Disclosure of Invention

Technical Problem

[7] Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems.

[8] An object of the present invention is to provide an artificial fish reef having compartments which are artificial habitats of various fishes. Technical Solution

[9] In order to achieve the above and other objects, there is provided an artificial fish reef comprising a frame of at least one story including an outer frame and an inner frame connected to the outer frame, and a plurality of compartments each formed in an inside of the frame, the compartment being provided with at least one opening. [10] The frame has at least three stories, and the plurality of compartments are formed on the respective layer of the frame. [11] The compartment is formed in a conical shape, a polygonal pyramid shape, a truncated conical shape, or a truncated polygonal pyramid shape. [12] The compartment has an empty interior, and each side of the compartment is provided with an opening. [13] The artificial fish reef further comprises a plurality of supports provided under the frame, and the support is provided with at least one groove. [14] The artificial fish reef further comprises a cover for covering an upper portion of the frame. [15] The artificial fish reef further comprises a transport coupling provided on an upper portion of the cover.

Advantageous Effects

[16] As described above, since the multi-layered frame includes the compartments each provided on the respective layers, the compartments play a role of natural rock to provide various fishes from fly or fingerling to the higher member in the food chain with the hiding places.

[17] Also, the artificial fish reef of the present invention can prevent the fishes living in the compartments from scattering by dispersing the flow of the tide. When the tide collides against the compartment, the tide moves upwardly along the inclined surface of the compartment to produce the upwelling current, so that the nutritious salts of the seabed are transferred to the uppermost portion of the compartment to assist resource development of fishes. Brief Description of Drawings

[18] The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in con junction with the accompanying drawings in which:

[19] FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the construction of an artificial fish reef according to one embodiment of the present invention;

[20] FIG. 2 is a plan view illustrating the construction of an artificial fish reef according to one embodiment of the present invention;

[21] FIGs. 3 and 4 are perspective views illustrating compartments of an artificial fish reef according to alternative embodiments of the present invention; and

[22] FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating the construction of an artificial fish reef according to another embodiment of the present invention. Best Mode for Carrying out the Invention

[23] Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention. It is to be understood that the following examples are illustrative only and the present invention is not limited thereto.

[24] With reference to the accompanied drawings, an artificial fish reef according to embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.

[25] FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the construction of an artificial fish reef according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view illustrating the construction of the artificial fish reef according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[26] An artificial fish reef 1 according to the present invention includes a frame 10, a compartment 40, a support 50, a cover 60, and a transport coupling 70.

[27] The frame 10 includes a plurality of outer frames 11 forming an outer framework of the artificial fish reef 1, and a plurality of inner frames 12 coupled to the outer frames 11 by welding in a lattice pattern. The outer frames 11 and the inner frames 12 may be made of any one of or both of H beams and L metal beams.

[28] The bottom surface of the frame 10 may be formed in a triangular, a rectangular, hexagonal or octagonal shape, as shown in FIG. 2, and is preferably formed in the octagonal shape in order to firmly fix the fish reef to a seabed. The number of compartments 40 for hiding places of fishes may be formed by layering the compartments 40 in three or more stories. Also, the frame 10 may be formed in a pyramid shape of which a width thereof is gradually decreased from a lower portion to an upper portion.

[29] The plurality of compartments 40 are formed in a conical shape, a polygonal pyramid shape, a truncated conical shape, or a truncated polygonal pyramid shape.

[30] The compartment 40 may be formed by connecting the inner frame 12 having an inclined upper portion with metal plates 22 and 32. As shown in FIGs. 3 and 4, preferably, a truncated polygonal pyramid shape is formed by connecting the inner frame 12 with the metal plates 22 and 32.

[31] The compartment 40 is provided with openings 22a and 32a. The openings 22a and

32a are formed in the center portions of the metal plates 22 and 32 connected to left and right sides and upper sides of the frames 21 and 31. The metal plates 22 and 32 connected to the left and right sides are opposed to each other so that the openings 22a and 32a formed in the respective sides are opposed to each other.

[32] In particular, since the compartment 40 has an empty interior, so that a hiding space

S is formed in the interior, in which fishes are swimming. The fishes go in and out from the openings 22a and 32a formed on the left, right and upper sides of the compartment 40.

[33] As described above, the plurality of compartments 40 are provided in the frame 10, and are arranged in any one direction in the frame 10. Preferably, the compartments 40 may be arranged in a cross direction, as shown in FIGs. 1 and 2. As the frames 10 are formed in multiple layers, the compartments 40 may be seated on the inner frame 12 on the respective layers of the frames 10. The compartment 40 may have first compartments 20, shown in FIG. 3, which are arranged on the lower layer of the frame 10, and second compartments 20, shown in FIG. 4, which are arranged on the upper layer of the frame 10.

[34] The cover 60 is provided to cover the upper end of the frame 10 to shade the lower interior of the upper end. The cover 60 may be formed of metal plates 22 and 32 of a strip with an opened center.

[35] The transport coupling 70 includes a plurality of connecting frames 71, an upper plate 72 extending from the upper surface of the cover 60 in an upwardly inclined state and connected to the upper end of the connecting frame 71, the upper plate 72 having an opened center, and a plurality of partitions 73 attached to the connecting frames 71 under the upper plate 72 to shade the interior of the connecting frames 71.

[36] Although not shown in the drawings, a plurality of connecting rings may be formed on an upper end of the transport coupling 70, i.e., upper corners of the upper plate 72.

[37] The support 50 is provided under the frame 10 to support the bottom surface of the frame 10, and at least one groove 51 is formed on the left and right sides of the support 50. Preferably, as shown in FIG. 5, the opposite groove 51 is formed on the left and right sides of the support 50, through which the fishes go in and out from the groove 51.

[38] The feature of the artificial fish reef according to the present invention will now be described with reference to the case in which the artificial fish reef is dropped on the seabed.

[39] First of all, after the artificial fish reef 1 is transferred to a destination by a barge, the artificial fish reef 1 is dropped on the seabed on the sea. The connecting rings provided on the upper plate 72 of the transport coupling 70 are connected to wires which are fastened to a hook of a crane, so that the artificial fish reef 1 is transport from the barge to the surface of the sea by using the crane to drop it.

[40] If the artificial fish reef 1 is dropped on the seabed, the support 50 supporting the bottom surface of the frame 10 is seated on the seabed, and then the artificial fish reef 1 is installed on the seabed.

[41] If the artificial fish reef 1 is installed on the seabed, fishes such as migratory fish are inhabitable in the compartments 40 provided on each layer of the frame 10.

[42] Fishes having a feature of contacting a portion of the reef, such as epinephelus septemfasciatus, sebastes hubbsi, sebastiscus marmoratus, black rockfish, or hexagrammos otakii, can inhabit in the first compartment 20 provided on the lower layer of the frame 10 or the support 50 supporting the frame 10. Fishes having a feature of swimming in the outer layer or intermediate layer spaced apart from the artificial fish reef 1, such as pagrus major, striped beakperch, lateolabrax japinicus, or parapristipoma trilineatum, can inhabit in the first compartment 20. Fishes swimming around the artificial fish reef 1, such as queenfish, katsuwonus vegans, scomberomorus niphonius, trachurus japonicus, or scombroid, can inhabit in the inside of the transport coupling 70 over the second compartment 20 and the cover 60 of the frame 10.

[43] When the tide collides against the compartment 40, the current is raised along the inclined surface of the compartment 40 to produce upwelling current. That is, if the tide collides against the first compartment 20 and the second compartment 20 of the frame 10, the tide is raised along the inclined surfaces of the first and second compartments 20 to produce the upwelling current. And thus, nutritious salts of the seabed can be transferred to the uppermost portion of the frame 10 to propagate a lot of animal planktons, so that fishes eating the animal planktons gather about the uppermost portion.

[44] With the artificial fish reef 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, since the multi-layered frame 10 includes the compartments 40 each provided on the respective layers, the compartments 40 play a role of natural rock to provide various fishes from fly or fingerling to the higher member in the food chain with the hiding places.

[45] Also, the artificial fish reef of the present invention can prevent the fishes living in the compartments 40 from scattering by dispersing the flow of the tide. When the tide collides against the compartment 40, the tide moves upwardly along the inclined surface of the compartment 40 to produce the upwelling current, so that the nutritious salts of the seabed are transferred to the uppermost portion of the compartment 10 to assist resource development of fishes.

[46] According to an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the transport coupling 70 can be omitted from the upper end of the frame 10 in order to easily manufacture and install the artificial fish reef, and a transport hook may be formed on the cover 60. The support 50 supporting the bottom surface of the frame 10 may be omitted, and the bottom surface of the frame 10 can be seated on the seabed. The shape and arrangement of the compartment 40 may be altered.

[47] While this invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment and the drawings. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and variations within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Claims

[ 1 ] An artificial fish reef comprising: a frame of at least three stories including an outer frame and an inner frame connected to the outer frame; a plurality of compartments each formed inside the frame and provided with at least one opening; and a plurality of supports each provided under the frame and provided with at least one groove; wherein the compartment is formed in a conical shape, a polygonal pyramid shape, a truncated conical shape, or a truncated polygonal pyramid shape. [2] The artificial fish reef as claimed in claim 1, wherein the compartment has an empty interior, and each side of the compartment is provided with an opening. [3] The artificial fish reef as claimed in claim 2, further comprising a cover for covering an upper portion of the frame. [4] The artificial fish reef as claimed in claim 1 or 3, further comprising a transport coupling provided on an upper portion of the cover.