First Insight on the Fish Species Composition at Two Artificial Reef Areas, Narathiwat Province, Thailand<\/a>\u2019, set out to document the fish community that had established itself on two sections of the site: a cluster of four tanks and a separate group of three train wagons. Researchers conducted a census at each structure, recording the abundance of every species present, before doing a further search to pick up any taxa missed in the initial count.The final tally came to 53 species across 21 families. Snappers were the most diverse group with seven species, followed by damselfishes and wrasses with four each. Neopomacentrus cyanomus, a small damselfish, was the dominant species in both the tanks and the wagons. According to the study, only the tanks supported large aggregations of fish, despite the wagons recording a marginally higher diversity score.![\"How](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/how-many-fish-species-did-the-artificial-reefs-attract.jpg\" "\\"Image")
<\/p>\nImage AI generated<\/p>\n
Why did the tanks attract more fish<\/p>\n
Although the two structure types sit in the same stretch of water, they did not host identical assemblages. The tanks’ more complex, enclosed shapes drew large numbers of small, cryptic and gregarious fish species that favour tight crevices and overhangs. This dominance of a few species is what pulled the tanks’ overall diversity score down, even though more fish were visibly present.The train wagons, by contrast, offered less physical complexity but covered a wider footprint on the seabed. The study found that this larger occupied area attracted several species hovering in the surrounding water column, rather than sheltering directly within the structures themselves. Their broader footprint also created additional surfaces where marine organisms could settle, gradually adding biological complexity to the artificial reef environment. The authors recorded a diversity index of 1.45 for the wagons, marginally ahead of the tanks, though the difference between the two areas was not statistically significant.<\/p>\n
How did the reefs support local fisheries<\/p>\n
Among the species recorded were groups with direct relevance to the fishing communities who originally requested the project. Snappers, the most species-rich family at the site, are a mainstay of commercial and small-scale fisheries throughout the Gulf of Thailand. Their consistent presence across both the tanks and the wagons points to the reef functioning as intended: a stable habitat capable of supporting economically important fish alongside the smaller reef species that dominate in numbers.The survey also noted the presence of the Humphead Parrotfish, an endangered species, among the taxa recorded at the site. According to the researchers, the artificial reefs of Narathiwat now hold “a typical reef fish community” that may serve as a shelter for such vulnerable species, in addition to the snappers and other groups of direct value to local fishing operations. The findings suggest that discarded infrastructure can evolve into functioning marine habitat when placed in suitable coastal waters. The Narathiwat reefs also show how artificial structures can provide both refuge for marine life and potential support for fishing communities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In 2010, Thailand turned retired military and transport equipment into an unusual experiment in marine restoration off Narathiwat…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":887323,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[457040,64,63,457042,75,457047,457048,457044,457049,457046,128,457041,457045,457043],"class_list":["post-887322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-artificial-reef-research","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-eco-friendly-reef-building","tag-environment","tag-fish-species-diversity","tag-fishing-community-benefits","tag-humphead-parrotfish-thailand","tag-marine-conservation-thailand","tag-narathiwat-province-marine-life","tag-science","tag-sinking-army-tanks-for-reefs","tag-thailand-artificial-reefs","tag-thailand-marine-biodiversity"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/887322","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=887322"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/887322\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/887323"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=887322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=887322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=887322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"In](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/in-2010-thailand-sank-25-retired-army-tanks-off-narathiwat-to-create-artificial-reefs-later-research.png\" "\\"Image")
In 2010, Thailand turned retired military and transport equipment into an unusual experiment in marine restoration off Narathiwat province. Twenty-five army tanks, 273 train carriages and 198 rubbish trucks were sunk to create 72 artificial reefs after local fishermen reported declining fish stocks. Years later, researchers surveyed the submerged structures to examine how marine life had colonised them. Their study compared fish communities around tanks and train carriages, looking at how differences in shape, shelter and surface area influenced which species settled there. The project offered a rare opportunity to study how discarded infrastructure can develop into functioning artificial reef habitats.<\/p>\n