Origin Story
REEFBUDS* are an innovative artificial reef technology created by Austrian geoscientist Dr. Harald Kremnitz and Filipino Benjamin Tayag, Jr. In May 2006, this groundbreaking invention won a World Bank Country Development Marketplace grant, standing out among over 1,000 proposals on the theme “Development with Equity.”
In the Philippines, dynamite fishing has caused man-made disasters, leading to coral rubble graveyards, marine dead zones, and shoreline erosion emergencies. REEFBUDS offer an effective solution for reviving these damaged near-shore marine ecosystems. Acting like underwater oases, REEFBUDS apply scientific garden and farm technology beneath the sea.
In 2007, REEFBUDS revitalized a marine dead zone in Anilao, Philippines. By 2012, after 90% of Boracay’s reef was declared dead, REEFBUDS intervened, and the reef continues to thrive over a decade later. Large-scale projects, such as those around Boracay Island, demonstrate REEFBUDS’ ability to rejuvenate dead marine environments over hundreds of hectares.
Studies reveal that natural coral recruits on REEFBUD surfaces are at least six times more successful than on natural environments like sand, rocks, and coral rubble. Additionally, coral branches grafted onto REEFBUD structures show healthy growth and resilience, even against powerful typhoons like Yolanda. These structures, some of which have been in place for over eight years, remain intact and continue to support diverse marine life.
REEFBUDS also enhance fish populations in areas unsuitable for coral growth, such as the polluted waters around Manila Bay. In Rosario, Cavite, a project supported by the Cavite Export Processing Zone Authority since 2009 has seen 1,400 REEFBUD structures host various edible marine life, including fish, crabs, clams, and shrimp. Notably, the number of edible fish species increased from 12 in 2008 to 38 today. This resurgence has revitalized the local fishing industry, which had previously required fishermen to travel great distances to nearby provinces like Bataan and Batangas.
ReefBuds’ Present
In Q2 2024, POH Farms secured exclusive global rights to REEFBUDS©.
Our aim is to bring this material worldwide, and expand it’s use-cases to be a superior replacement for all concrete deployed in marine environments.