Since a few days ago, in the Aquarama lobby you can see a new aquarium with a replica of the Reef Park of the eastern coast of Barcelona. As in the sea, the structure will be gradually colonized by native species. For now, thanks to the collaboration of The Aquarium of Barcelona, ​​they already live a bank of cardinalfish (Apogon imberbis) and some Mediterranean rainbow wrasses (Coris julis).

The Barcelona Reef Park was built in 2003, aiming to increase the biodiversity of our coast and to protect the area. It is located between the new port entry and the submerged breakwaters of Bac de Roda, where a total of 371 submerged structures have been installed.

These structures form artificial reefs and are placed on a sedimentary bottom in which there has never been rock bottoms. They are important to increase the complexity of this marine ecosystem and protect it. The project is based on the fact that every new substrate on the seabed is quickly colonized by diverse organisms and communities.

The Barcelona Zoo Foundation has been coordinating for some years the technical monitoring of the Reef Park project, with the goal of obtaining characteristic data on the state of the submerged structures, their colonization by living creatures, their eventual incidence on beaches and nearby coasts, and the evolution of fishing and marine communities. This project is monitored with the collaboration and advice of the Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM-CSIC).