Construction waste destroys Bahrain's coral reef

Building materials and truck tyres are among the items being thrown into the sea off the coast of Bahrain.

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Illegal dumping of waste has destroyed much of Bahrain’s marine life, environmentalists have said.

Building materials, truck tyres and fishing nets are among the items that have been thrown into the sea and threatening the survival of coral reef off the coast of the Gulf state.

"There are bricks and broken concrete blocks on and around the reef and because of this [parts of the reef are] no longer blue and orange and different colours but they are grey and dying,” Bahrain-based environmentalist Ben van Hoogan told Gulf Daily News.

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van Hoogen, who also works for the Seal Rescue Rehabilitation in Holland is organising monthly clean-up drives to remove the rubbish from the sea bed.

“The coastguard doesn't have the time to do this, they need to be able to arrest those ship's that are dumping these materials and then they must be fined heavily. The damage you can't ever express in amounts of money, it's robbing the resources of fishermen, the environment, tourism and this pollution will backfire on the water we take from the sea,” van Hoogen added.