After World Cup Mania, This Old Sunken Car Might Be What Brings Tourists to Qatar

Humans may have flocked to Qatar for the World Cup, but just off the shore lies an artificial reef made of a used car that attracts marine life.

The Persian Gulf is home to some of the most extensive and biologically diverse coral reefs in the world, but urbanization, climate change and rising sea temperatures in recent years have threatened the livelihood of these marine ecosystems.

To attract marine life to the coast of Qatar, an old car was sunken and introduced into the ecosystem to act as an alternative habitat for fish. 

Not only do fish love the new home, but scuba divers and others interested in ecotourism have enjoyed the strange underwater sight as well, snapping fun photos of the attraction. 

Professor Pedro Range of the Qatar University Environmental Science Center explained that the environmental benefits of the artificial reef are limited.

“There is no circumstance under which an artificial reef can be considered as an adequate substitute for a natural reef,” he said, according to the Associated Press.

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