Sunk just off Key West , an island in the Straits of Florida, in 2009, the Vandenberg is the second-largest artificial reef in the world, attracting a diverse range of marine animals and plant life.

CNN: March 7, 2013 -- Updated 1201 GMT (2001 HKT)

Artificial reef: a man-made marine habitat constructed for the purpose of improving fisheries.

UNESCO: L O S S A R Y

Liquidators for the New Zealand-based company which built Europe's only artificial surf reef are yet to locate its director.

BBC: Boscombe surf reef director Nick Behunin 'cannot be found'

The group also has long-term plans to sink two warships near Ringstead Bay as an artificial diving reef, similar to the one off Whitsand Bay in Plymouth where HMS Scylla was sunk in 2004.

BBC: Barge with Portland stone

To explore the potential for using the reef as part of the coast protection, the council has asked New Zealand-based consultants, Artificial Surfing Reefs Ltd (ASR) to carry out the study.

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