Cremated Remains to Reefs: Burial option for a Reef Aquarist

[NowasReef]

Actually a great way to memorialize someone that has a love for the ocean. Todd Barber started the Reef Ball Foundation in 1993 and sine then has worked tirelessly putting reef balls all over the world protecting and reestablishing reefs. They are now starting to be used in freshwater applications as well to protect inland waterways and inhabitants. Recently Kenny Chesney has partner with the Reefball Foundation with his charity No Shoes Reefs.
They are both great organizations with a goal of protection our oceans and reefs. Check them out online if you get a chance......

 

[lefkonj]

Funny I have already told people this is what I want. I saw these in the Caymans and the fish activity around them was interesting. Would be great to continue to contribute to the reefing world once I am gone.

 

[GlassMunky]

Cremations make zero sense to me, spend tons of money to be burned into ashes?, no thanks.

Personally, I’d rather be chummed up and tossed back in the ocean to be part of the food chain. At least that way I’m still part of the chain and not just burned to nothing. But this does present extra challenges to those left behind to follow those wishes.... lawyers and lots of legal....
And who knows what kind of looks they might get carrying a body out to sea

 

[Casket_Case]

Cremations make zero sense to me, spend tons of money to be burned into ashes?, no thanks.

Personally, I’d rather be chummed up and tossed back in the ocean to be part of the food chain. At least that way I’m still part of the chain and not just burned to nothing. But this does present extra challenges to those left behind to follow those wishes.... lawyers and lots of legal....
And who knows what kind of looks they might get carrying a body out to sea

You can get a sea burial, just as you mentioned there’s a big process. You’ve got to be thirteen nautical miles off shore and the military has to escort you out there. There’s a lot more to it but that’s all I really remember XD

 

[fish farmer]

Cremations make zero sense to me, spend tons of money to be burned into ashes?, no thanks.

Personally, I’d rather be chummed up and tossed back in the ocean to be part of the food chain. At least that way I’m still part of the chain and not just burned to nothing. But this does present extra challenges to those left behind to follow those wishes.... lawyers and lots of legal....
And who knows what kind of looks they might get carrying a body out to sea

I'm sure if you fall in with the wrong crowd....you could find yourself "swimming with the fishes".

 

[fish farmer]

Nope my ashes would be in lake Dunmore. I used to spend a lot of my summers there and a lot of good memories are there.

I work a mile from there.....that would probably my number two spot. An old fishing buddy of mine passed away one winter. The first day that spring I put my boat on Dunmore, started it, ice had been off the lake for three days. I did one trolling pass by the brook, hooked and landed a 9 lb landlocked salmon, my biggest at the time. My buddy John was looking down from the heavens that day.

 

[|Frank|]

Before I got married I always wanted a viking funeral. Now that I'm married we have to get plots :/

 

[Casket_Case]

Before I got married I always wanted a viking funeral. Now that I'm married we have to get plots :/

Viking funerals never fully cremate. The human body needs constant temperature of about 2,000° F for a few hours to fully burn. Viking funerals would mean your charred leg washes up on shore and some kid uses it as a flag for his sand castle.

 

[|Frank|]

But it would still look cool! I didn't put much thought in to the traumatic experiences lol

 

[Casket_Case]

But it would still look cool! I didn't put much thought in to the traumatic experiences lol

They would look terrific! I believe there’s a company out there that puts ashes in fireworks

 

[Robert Riccio]

I'd love for my remains to be on the bottom of the ocean with the animals that made my life better having them in it.

 

[|Frank|]

They would look terrific! I believe there’s a company out there that puts ashes in fireworks

Haha that's pretty cool. For some reason that made me think about the big Lebowski when Walter throws Donnie's ashes all over the dude

 

[Tonycass12]

Don't forget if your goal is to be environmentally friendly concrete production emitts massive amounts of co2.

 

[Patientman]

Flush my ashes down the toilet … "all drains lead to the sea" … isn't that what they said in "Finding Nemo"?!?!
But seriously … lot of nice options noted here … have not made the "final" decision yet … hope I've got a little more time before I have to start arranging things.

 

[Dania]

Fish Farmer. Nice. I’ll be heading back up there late June early July for family week. And unfortunately a memorial as well. Cancer sucks!

 

[FBAA]

I want to be cremated knowing that my CO2 was released into the atmosphere.

 

[weezeoh]

As an aspiring Funeral Director and an active shadowee at a Funeral Home I have a passion for the funeral industry, and furthermore educating and making aware the thousands of options we have for our own burials.

A good bit of you have probably heard about ‘Eternal Reefs’ an organization that incorporates cremated remains into concrete and creates ‘reef balls’ these structures are then sunk in the ocean and left to give coral and fish a place to live.

These structures are designed to replicate natural reef substrata, a specialized concrete formula brings the concrete pH to a close neutral, the material is friendly to the marine environment, it’s textured to aid in the hosting of marine organisms and the reef balls are designed to withstand tidal flows, major storms and the dynamic energy impacts that accompany them.

Whenever one of these reef balls is created the family is welcome to participate in the mixing and pouring of the ashes. You can also write letters, press handprints and set objects into the concrete for your loved one. The GPS coordinates are also given to the family, so they’re able to visit the reef.

There have been more than 5,000 projects in more than 70 countries with more than 750,000 reef balls placed on the ocean floor. And with years of documented history of stability and habitat development, reef balls have become the international gold standard for fisheries programs, coral restoration, and habitat development projects. Here is the site if you’re interested in learning more about them and what they do:

Eternal Reefs » Living legacies that memorialize our loved ones

Eternal Reefs combines a cremation urn, ash scattering, & green burial at sea into an environmental memorial while creating new marine habitats for sea life

www.eternalreefs.com

Here are some photographs of the reef balls and the thriving reefs they’ve became home to!

I too am a funeral Director and work at Neptune Society and we have a coral reef off the coast in Florida made up of cremated remains. I think it’s a wonderful tribute and in today’s world it’s such a wonderful gift that we can pass on life to create another . Something to think about

 

[weezeoh]

As an aspiring Funeral Director and an active shadowee at a Funeral Home I have a passion for the funeral industry, and furthermore educating and making aware the thousands of options we have for our own burials.

A good bit of you have probably heard about ‘Eternal Reefs’ an organization that incorporates cremated remains into concrete and creates ‘reef balls’ these structures are then sunk in the ocean and left to give coral and fish a place to live.

These structures are designed to replicate natural reef substrata, a specialized concrete formula brings the concrete pH to a close neutral, the material is friendly to the marine environment, it’s textured to aid in the hosting of marine organisms and the reef balls are designed to withstand tidal flows, major storms and the dynamic energy impacts that accompany them.

Whenever one of these reef balls is created the family is welcome to participate in the mixing and pouring of the ashes. You can also write letters, press handprints and set objects into the concrete for your loved one. The GPS coordinates are also given to the family, so they’re able to visit the reef.

There have been more than 5,000 projects in more than 70 countries with more than 750,000 reef balls placed on the ocean floor. And with years of documented history of stability and habitat development, reef balls have become the international gold standard for fisheries programs, coral restoration, and habitat development projects. Here is the site if you’re interested in learning more about them and what they do:

Eternal Reefs » Living legacies that memorialize our loved ones

Eternal Reefs combines a cremation urn, ash scattering, & green burial at sea into an environmental memorial while creating new marine habitats for sea life

www.eternalreefs.com

Here are some photographs of the reef balls and the thriving reefs they’ve became home to!

I too am a funeral Director and work at Neptune Society and we have a coral reef off the coast in Florida made up of cremated remains. I think it’s a wonderful tribute and in today’s world it’s such a wonderful gift that we can pass on life to create another . Something to think about

 

[MaxTremors]

Meh. Just throw me in a ditch somewhere, let the vultures and flies have me. Or give me to the crabs and fishes. If that’s not legal, maybe one of those fungus shrouds. I don’t have any desire to be memorialized with a headstone or scattered somewhere pretty.

 

[Billdogg]

I have it written into my will. The place I am most at peace with the universe is down on a reef someplace, anyplace. What better way to spend eternity!