The nonprofit organization TED has released a TED Talk broadcast with artist Jason deCaires Taylor talking about his underwater museums. He is a sculptor, underwater photographer and underwater conservationist. He has combined his talents to create underwater museums.

In the TED video, Taylor explains how he began working with a marine biologist and a local diving center 10 years ago in Grenada, West Indies in an area that had been hit hard by hurricane Ivan. That is when he submerged his first sculpture. From there, his work took off and in no time he had numerous sculptures on the ocean floor in the area, which ultimately became his first underwater museum.

Taylor later opened up another, much larger one in Cancun, Mexico. It has since grown to become the largest underwater museum in the world. Called MUSA, it is home to 500 of Taylor’s sculptures.

Taylor creates sculptures of human form and objects one would find on land and then places them on the floor of the ocean. The original idea behind the underwater museums was to fight against declining coral reefs. His sculptures offer an ideal place for coral to develop. This, in turn, provides home to many animals, including sea urchins and sea turtles. Taylor’s sculptures also attract fish. As sunlight is required for coral to grow, Taylor’s sculptures are placed at a maximum of 200 feet (61 meters) down. Once coral starts to form on Taylor’s art work, the sculpture is naturally transformed, providing new colors and shapes.

The earth’s coral reefs have been in decline for the last 30 years and Taylor’s underwater museums aim to help reverse that trend.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=D7ycO6U-BZI