Last week we wrote on post cremation memorial space flights as an alternative to traditional burial practices. This week we look to alternatives that exist in the sea. 

A new underwater memorial reef off the coast of Florida, Neptune Memorial Reef, is part of an emerging trend to meet the demand for more unique alternatives to traditional burial practices.

Underwater burials are offered by several companies. Typically the burial location is small and individual pods are created for each individual’s cremated remains on-demand and then sunk to the ocean floor.

Neptune Memorial Reef is unique in that it is the world’s largest man-made reef.  It is 4 feet under the sea, 3 miles off the coast of Miami and covers an area of 16 acres.   The Reef offers room for the cremated remains of up to 125,000 individuals and is a “whimsical re-creation of a lost city”, complete with columns, roads and city gates.  The cost of a simple placement starts at around $1,500.00 and goes up from there.   

As an added bonus the structures in the reef have produced a marine habitat to promote the growth of coral and marine organisms making it an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional burial practice.  A recent marine study conducted by the Department of Environmental Resource Management concluded that marine life around the Reef has grown tremendously in two years.

The Reef is free and accessible to all visitors. Family and friends of the deceased can dive the reef on a regular basis to visit their loved ones.  In addition, the Reef attracts recreational scuba divers, marine biologists, students, researchers and ecologists from all over the world. 

Lesson Learned: Underwater burials are unique and an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional burial practices.

Until next time

Jasmine Sweatman