The phrase “watery grave” may be taking on new meaning with a new service that allows you to become part of ocean life after death. Florida-based company Eternal Reefs takes cremation ashes and makes them into reef balls as a way for people to become one with the vibrant underwater life by becoming part of a coral reef. Scientists estimate that up to 9 million species of plants and animals rely on coral reefs to survive, but in recent years they’re under threat from overfishing, pollution and climate change. This environmental catastrophe caught the attention Don Brawley and Todd Barber, two college roommates from the University of Georgia, who were both avid scuba divers. That’s when they came up with the idea of Eternal Reefs. Since then, they have placed over 1,500 memorial reef balls off the coast of Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, New Jersey, Maryland, Texas and Virginia. Eternal Reefs are available in three different sizes and start at around $2,995.
