Summary of Reef Materials Deployed through 2002

NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
DIVISION OF FISH AND WILDLIFE
MARINE FISHERIES ADMINISTRATION
BUREAU OF MARINE FISHERIES

Date Submitted: March, 2003
Period of Study: 1973 through 2002
Reported by: Bill Figley
Data Compilation & Summarization:  Jennifer Daetsch

This Job, "Coordination of Artificial Reef Construction," was conducted under Grant F-69-D and supported in part by Wallop-Breaux Federal Aid to Sportfish Restoration Funds administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. #6dploy02

Annual Data Summary
Summary of Reef Materials Deployed through 2002

Initial Construction

The following report summarizes reef construction activities on New Jersey's fourteen artificial reef sites. Between 1973 and 1983, materials were deployed by a private group, called the "Artificial Reef Committee", working in cooperation with the Sandy Hook Lab of the National Marine Fisheries Service. During that time, the Committee deployed seven vessels, encompassing 17,213 cubic yards, and 400 cubic yards of steel drums on the Sea Girt Reef ( Table 1. )

Number of Deployments

In 1984, the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife took over all reef building efforts in the state. Since the inception of the Division's program, reef construction has increased steadily ( Table 1. ) In 19 years, a total of 2,093 "patch" reefs were constructed. A patch reef is a several-square-yard to several-acre reef created by placing a vessel or army tank or barge-load of other material on the sea floor. About 13 percent of these reefs, 271 in number, were made in 2002.

Volume of Materials

During 2002, a total of 658,438 cubic yards of material was deployed on reef sites ( Table 1 ) including 634,176 cubic yards of rock, 11,830 cubic yards of concrete, 10,389 cubic yards of vessels, 1,018 cubic yards of concrete castings, 883 cubic yards of Reef Balls and 142 cubic yards of ocean cable. Over the last 19 years, a total of 3,301,892 cubic yards of material has been deployed on New Jersey's 14 reef sites, including 2,700,393 cubic yards of rock, 285,459 cubic yards of vessels, 229,365 cubic yards of concrete, 61,772 cubic yards of concrete-ballasted tire units and 17,853 cubic yards of obsolete army tanks. The distribution of material by reef site is shown in Table 2.

Tire Reef Program

The total production of concrete-ballasted tire units was 55,713 units during the 15-year cooperative tire reef program ( Table 4. ) the use of concrete-ballasted tire units was discontinued in 1998.

REEFEX

REEFEX began in 1994 as a joint military-civilian training program whereby the U.S. Navy, Coast Guard, Army and Navy Special Forces, Air Force and New Jersey Army National Guard participated in providing obsolete military vehicles for reef construction activities. Tanks were cleaned and prepared at Fort Dix by the New Jersey Army National Guard. During the 6-year program, a total of 397 obsolete army vehicles were placed on 11 reef sites. The program ended in 1999 due to insufficient funding.

Reef Ball Habitats

In 1998, 16 fiberglass molds were purchased to fabricate concrete Reef Ball habitats. In 1999, construction of habitats began at Southern State Correctional Facility using inmate laborers. The program is designed to produce 700 habitats each year. Transportation of the habitats to ocean reef sites was provided by the Ocean County Bridge Department and now, by a contractor. In 2002, 650 habitats were placed on 5 reef sites. To date, a total of 2,556 Reef Ball habitats have been placed on 6 reef sites ( Table 4. )

Concrete Castings

Concrete castings is a new category of reef material in 2002. Concrete castings are pipes, junction boxes and other hollow concrete structures with manufacturer's defects, like chips or cracks, that render them unsaleable. In 2002, 447 concrete castings were placed on two reef sites: Little Egg and Cape May.

Sea Floor Coverage

The sea floor coverage by reef structure is an important measurement of habitat for demersal fish and shellfish. The total area of sea floor that has been covered by reef materials over the past 19 years is 1,887,159 square yards ( Table 3. ) Rock, concrete and concrete-ballasted tire units provide the majority of the surface coverage due to their low height. The high relief of ships leads to large volumes, but low footprint coverage.

Material Relief

The majority of material in terms of footprint ( area of sea floor covered ) has been moderately low ( 4-7' ) and low ( 0'-3' ) structures, with smaller amounts of moderately high ( 8'-12' ) and high profile ( over 12' ) structures. While the aim of the reef project is to create low profile structure that provides the greatest benefits for targeted reef species, such as sea bass, tautog, scup and red hake, a mix that includes high profile material provides habitat for pelagic species, such as bluefish, bonito, jacks and various baitfish. It should be noted that the lower portions of high profile structures also provide low profile habitat.

Vessels

Since 1973, a total of 122 vessels ( Table 5 ) have been sunk, with 115 by the Division of Fish and Wildlife. The vessels range in size from a 31-foot steel sport boat to a 460-foot Navy attack cargo transport. The Sea Girt, Garden State North, Atlantic City and Cape May reefs have received the largest numbers of vessels ( Table 5. )

The vessels sunk during 2002 include:

• Wedding Barge ( 109' deck barge )
• Tuna Sub ( 42' deck barge )
• Southwick's Barge ( 62' deck barge )
• BassBarn.com ( 224' tanker barge )
• Capt. Walt Hendee ( 244'   tanker )

Reef Site Coverage

New Jersey's fourteen reef sites comprise over 99 million square yards of sea floor ( Table 14. ) By the end of 2002, the area of sea floor covered by all materials deployed on reef sites amounted to 1,887,159 square yards. Thus, reef material is now covering only about 1.90 percent of the state's 14 reef sites; 98.10 percent of the ocean bottom on these sites is still not covered with reef structure, but remains as sand.

Acknowledgements

Personnel involved in deployment of reef materials during 2002 included Jeff Carlson, Barry Preim, Linda Barry, Jennifer Daetsch, Nathan Figley and John Makai. Data compilation and summarization was performed by Jennifer Daetsch. The manuscript was typed by Nancy Loveland.

---

Table 1

Number of Patch Reefs Deployed By Year

Year	Concrete	Rock	Tire Units	Vessels	Tanks	Reef Balls	Other	TOTAL
1984			1	1				2
1985	1		2	5				8
1986			6	8				14
1987	8		8	6				22
1988	19		29	6				54
1989	8		32	9				49
1990	7	7	24	6			1	45
1991	22	58	33	5			1	119
1992	52	148	24	3				227
1993	3	148	15	7				173
1994	11	29	19	9	6		3	77
1995	34		9	5	58		1	107
1996	2		22	5	77		1	107
1997	1	2	5	10	84			102
1998	5		5	4	116			130
1999	5			2	56	15		78
2000				4		34	20	58
TOTAL	178	392	228	95	397	49	33	1372

 

---

Table 2

Volume of Materials Deployed in 2000
by Artificial Reef Site ( cubic yards )

Reef Site	Concrete	Rock	Reef Balls	Vessels	Tanks	Other*	TOTAL
Sandy Hook							0
Shark River							0
Sea Girt				6457			6457
Axel Carlson			169	1086			1255
Barnegat Light			161				161
Garden State N			80				80
Garden State S			167				167
Little Egg							0
Atlantic City						474	474
Great Egg							0
Ocean City							0
Wildwood							0
Cape May				517			517
Deepwater							0
TOTAL	0	0	577	8060	0	474	9111

* includes steel drums, railroad cars, cable

 

---

Table 3

Volumes of Materials From All Sources Deposited on
Reef Sites by Year Through 2000 ( cubic yards )

Year	Concrete	Rock	Tire Units	Vessels	Tanks	Reef Balls	Other	TOTAL
1983				17213			400	17613
1984			1100	170				1270
1985	2000		1050	15879				18929
1986			2210	20966			104	23280
1987	10400		2647	14912				27959
1988	33272		3480	12248				49000
1989	7110		3622	11712				22444
1990	10687	4800	5360	9311			1100	31258
1991	20576	200705	6606	54392			2302	284581
1992	33050	671690	7110	4320			400	716570
1993	5000	716500	6501	7680			672	736353
1994	8400	145000	11729	18185	600		64	183978
1995	58625		5557	3683	2540			70405
1996	650		4169	6412	3847		766	15844
1997	45	3450	1023	22545	3859			30922
1998	3275		250	11476	4571			19572
1999	3810			4596	2122	575		11103
2000				8060		577	474	9111
TOTAL	196900	1742145	62414	243760	17539	1152	6282	2270192

 

---

Table 4

Volumes of Materials From All Sources Deployed
on Artificial Reefs Through 2000 ( cubic yards )

Reef Site	Concrete	Rock	Tire Units	Vessels	Tanks	Reef Balls	Other	TOTAL
Sandy Hook	100372	1742145		751			44	1843312
Shark River	26800		597	75258				102655
Sea Girt	39495			47908	1318		2160	90881
Axel Carlson			438	8109	2185	169		10901
Barnegat Light			2273	178	2464	490	20	5425
Garden State N			4536	30527	1127	326		36516
Garden State S			4835	4788	1257	167		11047
Little Egg	200		2057	1412	1544		106	5319
Atlantic City			5281	45103	1460		1276	53120
Great Egg			7893	3208	1939			13040
Ocean City			4762	3668	1634		104	10168
Wildwood	500		6525	508	1591			9124
Cape May	29533		19332	22343	1020		2572	74800
Deepwater			3885					3885
TOTAL	196900	1742145	62414	234760	17539	1152	6282	2270193

 

---

Table 5

Number of Tire Units Constructed and Deployed by
Carbon Service Corporation and Ocean, Atlantic and Cape May
Counties Cooperative Tire Reef Programs

YEAR	TIRE UNIT PRODUCTION
1984	380
1985	700
1986	2203
1987	2647
1988	3480
1989	3347
1990	5278
1991	7382
1992	6429
1993	4879
1994	9327
1995	4714
1996	3854
1997	712
1998	313
TOTAL	55645

 

---

Table 6

Numbers and Types of Military Vehicles
Deployed Through REEFEX by Year

YEAR	M-113 APC*	M-551 Sheridan	M-60 tank	M-578 tow vehicle	TOTAL
1994			6		6
1995	40	8	10		58
1996	24	43	10		77
1997		21	1	62	84
1998	97	4	13	2	116
1999	41		4	11	56
TOTAL	202	76	44	75	397

* Armored Personnel Carrier

 

---

Table 7

Numbers and Types of Military Vehicles Deployed
Through REEFEX by Reef Site Through 2000

Reef Site	M-113 APC*	M-551 Sheridan	M-60 tank	M-578 tow vehicle	TOTAL
Sandy Hook					0
Shark River					0
Sea Girt	19		6	1	26
Axel Carlson	36	2	9	1	48
Barnegat Light	41	6	5	12	64
Garden State N	26	5	1		32
Garden State S	24	5	2	2	33
Little Egg	5	6		25	36
Atlantic City	2	8	6	9	25
Great Egg		13	5	19	37
Ocean City	8	18	2	6	34
Wildwood	7	13	8		28
Cape May	34				34
Deepwater					0
TOTAL	202	76	44	75	397

* Armored Personnel Carrier

 

---

Table 8

Number of Reef Ball Habitats
Deployed by Reef Site Through 2000

Reef Site	Total Number of Reef Balls
Axel Carlson	200
Barnegat Light	591
Garden State N	408
Garden State S	200
TOTAL	1399

 

---

Table 9

Sea Floor Coverage of Materials Deployed in
2000 by Artificial Reef Site ( square yards )

Reef Site	Concrete	Rock	Reef Balls	Vessels	Tanks	Other*	TOTAL
Sandy Hook							0
Shark River				954			954
Sea Girt							0
Axel Carlson			296	217			513
Barnegat Light			282				282
Garden State N			140				140
Garden State S			292				292
Little Egg							0
Atlantic City						9310	9310
Great Egg							0
Ocean City							0
Wildwood							0
Cape May				157			157
Deepwater							0
TOTAL	0	0	1010	1328	0	9310	11648

* includes steel drums, railroad cars and cable

 

---

Table 10

Sea Floor Coverage of Materials From All Sources
on Artificial Reefs Through 2000 ( square yards )

Reef Site	Concrete	Rock	Tire Units	Vessels	Tanks	Reef Balls	Other*	TOTAL
Sandy Hook	123967	877584		442			67	1002060
Shark River	12170		771	314				20255
Sea Girt	43610			12121	556		1525	57812
Axel Carlson			438	1760	926	297		3421
Barnegat Light			3245	89	1106	1239	20	5699
Garden State N			6035	6247	510	571	1202	14565
Garden State S			4866	1511	556	289		7222
Little Egg	200		1412	529	733		53	2927
Atlantic City			6471	7015	558		14110	28154
Great Egg			7332	642	785			8759
Ocean City			5300	1053	660		124	7137
Wildwood	250		7998	218	571			9037
Cape May	41817		23290	5364	510		1533	72514
Deepwater			4990					4990
TOTAL	222014	877584	72148	44305	7472	2396	18635	1244554

* includes steel drums, cable, subway cars and other steel structures

 

---

Table 11

Sea Floor Coverage of All Materials on Artificial Reefs Broken Down
by Relief Off the Bottom and Reef Site Through 2000 ( square yards )

Reef Site	Relief 0' - 3'	Relief 4' - 7'	Relief 8' - 12'	Relief over 12'
Sandy Hook	120404	879734	1923
Shark River	771	12170		7314
Sea Girt	34995	9969	9214	3694
Axel Carlson	35	40	1670	476
Barnegat Light	4504	51	544
Garden State N	7308	1277	690	5291
Garden State S	4648	967	1607
Little Egg	1616	128	1086	101
Atlantic City	14707	3054	4277	6117
Great Egg	4529	2803	785	642
Ocean City	5300	483	1354
Wildwood	7998	588	451
Cape May	25290	41544	1350	4330
Deepwater	4990
TOTAL	237791	953907	25698	27905

 

---

Table 12

Number and Type of Vessels Sunk on New Jersey
Artificial Reefs by Year Through 2000

Vessel Type	73-83*	84	85	86	87	88	89	90	91	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	TOTAL
Barge			1	1	1	2	6	1		1	1	4	1	1	4	1	1		26
Commercial Fishing	3		1	1			3	2	2	2		1			1				16
Crew Boat						1									1				2
Dry Dock	1																		1
Ferry	1																		1
Freighter			1	1		1						1							4
Landing Craft					1			1											2
Mold					2	2	2												6
Schooner				1															1
Sport Boat			1	1							1								3
Tanker		1	1	1	3		1	1			1		2	1	1	3		1	17
Tug							2	2	2		2	1	3	2	3			2	19
Coast Guard											2		2				1	1	6
Lightship												1							1
Sailboat												1		1					2
TOTAL	5	1	5	6	7	6	14	7	4	3	7	9	8	5	10	4	2	4	107

* vessels sunk by Artificial Reef Committee

 

---

Table 13

Number and Type of Vessels Sunk by
Artificial Reef Site Through 2000

	Reef Site -- See below for key
Vessel Type	SH	SR	SG	CAR	BL	GSN	GSS	LE	AC	GE	OC	WW	CM	DW	TOTAL
Barge	1		10	2		3	2	1	1		3	1	2		26
Commercial Fishing			4				1		5		1		5		16
Crew Boat							1	1							2
Dry Dock			1												1
Ferry			1												1
Freighter		1				1			2						4
Landing Craft													2		2
Boat Mold			1				2				3				6
Schooner									1						1
Sport Boat						2							1		3
Tanker	1	5	3			3			2	1			2		17
Tug	1	2	6	2	1	3			3				1		19
Coast Guard							2						4		6
Lightship									1						1
Sailboat	1				1										2
TOTAL	4	8	26	4	2	12	8	2	15	1	7	1	17	0	107

Key:

SH - SR - SG - CAR - BL - GSN - GSS -

Sandy Hook Shark River Sea Girt Axel Carlson Barnegat Light Garden State North Garden State South

LE - AC - GE - OC - WW - CM - DW -

Little Egg Atlantic City Great Egg Ocean City Wildwood Cape May Deepwater

 

---

Table 14

Percent Coverage of Reef Sites by Reef
Structures Through 2002 ( square yards )

	Area  ( square yards )		Coverage of Sea Floor ( % )
	Reef Site	Reef Structure	Reef Structure	Open Bottom
Sandy Hook	5,788,222	1,298,948	22.44%	77.56%
Shark River	2,067,222	340,976	16.49%	83.51%
Sea Girt	5,373,777	63,116	1.17%	98.83%
Axel Carlson	16,537,716	6,267	0.04%	99.96%
Barnegat Light	3,514,277	5,981	0.17%	99.83%
Garden State North	4,547,888	14,566	0.32%	99.68%
Garden State South	2,273,944	7,711	0.33%	99.67%
Little Egg	5,600,000	4,057	0.07%	99.93%
Atlantic City	16,537,776	32,677	0.20%	99.80%
Great Egg	3,307,555	8,931	0.27%	99.73%
Ocean City	3,142,177	15,343	0.49%	99.51%
Cape May	18,604,998	72,367	0.39%	99.61%
Wildwood	8,806,366	9,280	0.11%	99.89%
Deepwater	2,976,800	6,939	0.23%	99.77%
TOTAL	99,078,718	1,887,159	1.90%	98.10%

Hyperlinks and photographs added by editor - NJScuba.net