"New" Artificial Reefs

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New England Coast, sunk 18 months ago

I finally added two "new" artificial reefs, the Carrabassett on the Axel Carlson Reef and the New England Coast on the Shark River Reef. I have been waiting patiently for the numbers to be released, and was just informed that these two sites are undergoing "a period of successional development and monitoring" before publication. These studies were never announced at the time, in fact the New England Coast was kept out of the newspapers entirely, obviously so the science would not be tainted by the public. I imagine this study is a lot like this one, conducted by NJDEP fisheries biologists Jennifer Resciniti and Bill Figley over the course of 8 years, concluding in 2005.

In over 20 years of tracking and occasionally participating in the New Jersey Artificial Reef Program, I have never seen a reef site studied with such diligence, and I must commend the Reef Coordinator and the sponsor of both these sites for doing such "good science".

Carrabbassett

Sponsored in part by thesportfishingfund.org using resources of the state of New Jersey.

I think everyone should write to their representative and commend the Reef Program and the NJDEP for their diligence and integrity. It is vitally important that these sites be kept secret during the study period to avoid spoiling the catch results. Personally, I am excited to see what new science they discover, and can hardly wait for the peer-reviewed paper to be published in a scientific journal. Perhaps it will even include the GPS numbers!

Luckily, it is now easy to update the charts in the website, and if I am still alive when the study is published, I will do so.


Update

The Susan Rose is apparently also undergoing "a period of successional development and monitoring". Here is the NJDEP contact form if you would like to inquire about the progress of all these studies:


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Shipwreck Gypsum Prince
Type:
shipwreck, freighter, England
Built:
1927, England
Specs:
( 347 x 52 ft ) 3915 gross tons, 26 crew
Sunk:
Sunday May 3, 1942
collision with freighter Voco ( 5090 tons) - 6 casualties
Depth:
70 ft

Printed from njscuba.net