New Jersey Scuba Diving

Shark River Artificial Reef

The Shark River reef is tucked into a corner between the Mud Hole and the Barnegat shipping lane, which happens to be in close proximity to the wreck of the Stolt Dagali. It has a minimum depth for navigational purposes of 50 ft ( 8 fathoms ) at mean low water. Shark River is the deepest of all New Jersey reef sites, with an average bottom depth of 125 ft, although scour holes around larger vessels may be much deeper.

I have omitted the Redbirds from the chart, as they are no longer there. There were two clusters in the mud at the southern end of the reef, and one cluster atop the rock ridge at the northern end. Those are the cars in the pictures below.

Side-scan sonar animation courtesy of Army Corps of Engineers

This reef got off to a big start, with three tankers sunk in one day - the Coney Island first, and then the "twins" Sam Berman and Alan Martin. The Shark River Reef is often referred to as "The Parking Lot" by charter boat operators. In addition to the vessels shown, the Shark River Reef also contains a great deal of rock and rubble.

Side-scan sonar mosaic of the Shark River Reef, showing the partially-built rock ridges along the top, the Coney Island at lower right, and the massive Algol at the center, along with various other wrecks and concrete drops. The Captain Bart is visible just below the rock ridges, the APL-31 is NNW of the Algol, and the Alan Martin / Sam Berman duo is NW of the Coney Island. The tiny HRFA is just a speck among the concrete mounds, and the Mako Mania is visible south of the Algol.

Mosaic image courtesy of SAIC.