DelJerseyLand Artificial Reef
DelJerseyLand Inshore Artificial Reef
Depth: 120-140 ft
The Radford is complicated. The bow is where it is marked, and the wreck originally faced southwest. The stern would have originally been close to the Gregory Poole, but I don't know where the stern is now. The mid-section of the wreck walked over to the charted location in Hurricane Irene. A large number of Redbird cars and Brightliners were also sunk in this reef, mostly in the north.
Building a reef 28 miles offshore serves no one. It is a 2-3 hour drive for a typical dive boat, less for a faster fishing boat, but still a tremendous fuel cost. From the total lack of fishing and diving reports, it is clear this reef site is little used, except perhaps by a select few with money to burn. I look at the vessels below, and all I can think is 'what a shame'. They should have been sunk where people will use them.
This site is not only impractical for fishing and diving - what construction company wants to waste fuel and time hauling material all the way out here? There is no new 'science' here either - reef ecology has been well-studied, and can continue to be studied at other more practical sites.
The is also a DelJerseyLand Offshore reef. This is over 60 miles offshore, and almost 200 feet in depth. This reef appears to be completely undeveloped, and hopefully will stay that way, as any monies or materials used there are completely wasted.
I applaud Delaware's artificial reef program. Artificial reef building is a great business that serves everyone ( and the fish ) when it is done right. But siting a reef out where no one will use it is not right.
DNREC Creates New Artificial Reef Off Delaware Coast
Retired Navy Vessel Recycled As Home for Fish and Sea Life
(Dec. 10) With the sinking of the Gregory Poole, a retired 175 foot Navy vessel, DNREC created a new artificial reef off the Delaware Coast approximately 26 miles southeast of the Indian River Inlet. The reef will enhance fisheries habitat, increase marine biodiversity and productivity and provide fishing and diving opportunities for decades.
Reef construction is especially important in the Mid-Atlantic region, where the ocean bottom is usually featureless sand or mud. Recycled materials, including concrete pipe and other concrete products, ballasted tire units, subway cars and decommissioned military vehicles and vessels, have been sunk off the Delaware coast. Using these materials saves landfill space and allows them to serve in a productive capacity for hundreds of years past their originally intended use.
Monitoring studies have shown that placement of durable, stable reef materials can result in a 400-fold increase in the amount of small sea life and fish. The materials provide refuge or shelter for small fish, and they are the prey that attracts larger fish. Swift, open-ocean pelagic fish, such as tuna and mackerel, use the reef as a hunting ground to grab a quick meal.
The new reef, DelJerseyLand Inshore Site, lies equal distance from Cape May, N.J., Ocean City, Md. and Indian River Inlet, Del., and will be developed jointly by Delaware, Maryland, and New Jersey as a regional effort. The site, with an area of about one square mile and a depth of 120-130 feet, was permitted in 2006, specifically for surplus Navy vessels.
The Gregory Poole can now give back to the ocean, said Jeffrey Tinsman, reef program manager with DNREC's Fisheries Section. The ship makes an ideal reef because of its voids and cavities, the perfect sanctuary for fish. Within a few weeks, blue mussels, sponges, barnacles and soft corals attach to the structure, and in about a year, the reef will be fully productive, resembling natural habitat.
You'd think that this far offshore conditions would be pretty good for diving, but apparently not. Strong currents and bad visibility are a distinct possibility, not unlike the Mud Hole. This reef lies directly in the outflow of the Delaware River.
DelJerseyLand Offshore Artificial Reef
This reef is some sixty miles offshore. Hopefully this site will never get used, as no one will ever go out that far. Have you seen the price of fuel lately?
- Type:
- 250 "Redbird" subway cars - NYC Subway system - steel bodies / frames
- Built:
- 1959-1960 - American Car & Foundry - Model R26 # 7750-7859
1960-1961 - American Car & Foundry - Model R28 # 7860-7959
1962-1963 - St. Louis Car - Model R29 # 8570-8805
1962-1963 - St. Louis Car - Model R33 # 8806-9345
1963-1964 - St. Louis Car - Model R36 # 9346-9769 - Specs:
- ( 51 x 9 ft ) 15,000 to 18,000 pounds (body)
- Sunk:
- 50 cars - Cape May Reef on July 3, 2003
50 cars - Deepwater Reef on July 16, 2003
50 cars - Atlantic City Reef on July 25, 2003
50 cars - Garden State North Reef on Sept 3, 2003
50 cars - Shark River Reef on Oct 14, 2003
619 cars - Delaware Reef 11 from Aug 2001 to Nov 2003 - Sponsor:
- New York City Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)
- anti-
Sponsor: - Environmental group Clean Ocean Action lobbied aggressively and almost successfully to prevent the use of these subway cars as artificial reefs in New Jersey, resulting in most of the cars going to other states.
- GPS:
- too many to list, and all gone anyway
- Depth:
- Depths vary by location between 80 ft and 130 ft.
More: Redbird Subway Cars ...
All manner of concrete, steel, and stone rubble from dredging, demolition projects, and other construction is used as artificial reef materials. This material is generally available at very low cost or free from construction companies who are more than happy to get rid of it. Transportation costs determine where this material is used by the Reef Program.
More: Rock & Rubble ...
- Type:
- artificial reef, fleet tugboat, cutter
- Built:
- 1943, Portland, OR, as USS Zuni AT-95
- Specs:
- ( 205 x 38 ft ) 1,235 tons (light)
- Sunk:
- Wednesday, May 10, 2017 - DelJerseyLand Artificial Reef
- GPS:
- 38°31.144' -74°30.747'
- Depth:
- 125 ft
More: Tamaroa WMEC-166 ...
- Type:
- artificial reef, freighter, purse seiner
- Built:
- 1945, Stockton CA USA as FS-411 (US Army)
- Specs:
- ( 166 x 32 ft ) 542 tons
- Sunk:
- Dec 11, 2015 - DelJerseyLand Artificial Reef
- GPS:
- 38°31.661' -74°30.607'
- Depth:
- 120 ft
More: Shearwater (FS-411) ...
- Type:
- artificial reef, freighter, purse seiner
- Built:
- 1944, JK Welding - Yonkers NY, as FS-355 (US Army)
- Specs:
- ( 166 x 32 ft ) 542 tons
- Sunk:
- Thursday, Jan 21, 2021 - DelJerseyLand Artificial Reef
- GPS:
- 38°31.340' -74°30.671'
- Depth:
- 125 ft
John S Dempster Jr. is sister to Shearwater and Reedville, see those vessels for details, links in the sidebar. All three vessels were originally small Army transports, converted to Menhaden fishing by Omega Protein company. FS-355 was USCG-manned, and retained by USA as PVT Carl V. Sheridan (see below) until sold in 1972.
The aging Shearwater and Reedville were retired when Omega got two new modern vessels in 2017, but Dempster was kept as a reserve. Finally, almost 80 years old, the Dempster was sent to her reward as well. Another sister, Tangier Island, was reefed off Georgia in 2020. As of 2023, one old sister remains - Smuggler's Point, FS-400, launched in 1944!
More: John S Dempster Jr. (FS-355) ...
- Type:
- artificial reef, minesweeper, US Navy, later converted to purse seiner
- Built:
- 1944, Tampa FL USA as AM-215 Cruise
- Specs:
- ( 184 x 33 ft ) 650 tons
- Sunk:
- Monday, Dec 10, 2007 - DelJerseyLand Artificial Reef
- GPS:
- 38°30.910' -74°30.597'
- Depth:
- 120 ft
More: Gregory Poole ...
