New York Artificial Reefs (5/6)

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Redbird Subway Car - in service

There is a great deal of controversy over the use of subway cars as artificial reefs. There shouldn't be. Subway cars are fish condos. They are the perfect size and shape to provide homes for all sorts of fishes, as well as large attachment areas for other organisms. The fact that they come complete with large door and window openings is even better. Most reef materials, such as ships and barges, improve with age because they open up, allowing easier access to the interior. Indeed, some of the most barren reefs I have seen are those that are completely intact, since they offer little shelter.


Esso Tug No. 9
Type:
artificial reef, tugboat
Built:
1950 - Gulfport Shipbuilding Corp, Port Arthur, TX USA
Specs:
( 102 ft ) 197 gross tons
Sunk:
Tuesday November 26, 2019 - 12-Mile Artificial Reef
Depth:
125 ft
GPS:
40°37.104' -72°31.388'


rock reef
A hopper barge full of rock

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.






Type:
artificial reef, trawler, USA
Built:
1975 - Master Marine, Inc., Bayou La Bâtre AL USA
Specs:
( 70 ft ) 147 gross tons
Sunk:
Tuesday October 9, 2001 - Moriches Artificial Reef
Depth:
GPS:
40°43.480' -72°46.503'


New York Artificial Reefs

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New Developments in Artificial Reefs

Pauline Marie reef
The Pauline Marie sinks slowly on the Atlantic City Reef.

By Evelyn DeWitt Myatt & Bill Figley, 1986

It's hard to imagine anything that could have looked more forlorn than the rusty old freighter whose proud seagoing days were a thing of the past. Floating idly at her berth awaiting her fate, she was a victim of nature's ravages that had left her beautiful only in the eyes of her old captain and crew. The Pauline Marie, however, was not destined to be the victim of a cutting torch that would turn her into a tangle of scrap steel. Instead, she was acquired by the New Jersey Artificial Reef Program and went down with dignity as an artificial reef in March 1985. She now provides continuing services from her watery grave in the Atlantic, some twelve miles off Atlantic City, and her appeal to marine life is undeniable. Her interior compartments now shelter fish and crustaceans; her decks now provide substrate for mussels, soft corals, and plant life; and her newfound productivity has put delicious seafood on many tables.

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