Hurricane Irene Washes Tires Ashore Along Atlantic Beach

Following Hurricane Irene, North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries workers had to remove tires which washed ashore on North Carolina beaches.

Division staff report that less than 1,000 tires washed ashore between Fort Macon and Indian Beach. Staff members, working with a small inmate crew teamed up to remove the tires from the beach. The tires will be removed and taken to a staging area where a contractor who recycles tires will pick them up.

As part of its artificial reef program, in the 1970s the Division of Marine Fisheries constructed artificial reefs made of tires for fish habitat and to produce attractive fishing grounds. The practice of using tires for artificial reefs has been discontinued for many years.

However, tires from these old reefs are sometimes loosened during storms and wash ashore. DMF staff believe that the tires that washed up during Hurricane Irene came from the Atlantic Beach reef and the Onslow Bay Saltwater Fishing Club reef.

Source: N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries