USCG Massachusetts Artificial Reef Addition

artificial reef deployment near Yarmouth, Massachusetts | credit: USCG

The U.S. Coast Guard recently dropped more than 140,000 pounds of obsolete concrete buoy sinkers on an artificial reef near Yarmouth, Massachusetts.

Used to anchor buoys in place, concrete sinkers come in a variety of sizes and weights, from 100 pounds to 20,000 pounds.

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Oak (WLB-211) and Aids to Navigation Team (ANT) Woods Hole, Massachusetts, used the discontinued concrete sinkers to support the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) artificial reef program.

Lt. Dan Miller, the executive officer of the Newport, Rhode Island-based Coast Guard Cutter Oak, said the artificial reef operation gave crewmembers the chance to complete training and annual weight testing of the buoy handling gear.

Coast Guardsmen deployed the concrete sinkers across a one-acre area of the artificial reef. The program is a valuable resource for commercial and recreational fishermen to cultivate sustainable fisheries, said Miller.

The artificial reef “provides desirable habitat for finfish and lobsters in an otherwise featureless area.” according to Mark Rousseau from the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries.
“Artificial reefs enhance habitat by providing structures in structure-limited areas,” said  “We expect to see reef associated fish occupying the area around the deployed material by next year.”

Commercial and recreational fisheries support more than 97,000 jobs in Massachusetts, according to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) report on Fisheries Economics in the U.S.

The 128-acre artificial reef was developed in 1978. Until the recent addition of concrete buoy anchors, the reef was lacking structure necessary to attract and sustain a variety of fish species.

Senior Chief Petty Officer Manuel Gonzales, the officer-in-charge of Aids to Navigation Team (ANT) Woods Hole, Massachusetts, said his team jumped at the opportunity to participate in the operation.

“At the ANT, we use 1,000 to 4,000 pound sinkers,” said Gonzales. “When they start to show extreme signs of wear in the concrete or on the bails that attach the chain, they are replaced.”

From the U.S.-Canadian border to Buzzards Bay and Nantucket, Massachusetts, U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Oak maintains 144 Aids to Navigation (ATON) and supports a wide variety of other missions. The seagoing buoy tender services buoys and beacons that guide ships into Boston; Portsmouth, New Hampshire; and Portland, Maine.

ANT Woods Hole services more than 232 buoys, 72 beacons and approximately 1,100 Private ATON from the Cape Cod Bay to Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard.

The U.S. Coast Guard maintains more than 48,000 ATON across more than 25,000 miles of navigable American waterways that facilitate the safe movement of millions of mariners and trillions of dollars of trade every year.

Rousseau from the Division of Marine Fisheries said the buoy sinker operation was the first of what he hoped would be many collaborative efforts with the Coast Guard to support artificial reefs.

source: U.S. Coast Guard

Related Information

Massachusetts USA

North Carolina Artificial Fishing Reef Site 330

On May 7, 2016 the NC Division of Marine Fisheries sank two vessels in the Artificial Fishing Reef Site 330, a permitted site located approximately
9.8 NM west-southwest of the Beaufort Inlet Channel Sea Buoy (LLNR 730).

Artificial Fishing Reef Site 330 is referenced on chart 11543 as
“Obstn Fish Haven” located at position Latitude 34° 33’22” N, Longitude 076° 51’16” W. The two vessels were sunk in 60 ft of water with 11 ft of
water over the vessel structures.

Vessel Locations (approximate):

WILLIAM SEA sunk between 34° 33’49” N / 76° 51’21” W and 34° 33’48”
N / 76° 51’21”

TRAMP was sunk between positions 34° 33’49” N / 76° 51’21” W and 34° 33’49” N / 76° 51’23” W.


For more information, contact the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries, Artificial Reef Coordinator at 252-726-7021.

source: U.S. Coast Guard 5th District LNM

NJ - Sea Girt and Axel Carlson Reef Additions

New Jersey's Sea Girt and Axel Carlson reefs will receive 1,853 yards of concrete rubble from a seawall. Each reef will receive one load of approximately 930 cubic yards.

Deployment locations:

Axel Carlson Reef: 40 00.900'    73 59.700'

Sea Girt Reef: 40 07.450'    73 56.800'

The deployments are subject to weather and sea conditions.

Commercial fishers who have gear in the area during the time of deployment must move it or risk having it destroyed.

Sea Girt and Axel Carlson reefs were constructed and maintained by the NJDEP Division of Fish and Wildlife's Artificial Reef Program.

For more information, visit the NJDEP Division of Fish and Wildlife Artificial Reef Deployments page.

NJDEP Division of Fish and Wildlife

Shearwater Artificial Reef

The Shearwater was sunk onto the Del-Jersey-Land Reef on Dec. 11, 2015.

Shearwater was sunk at approximate coordinates of 38 deg. 31.200’ N Latitude and 074 deg. 30.800’W Longitude, approximately 26 nautical miles southeast of Indian River Inlet.

The 165 foot vessel sank in 120 feet of water about one-half nautical mile from the 568-foot ex-destroyer USS Arthur W. Radford.

Prior to sinking, the vessel had served the Army and Navy before becoming a civilian ship. Shearwater had ended its working life in 2012 as a menhaden boat out of Reedville, Va.

The Del-Jersey-Land Reef, also known as Delaware Reef Site 13, is one of numerous artificial reef sites established by DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife.

Delaware has 14 permitted artificial reef sites in the Delaware Bay and coastal waters, with five of the sites located in federal (ocean) waters.

source: DNREC Division of Fish & Wildlife

Sea Girt Reef Gets Additional Rubble

The Sea Girt Reef, located offshore of Monmouth County and part of the NJDEP Division of Fish and Wildlife's Artificial Reef Program, will receive three additional loads of concrete rubble from a seawall project in New York City.

Approximately 926 cubic yards of material will be placed on the reef addition to 2,778 cubic yards which were recently deployed.

Once the concrete is deployed it will serve as an attachment surface for mussels, barnacles, hydroids, anemones, stony coral and other invertebrates.

Deployment locations for the Sea Girt Reef are:

    1) 40 06.700'    73 57.200'
    2) 40 07.250'    73 57.000'
    3) 40 06.800'    73 57.000'

The Sea Girt Reef is a popular fishing location for anglers coming out of Manasquan Inlet.

For more information, visit the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife Artificial Reef Deployments page.

source: NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife

Sea Girt - Axel Carlson Reef Enhancement (New Jersey)

The Sea Girt and Axel Carlson Reefs located offshore of Monmouth County and part of the NJDEP Division of Fish and Wildlife's Artificial Reef Program, will receive 2,780 yards of clean bridge rubble. The Axel Carlson Reef will receive two loads totaling 1,853 cubic yards and the Sea Girt Reef will receive one load totaling 926 cubic yards.

By summer, the new reef could attract sea bass, tautog, scup, triggerfish and summer flounder. It will then become a target of anglers coming out of Manasquan Inlet.

The deployment schedule is subject to weather and sea conditions. For further information contact Hugh Carberry at 609-748-2022.

    Reef Program
    NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife
    P.O. Box 418
    Port Republic, NJ 08241

For information on past and planned deployments see the NJDEP Artificial Reef Deployments page:

http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/artreefdeployment.htm.

source: NJDEP Division of Fish and Wildlife

North Carolina - Francesconi Reef (Proposed)

In North Carolina, a group of divers and fishermen want to honor former Artificial Reef Coordinator Jim Francesconi by sinking a ship in his name. They have started a fundraising campaign to help pay for the purchase of a vessel and the towing, cleaning and sinking process.

The group wants to purchase a 180- to 200-foot vessel, rename it after Francesconi, and sink it on the Howard Chapin Reef (AR-330), about 12 miles outside of Beaufort Inlet.

The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries has agreed to the plan and hopes to schedule the project for mid-July in commemoration of Francesconi’s passing.

Francesconi, who began working for the division in 1987, headed the Artificial Reef Program for 14 years before losing a battle with leukemia on July 18, 2014.

His efforts resulted in hundreds of enhancements to artificial reefs from the Outer Banks to Long Bay, including the creation of the New River Reef (AR-398) near Jacksonville, the Jim Knight Reef (AR-430) near Oak Island and the Bob Black Reef (AR-400) near Frying Pan Tower.

He also oversaw the sinking of the U.S. Coast Guard cutter SPAR, the Tug Titan, the Captain Greg Mickey, the Tug Pawtucket, the Admiral Charlie, and two U.S. Coast Guard Falcon aircraft.

The fundraising group is headed by Bobby Purifoy of Olympus Dive Center in Morehead City, Debby Boyce of Discovery Diving in Beaufort and Carteret County diver Steve Broadhurst. They have set up accounts for donations with the East Carolina Artificial Reef Association and the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament.

About $70,000 of the cost will come from a special fund that receives money from the sale of SCUBA license plates, created in 2005 through the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles license plate program to develop North Carolina’s artificial reefs. The division estimates another $50,000 is needed to make the project a reality.

Donations may be made through the East Carolina Artificial Reef Association at 252-728-2265 and the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament at 252-247-3575. Donations may be made electronically to the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament account through http://www.gofundme.com/jjf-reef-project.

source: North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources

New Jersey Artificial Reef Access Rules Proposed

In February, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection proposed new rules that will fully implement a compromise between recreational and commercial fishing interests over access to artificial reefs off the coast of New Jersey.

The plan will allow commercial interests to have continued access to portions of two reefs in state waters and calls for the construction of a new reef for recreational fishing, also in state waters. The compromise, reached in 2013 with commercial and recreational fishing groups, is now being proposed as a formal rule change and amendments to Fish and Wildlife regulations. The proposal appears in the Feb. 2 New Jersey Register.

“Recreational and commercial fishing are vital to New Jersey’s economy, providing more than $2.5 billion in economic benefits each year,” Commissioner Bob Martin said. “This compromise will address the needs of commercial fishermen and recreational anglers, and will result in restoration of federal funding that is vital to the development of artificial reefs that provide tremendous commercial and recreational benefits.”

The DEP’s Division of Fish and Wildlife holds permits for 15 artificial reef sites – 13 in federal waters and two in state waters. The reefs, encompassing a total of 25 square miles of ocean floor, are constructed from a variety of materials, such as rocks, concrete and steel, even old ships and barges. These materials provide surfaces for a wide diversity of marine organisms to grow, ultimately providing food and habitat for many species of fish and shellfish.

Under the rule proposal in the New Jersey Register, commercial and recreational fishermen utilizing lobster, fish and conch pots will be permitted to continue using portions of two existing reefs in state waters off Sandy Hook and Manasquan. State waters extend from the shoreline to three miles offshore.  Recreational hook-and-line fishermen will continue to have access to all portions of these reefs.

Commercial and recreational fishermen will be allowed the use of lobster, fish and conch pots on the Sandy Hook and Axel Carlson Reefs in specific “full access zones” within each reef.  Commercial and recreational anglers and sport/scuba divers will continue to have full access to all parts of the reefs including the full access zones.

In addition, commercial and recreational lobster potters setting and tending gear within the full access zones must do so only between the hours of sunrise and sunset, and they must call the Marine Law Enforcement Headquarters two hours prior to doing so. Individual pots set in these zones must be marked with a buoy and a string of pots must have a buoy attached to both ends.

A new reef, encompassing about a square mile of ocean floor, will be constructed in state waters in an area north of Barnegat Inlet to be used for recreational fishing. The Division of Fish and Wildlife is working with the DEP Division of Land Use Regulation and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in securing the permit for this project.

The plan is expected to resolve federal concerns that commercial fishing is intruding on and hampering recreational fishing on artificial reefs in state waters, which are funded by excise taxes on recreational fishing gear and motor boat fuel. Costs to obtain, clean and deploy suitable material also is supported by private donations.

As the plan is implemented, the DEP will petition the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to restore nearly $250,000 in annual funding for artificial reef research, improvements and maintenance that has been withheld as a result of this issue.

Funding restored by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would be used to pay for a significant portion of this project. Donations from both the commercial and recreational fishing communities will also help pay for construction. The DEP, in consultation with stakeholders and the Army Corps of Engineers, will finalize a site for the new reef.

The DEP will also work with the federal Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council for Special Management Zone designation which will allow the DEP to prohibit commercial gear on all 13 existing artificial reefs in federal waters. Federal waters begin three miles offshore.

A copy of the proposal is available at:  http://www.nj.gov/dep/rules/notices.html

Written comments may be submitted electronically by April 2, 2015 at http://www.nj.gov/dep/rules/comments

Written comments may be sent to:

    Gary J. Brower, Esq.
    ATTN: DEP Docket No. 14-14-12
    NJ Department of Environmental Protection
    Office of Legal Affairs
    Mail Code 401-04L; PO Box 402
    401 East State Street, 7th Floor
    Trenton, NJ 08625

source: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection

North Carolina Artificial Reef 360 (Topsail Reef) Meeting

Artificial Reef 360 (Topsail Reef) Public Meeting
March 20, 2014 5:30 p.m.
North Topsail Beach Town Hall
2008 Loggerhead Court
North Topsail Beach, NC

The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries’ Artificial Reef Program will hold a public meeting at 5:30 p.m. March 20 at the North Topsail Beach Town Hall, 2008 Loggerhead Court, North Topsail Beach.

The purpose of the meeting is to discuss expansion and enhancement operations for Artificial Reef 360 (Topsail Reef).

The Artificial Reef Program plans to expand the permitted reef site from the existing 105 acres to 178 acres to correct a long-time discrepancy between the permitted area and actual existing reef site.

The Artificial Reef Program also plans to deploy new materials on the site.

For more information, visit www.ncdenr.gov.

source: North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries

New York Artificial Reef Enhancement

A partnership between the New York District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is utilizing dredged rock to enchance artificial reefs in New York including Hempstead Reef, Fire Island Reef, Moriches Reef and Shinnecock Reef.

New York reef sites are strategically located near Long Island inlets. These locations afford opportunities for smaller recreational vessels that cannot travel to offshore destinations to fish and dive.

Hempstead Artificial Reef received its first load of over 5,500 cubic yards of ACOE rock on May 27. The rock is being dredged from a channel deepening project in the Arthur Kill Channels area. Additional deployments on the reef may happen as acceptably sized rock is dredged.

The ACOE and its local sponsor, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, have harbor deepening dredge projects continuing through 2014 that can yield rock material. Dredge rock will removed from the New York Harbor area and placed on New York reef sites.

Prior cooperative projects between the ACOE and DEC have seen the deployment of over a half million cubic yards of dredged rock onto New York reefs. Individual rock deployments have benefitted recreational fishermen and divers through the increased number of patch reefs made available on the sites.

According to DEC, dredge rock has proven to be both stable and durable reef building material while providing shelter and forage opportunities for finfish and crustaceans who inhabit underwater structures.

Reef structures provide valuable marine habitat for popular finfish species such as tautog, fluke, black sea bass, scup, as well as crustaceans like lobsters.

source: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

Delaware Requests Special Management Zone Designations for EEZ Reef Sites

In December, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC) approved a list of alternatives for public hearings relative to the request by Delaware to have its five reef sites in the EEZ designated as Special Management Zones (SMZs) under provisions of Amendment 9 to the Summer flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass FMP. 

MAFMC will host three public hearings (one each to be held in New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland) in January 2013 to receive public comment on the proposed alternatives.

Public comments received on the issue will be reviewed by the Council at its February 2013 meeting.

source: MAFMC