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When Capt. Ted Moulinier pulls one of his charter boats out of Lewes Harbor Marina, he knows right where to go.
Capt. Ted, who has been running fishing trips for 20 years, heads toward one of Delaware’s 14 man-made reefs. The reefs – formed by scrap concrete, empty subway cars and old boats – draw fish in droves, and the fishermen follow right behind them.
“Oh, they’ve really helped out,†Capt. Ted says. “There’s more fish in the area. We’re on one of them pretty much all the time.â€
The reefs are like small villages for fish. Mussels, barnacles and corals grow on the sunken material, creating a 400-fold increase in food per square foot compared to the natural bottom. The reefs also provide shelter that’s not always readily available in mid-Atlantic waters.
“There’s very little natural rock like in New England,†said Jeff Tinsman, of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. “And we don’t have coral reefs like in tropical waters.â€
In the 1990s, with Delaware’s piers and boat ramps in good shape, DNREC shifted its focus to improving fishing habitat. After a couple of years of planning and permitting, the first 26 retired New York City subway cars were sunk in 2001, forming Redbird Reef. That was a Tuesday. By Saturday of that week, a charter boat captain took a party to the reef and caught the legal limit of black sea bass.
Redbird Reef, which got its name from the deep-red subway cars that were sunk, has grown into the largest of Delaware’s 14 reefs. It now includes more than 700 subway cars, 60 decommissioned military vehicles, 850 tons of off-road tires, eight commercial tugs and a 160-foot Navy barge. The reef, about 20 miles offshore, covers 1.3 square nautical miles of ocean floor.
The sites – nine in Delaware Bay and five in the Atlantic – are not underwater junkyards, though. The materials must be durable, stable and nontoxic, and they all go through a rigorous cleanup.
“We have a cleanup protocol that was developed in conjunction with the Environmental Protection Agency,†said Tinsman, the reef program coordinator since 1992. “Everything we deploy is inspected by the Coast Guard.â€
The 17-ton subway cars, for example, are stripped of oil, grease and glass. Nonferrous metals such as copper, brass and aluminum are removed and recycled. What’s left is an ideal fish habitat.
“That leaves a steel shell,†Tinsman said. “If we were going to design a structure to be placed out there, it would be very much like that.â€
The cleanup is costly – about $3,000 per car. Transportation is another $3,000 to $4,000, but New York City Transit pays that bill.
“Kind of hard to beat that deal,†said Tinsman. “For them, it was all based on the economics of it. It was the cheapest means of disposal.â€
The concrete, tires and military vehicles also are donated. Any expenses for the reef program are paid for with money from fishing licenses and excise taxes on fishing and boating equipment.
“This is not taxpayer money,†Tinsman said. “It’s actually being done with money from the users of the reefs.â€
Next in line to be sunk is the decommissioned Navy destroyer Arthur W. Radford. At 565 feet, it will be the longest vessel reefed in the Atlantic. It’s headed for the Del-Jersey-Land Reef, a multistate project equidistant from Indian River Inlet; Cape May, N.J.; and Ocean City, Md.
“Beyond benefiting marine life, the sinking of the Radford at the Del-Jersey-Land site will enhance the coastal economies of the three states through recreational fishing and diving,†said DNREC Secretary Collin O’Mara.
The Radford is now in Philadelphia being cleaned. When it’s ready and the weather cooperates – either this fall or in the spring – it will be towed to Del-Jersey-Land and anchored. A contractor will then cut holes near the water line and the ship will be flooded.
“It should go down within an hour or so,†Tinsman said.
While fishing is the main attraction at Delaware’s reefs, there is hope that the Radford will attract divers, too.
“I think this is going to be a terrific diver,†Tinsman said. “It’s opened up so well that daylight will shine right down into the ship. It should be a good, really safe dive.â€
But you can bet that Capt. Ted and his fellow fishermen will be there, too.
“It helps fishermen,†Capt. Ted said. Hopefully, they’ll put some more down there.â€
Source: Delaware's artificial reef program: Creating a world down under | delawareonline.com | The News Journal
Capt. Ted, who has been running fishing trips for 20 years, heads toward one of Delaware’s 14 man-made reefs. The reefs – formed by scrap concrete, empty subway cars and old boats – draw fish in droves, and the fishermen follow right behind them.
“Oh, they’ve really helped out,†Capt. Ted says. “There’s more fish in the area. We’re on one of them pretty much all the time.â€
The reefs are like small villages for fish. Mussels, barnacles and corals grow on the sunken material, creating a 400-fold increase in food per square foot compared to the natural bottom. The reefs also provide shelter that’s not always readily available in mid-Atlantic waters.
“There’s very little natural rock like in New England,†said Jeff Tinsman, of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. “And we don’t have coral reefs like in tropical waters.â€
In the 1990s, with Delaware’s piers and boat ramps in good shape, DNREC shifted its focus to improving fishing habitat. After a couple of years of planning and permitting, the first 26 retired New York City subway cars were sunk in 2001, forming Redbird Reef. That was a Tuesday. By Saturday of that week, a charter boat captain took a party to the reef and caught the legal limit of black sea bass.
Redbird Reef, which got its name from the deep-red subway cars that were sunk, has grown into the largest of Delaware’s 14 reefs. It now includes more than 700 subway cars, 60 decommissioned military vehicles, 850 tons of off-road tires, eight commercial tugs and a 160-foot Navy barge. The reef, about 20 miles offshore, covers 1.3 square nautical miles of ocean floor.
The sites – nine in Delaware Bay and five in the Atlantic – are not underwater junkyards, though. The materials must be durable, stable and nontoxic, and they all go through a rigorous cleanup.
“We have a cleanup protocol that was developed in conjunction with the Environmental Protection Agency,†said Tinsman, the reef program coordinator since 1992. “Everything we deploy is inspected by the Coast Guard.â€
The 17-ton subway cars, for example, are stripped of oil, grease and glass. Nonferrous metals such as copper, brass and aluminum are removed and recycled. What’s left is an ideal fish habitat.
“That leaves a steel shell,†Tinsman said. “If we were going to design a structure to be placed out there, it would be very much like that.â€
The cleanup is costly – about $3,000 per car. Transportation is another $3,000 to $4,000, but New York City Transit pays that bill.
“Kind of hard to beat that deal,†said Tinsman. “For them, it was all based on the economics of it. It was the cheapest means of disposal.â€
The concrete, tires and military vehicles also are donated. Any expenses for the reef program are paid for with money from fishing licenses and excise taxes on fishing and boating equipment.
“This is not taxpayer money,†Tinsman said. “It’s actually being done with money from the users of the reefs.â€
Next in line to be sunk is the decommissioned Navy destroyer Arthur W. Radford. At 565 feet, it will be the longest vessel reefed in the Atlantic. It’s headed for the Del-Jersey-Land Reef, a multistate project equidistant from Indian River Inlet; Cape May, N.J.; and Ocean City, Md.
“Beyond benefiting marine life, the sinking of the Radford at the Del-Jersey-Land site will enhance the coastal economies of the three states through recreational fishing and diving,†said DNREC Secretary Collin O’Mara.
The Radford is now in Philadelphia being cleaned. When it’s ready and the weather cooperates – either this fall or in the spring – it will be towed to Del-Jersey-Land and anchored. A contractor will then cut holes near the water line and the ship will be flooded.
“It should go down within an hour or so,†Tinsman said.
While fishing is the main attraction at Delaware’s reefs, there is hope that the Radford will attract divers, too.
“I think this is going to be a terrific diver,†Tinsman said. “It’s opened up so well that daylight will shine right down into the ship. It should be a good, really safe dive.â€
But you can bet that Capt. Ted and his fellow fishermen will be there, too.
“It helps fishermen,†Capt. Ted said. Hopefully, they’ll put some more down there.â€
Source: Delaware's artificial reef program: Creating a world down under | delawareonline.com | The News Journal
