WILMINGTON — North Carolina’s coast is short on natural reefs with only 3% covering the seafloor. An artificial reef program aims to create more habitat and enhance local ecosystems.
READ MORE: Local rep, fishermen call on state to improve fishery management after flounder season cancellation
Home to a major fishing industry, North Carolina’s Marine Fisheries’ Artificial Reef Program will develop five new reefs, one per year, in various regions — the Outer Banks, Raleigh Bay, Northern Onslow Bay, Southern Onslow Bay, and Long Bay. The latter three are located in the greater Cape Fear region.
There are currently about 70 existing artificial reef sites, with 43 located off the North Carolina coast; 25 are situated in streams and rivers. Many of the inshore reef sites are specifically designed to serve as oyster sanctuaries. Special materials are used to create structures that provide ideal environments for oysters to attach and grow.
However, the five new reefs are offshore and will join 43 other sites, each site spanning 162 acres. The offshore reefs incorporate a range of structures and materials like abandoned ships, manmade cement structures and concrete pipes. The diverse materials and designs create the most complex environment possible to support various types of marine life, for growing algae or attracting various fish.
Offshore sites are chosen after identifying barren, sandy areas with no other natural resources. Similarly, inshore reefs are not laid near seagrass beds or other reefs nearby, only deserted areas.
When adding to and maintaining offshore reef sites, biologists dive on the reefs to do fish counts. Based on the numbers of species that are present at a certain reef, they can recommend materials and structures that would create a more complex habitat. Additionally, sonar side-scans are done to map the reefs, track fish population growth, and guide material placement.
“By putting more material at the sites, we’re creating more distinct habitats and also have the opportunity to kind of link some of these habitats together that are already inside of individual reef sites,” said Jordan Byrum, director of the artificial reef program.
North Carolina’s artificial reef program was taken over by the Marine Fisheries Division of the Department of Environmental Quality in the 1970s. Since then, regulations have changed regarding which materials are durable and environmentally safe.
Artificial reefing began with people dropping anything from washing machines to tires into the ocean to form reef sites, not considering how they may impact existing natural habitats. Many of these materials eventually decomposed, released toxins into the water, or moved around, damaging natural coral.
In 2022, around 300,000 tires were discovered on the seafloor off the coast of Wrightsville Beach during a sand-dredging plan. The artificial tire reefs were popular in the ‘70s and stopped in the ‘80s. Tires are both toxic and unstable, so even after decades these reefs still move around, break apart, and even wash up on the beach.
UNCW Marine Biologist Nicole Fogarty said that type of reefing — dumping garbage into the ocean to form an artificial one — may still happen in certain parts of the world.
“Here in the U.S., we’ve learned from those mistakes that we made years ago and I don’t think that would happen now with various regulations,” she said.
Today, there are strict state and federal regulations around safe, non-toxic materials, and sustainability.
Durability, functionality, stability and compatibility are the key indicators for approving materials. They must stimulate marine life growth and create complex habitats, the structures must be stable prior to deployment, and should not trap marine life or divers once sunken.
Precast concrete, sunken ships, demolition concrete, and natural materials like limestone marl and basalt are acceptable.
All concrete is thoroughly examined to ensure there are no toxic materials mixed in, like plastic or fiberglass and cannot have exposed metal rods. The structures also must have an opening on the top the same size as its base, or at least 3 feet across, to ensure species are not trapped, according to the Division of Marine Fisheries Master Plan.
“Steel-hulled vessels last for decades, and concrete lasts, basically, indefinitely,” Nick Hendrix, a biologist for the program, explained, referring to some of the approved materials.
Sunken ships are frequently used due to their vertical height — though older ships are not sunken today, as their paints and other materials contained PCBs, banned in the U.S. in 1979. Ships attract pelagic fish, provide hiding spaces for smaller fish, and are popular diving spots.
“Putting more materials out there provides more places for these fish to call home,” Hendrix asserted.
Byrum said when the team sinks vessels, they are thoroughly cleaned of oils, fuels, copper wires, and other toxic materials to ensure safety.
“Doors are typically removed or welded open to allow for diver access into vessels,” he said.
Another popular structure comes from manmade reef balls, also created from sand or concrete. DEQ has them at almost every reef site in North Carolina, made by the Reef Ball Foundation in Florida. Round, they have lots of holes and layers to them to create hiding places for small fish and provide surface area for algae to grow.
Increasing stock
Protected species along the Carolina coast in artificial reefs include sea turtles, flounder, and black sea bass. The flounder fishery has been closed due to low stock, and black sea bass — which are federally managed but are limited to what can be fished — have a struggling stock, too.
With stressed fish populations concentrated around the artificial reefs, state regulations only allow handlines, hook and lines, and spearfishing at the sites. Other types of gear, like trawls, risk harming or wiping out the ecosystems.
The intention is for fish populations to grow in these new habitats, but studies question whether the stock is growing or just moving from one reef site to another.
Hendrix said it’s hard to gauge because various species behave differently. Greater amberjack typically move from reef to reef, while black sea bass, on the other hand, tend to stay in the same spot they arrive at as larvae. These are tracked by satellite imaging and tagging.
Last year, the Coastal Conservation Association and the Marine Fisheries Division put a new reef in the Pamlico sound, a location not popular for anglers. The spot was chosen to draw fishers to this reef and relieve pressure from other popular sites.
David Sneed, the Coastal Conservation Association’s executive director, said that new reefs almost immediately become a new habitat, populated first by small fish looking for hiding places from predatory fish. This later draws the predators to these spots, hunting for hidden prey.
“It creates a whole new ecosystem,” Sneed stated.
However, fishing guide Captain Tom Roller said catches simply vary based on stock.
“The correlation I see is if the stock is doing well, I can go out and expect to catch them. I’m going to be able to catch them on artificial reefs and I’m going to be able to catch them everywhere else. But if the stock is not doing well, I’m probably not going to see them there,” Roller observed.
The first project from the artificial reef program should occur summer of 2025, according to Byrum, and the first region will be decided based on public response.
A public input form, open through Dec. 15 — is posted for locals to request which reef sites they would like enhanced and to recommend certain materials for those sites.
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