For several years, the State of New Jersey debated the idea of using obsolete stainless steel  New York City subway cars as fish habitat materials for their active artificial reef program.  Concern among area commercial fishermen was that the cars might shift  their positions with storms and ocean current and entangle their nets.  In addition, tests using subway cars in New Jersey and other states were not always positive.  In those earlier applications, the construction of the subway cars used was not sufficient to take the punishment of the ocean.   Despite these concerns, the support of  sport fishermen and scuba divers convinced the New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council to vote unanimously to support placement of the cars.  Their reasoning was that the geometry of the cars should work well as attractions to sea life and that the stainless steel construction should allow the cars to last at least 30 years in the reef application, much better than other cars used in the past.

The first test introduction of the stainless steel cars was in April of 2008 on the Atlantic City Reef, located 8.8 miles from the famous gambling town.  However, during recent diver inspections, problems have been noted that have stopped the further deployment of the cars.  According to Darlene Yuhas, a representative from the state Department of Environmental Protection, divers recently noticed “unusual damage” to the cars, despite only being in the water for less than a year.  Quoting Ms. Yuhas, “We found unusual damage. We don’t know the cause or the scope of it yet. We’re postponing any further deployments until we see what happened.”

The state of New Jersey, with assistance from the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers and the New York Transit Authority, will be working to determine why this early damage is evident.  The outcome of this investigation will determine the future of the use of subway cars in the reef program.

Phil Ellis

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