Artificial reefs certainly play a gigantic role for those of us who enjoy scuba diving in  the Florida panhandle.   Famous scuttled shipwrecks such as the Black Bart in Panama City, the Three Barges in Destin, and the world famous USS Oriskany in Pensacola have provided hours of fun for scuba divers and millions of dollars in visitor revenue for the local communities.  The ongoing artificial reef program all along the panhandle coast moves steadily forward, with additional efforts planned for 2009 and beyond.  There is even a special non-profit organization, Reef Ball Foundation, dedicated to the expansion of artificial reefs.  Of course, not all artificial reefing efforts are as successful as those listed here, and there is considerable debate as to the importance of artificial reefing on ocean fisheries.

Since the origin of the idea of depositing structures on the ocean bottom to enhance fish life, there has been a scientific question that is asked many times over.  Does an artificial reef actually increase the sea life in a given area, or does it simply act as a magnet that draws existing sea life to the new reef?  Clearly, the answer to this question is not yet proven, but the debate is active, and sometimes heated, on both sides of the issue.  There is no doubt, the number of individual fish species expands when artificial reefing efforts are undertaken.   This is evident on any of the successful artificial reefs.  The successful ones certainly seem to indicate that reefing is a good idea.  But not all artificial reefing efforts are successful.

I wrote earlier on this blog about the misfortune with the Atlantic City Reef using abandoned subway cars.  The state of Florida is still paying the cost of the damages  for the use of millions of automobile and truck tires in an artificial reefing project.  The state of Alabama saw less than perfect results from the use of old automobiles as an artificial reef structure.

Despite the damage from some of the unsuccessful artificial reefing efforts, most scuba divers and fishermen would argue that shipwrecks, oil drilling platforms, bridge rubble, and other similar materials make wonderful fish attractions in our local oceans.  We are not dealing with the dominant scientific questions, we are simply observing the improvement we see in the fish population as a result of reefing efforts.

We would love to hear your comments on this issue.  Please share your thought in the comments section of this post.

Phil Ellis

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