Alabama’s artificial reef zone, already the largest in the country according to the state’s conservation department, is about to get another boost from a big boat.
“It’s something that we’re proud of,” said Craig Newton, Alabama’s artificial reef coordinator.
Sometime in the fall or early winter, the former Fairfield New Venture, a 250-foot oceanographic surveying vessel built in 1986, is expected to be sent to the bottom in about 125 feet of water somewhere off the coast of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach.
An Economic Driver for the Coast
The reef program already has thousands of structures in place and has become a genuine economic driver for the resort towns along Alabama’s coast, with revenue flowing all the way up Interstate 65 to Montgomery for projects statewide.
“There’s no question if we didn’t have the reef program that we do, all the big marinas in Orange Beach wouldn’t be in operation,” Newton said. “The tourist value would be significantly decreased from what it is now. That’s not just along the Gulf Coast of Alabama. The state itself gets a lot of taxes from tourists coming down and going fishing and staying in hotels, eating at the restaurants. A lot of those wouldn’t be there if it wasn’t for the reef program.”
Tom Steber, president of the Alabama Charter Fishing Association, said local charter fishermen have long pushed for more structure on the Gulf’s largely flat bottom.
“When you talk about going fishing, you’re going to some manmade reef,” Steber said. “Alabama was the pioneer of it. That reef system is the only reason that we have the fish we have. Without that, there would be no bottom fish here.”
Steber said the charter fleet itself built the foundation of today’s program.
“You’ve got to keep in mind that, for the last five years back to 15 years prior to that, the charter industry in the state of Alabama built that system,” he said. “It started with charter boats basically putting car bodies out. Then it evolved into getting federal funding and putting tanks out, putting out the liberty ships.”
Recent Additions Have Built a Dive Destination
Several recent projects have specifically targeted the growing sport of diving. In May 2013, the 271-foot LuLu was sunk about 18 miles south of Perdido Pass and quickly became a magnet for divers. The LuLu sits in about 112 feet of water, with the top of the wheelhouse just 55 feet below the surface.
In June 2015, the Capt. Shirley Brown, a former dinner and party boat measuring 128 feet, was sunk in about 85 feet of water, also off Orange Beach. Both ships are accessible to divers with advanced open water certification.
A separate project launched in 2014, known as Poseidon’s Playground, added a network of cement statues and dedicated reef structures at a shallower depth suited for novice and youth divers. Dive instructor and underwater photographer Lila Harris was among the driving forces behind the project, which she originally envisioned as a training destination for young divers she was certifying.
Together, the additions have positioned Alabama as a popular stop for traveling divers.
“It’s all about distinguishing this area as a dive destination,” said divemaster John Rice of the Down Under Dive Shop. “The LuLu has been wildly successful, but scuba divers want more intact wrecks. That’s the marketing side, but these reefs do so much more. They offer a way to kickstart habitat for vulnerable species, such as the goliath grouper.”
The Alabama Gulf Coast Reef and Restoration Foundation raised the money to sink both the LuLu and the Capt. Shirley Brown, and also played a role in building Poseidon’s Playground. The foundation is now working on permitting for snorkeling reefs accessible directly from the beach in Orange Beach and Gulf Shores.
A Multi-Million-Dollar, Multi-Zone Program
Newton said the state is currently in phase one of an $11.8 million program funded by BP through a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
“We’re looking at about $4 million going offshore,” he said. “That’s 140, 25-foot-tall super pyramid reefs, two shipwrecks and contracts for ‘materials of opportunity’ including repurposing concrete culverts, pipes and manholes. In the nearshore zone, we’re looking at 575 or so new reef structures between six and nine miles offshore and 125 pedestal-style juvenile reef modules. On the inshore, we’ve got about $3.7 million to build new inshore reefs and refurbish many of the existing inshore reefs. We’re spreading it out between those three regions — inshore, nearshore and offshore habitats.”
Newton said the 575 reefs planned for the six-to-nine-mile zone are still waiting on permitting from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
“The six-to-nine-mile reef zone, we’ve been working on a permit for approximately four years now,” he said. “We think we’re finally close to receiving a permit and we expect it before 2018. When we get the permit, we’re going to invest more than $2.5 million in that six-to-nine-mile zone.”
Establishing habitat in that transitional zone, Newton said, should help several Gulf species that migrate between different types of water.
“That’s in the transitional zone,” he said. “You’ve got things like sheepshead and red drum and flounder and mangrove snapper that are moving from inshore water to near coastal waters — whether it is spawning migrations or they grow up in estuaries and move offshore. That near coastal water is kind of devoid of quality structure to use as habitat — whether it be for shelter from predators or foraging opportunities. If we increase the habitat available in that area, we feel like it’s going to help out with overall population of those fish that go from one zone to the other.”
Some of the new reef sites are being kept confidential so researchers, funded through the same BP grant, can study their impact without outside interference.
“We have the research programs designed so we can evaluate how to build the most productive reefs for the most efficient cost,” Newton said. “How big the reef should be, how close to the nearest neighbor it should be … things like that will help us maintain the highest level of fisheries production possible.”
Newton said state officials are already working on a proposal for phase two of the program, hoping to secure additional BP money through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
“It’s up in the air whether or not we’ll get this one,” he said, “but we’re in the planning stages on it.”
Getting the New Venture Ready
The Fairfield New Venture is currently docked in Houma, Louisiana, where it is being prepared for its trip to the bottom. That preparation alone will use $970,000 of the grant money.
“All the environmental testing has been completed,” Newton said. “That’s checking for asbestos in the insulation and in the tiles, PCBs in the paint and glues. We got a clean bill of health on the environmental side. As of right now they are in the process of cleaning out the tanks and flushing all the lines of any hydrocarbons and lubricants or fluids that would be a contaminant.”
A Tuscaloosa company, Cahaba Disaster Recovery, holds the main contract on the sinking and is coordinating with several other companies to prepare the ship. Part of the work involves making the vessel more interesting for divers and more attractive as fish habitat.
“In addition to cleaning it and making sure it’s environmentally friendly before it is actually sunk, they are going to cut holes in the sides of the ship and bulkheads,” Newton said. “It will allow diver access and give the structure more complexity, which will help out with habitat value for reef fish, too. There’s going to be more to it than just a ship.”
Newton said it’s still too early to pin down an exact sinking date.
“We’re in the early stages of it, so we’re talking about four months,” he said. “It’s hard to get an idea of when it will go down.”
Poseidon’s Playground Keeps Growing
An eagle statue is expected to soon join 12 other structures already in place at Poseidon’s Playground.
“We have a cool guy named Rob Morgan who’s a Boy Scout,” said Lila Harris of Aquatic Soul Photography. “He has raised the money to create a new addition to the playground. He’s from Mobile, and he’s creating something for his Eagle Scout project.”
Harris said Morgan worked closely with Stewart Walter of Walter Marine in Orange Beach to make sure his materials were suitable and environmentally safe.
“He’s going to get a base, very much like our grouper reefs, and on top of that he’s going to have a statue of an eagle,” Harris said. “He’s also going to create pyramids, two of his own, out of metal.”
The playground has evolved considerably since its first four pieces went in during 2014, when Harris was simply looking for a place to take her junior open water divers after they earned their certifications. The deepest those young divers can go is 40 feet, and the playground sits at 38 feet.
“It’s just been a great alternative,” she said. “It’s giving a way for young divers to dive something different beyond diving just right off the beach. Dive shops are actually running trips out there once or twice a week for novice divers or people who haven’t been diving in a while and need to have an easier dive.”
Harris also hoped the community itself would get involved, with individual residents and businesses contributing new structures, and that has largely come true — every piece so far has been funded through donations.
There have even been some celebrity contributions along the way. Several small pyramid reefs carry the handprints of well-known visitors, starting with actor Nicolas Cage, who was in Orange Beach filming a World War II movie. Co-star Cody Young and director Mario Van Peebles also added their handprints to one of the reefs in cement.
World-renowned underwater photographer Stephen Frink’s handprints are on a turtle-shaped structure from Walter Marine, accompanied by a plaque thanking him for showcasing underwater beauty to the world, Harris said.
In all, there are a dozen items at the site, with more planned. Harris said she’s always on the lookout for new additions. “We have a marlin, a sailfish a family donated in honor of one of their family members and to help out the playground,” she said.
Harris credited Walter Marine, the Alabama Gulf Coast Reef and Restoration Foundation, and the Alabama Marine Resources Division for the playground’s continued success.
“Alabama Marine Resources and Craig Newton have been extremely helpful,” Harris said. “They told us what we’re allowed to do and what we were unable to do. They gave us great guidelines.”
Snorkeling Reefs on the Horizon
Vince Lucido, president of the Alabama Gulf Coast Reef and Restoration Foundation, has been working to bring snorkeling reefs to Alabama’s public beaches.
“We’re excited about it,” he said. “I think it’s going to be a great thing to have for our coast — just a place to go snorkel.”
The planned reefs would sit just past the second sand bar, roughly 120 to 130 feet off the beach, assuming permitting comes through.
“We’re working on the plans for that right now,” Newton said. “We just finished the coastal resource survey, and once we get the report we’ll send it to the Corps and wait on their determination.”
Lucido and the foundation are eyeing three potential sites for the snorkeling reefs — two in Orange Beach and one at Gulf State Park.
“They’d be the beach access at Perdido Pass beach, east of the pass, the Romar Beach access and the state park pavilion,” he said. “Those are the three sites we’ve surveyed so far.”
Lucido estimates the full project will cost about $270,000 and is hoping additional grant money comes through to help cover it.
“We’ll go through it and try to have a fundraiser with individuals, and we’re trying to get the cities and county to help us out,” Lucido said. “The state has got $100,000 to apply toward the snorkeling reefs. They’ve got some additional money for the permitting. We’re looking at roughly $270,000, and the state’s got $100,000, so we’re looking at needing $170,000 to do all three sites at the same time. If not, we’ll just do one site at the time as the funds become available.”
Walter Marine, the same company that supplied materials for the LuLu, will also provide the eco-reef modules for the snorkeling sites. Each module is made of sandstone and concrete, features three or four plates, and measures about five feet across.
“It’s the same modules he put over in Perdido Key for Escambia County and over in Pensacola,” Lucido said. “We’d like to have at least 30 per site, and they are roughly about $3,000 apiece installed. That’s what we use to budget. We won’t know until we bid it out what the final price will be for each module.”