. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. Aboard R/V Long Bay, Capt. Davie '' Guthrie and his mate spot AR-372 Buoy, five miles off Wrightsville Beach. also oversees seven estuarine reefs in sounds and rivers. Reef-building efforts were sporadic for many years. Four decommissioned warships were sunk off the coast in 1974, authorized by the Liberty Ship Act. But little large-scale activity took place until 1986 when hundreds of railroad box cars were donated for use on artificial reef sites. "Through the years, the box cars deteriorat
. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. Aboard R/V Long Bay, Capt. Davie '' Guthrie and his mate spot AR-372 Buoy, five miles off Wrightsville Beach. also oversees seven estuarine reefs in sounds and rivers. Reef-building efforts were sporadic for many years. Four decommissioned warships were sunk off the coast in 1974, authorized by the Liberty Ship Act. But little large-scale activity took place until 1986 when hundreds of railroad box cars were donated for use on artificial reef sites. "Through the years, the box cars deteriorated, and their sides have fallen in on themselves, offering little habitat advantage," Francesconi says. Some good ideas ended badly. He recounts one project that took thousands of tires from landfills to use as reef material. Tires were bundled using two kinds of metal straps — one of a noncorrosive material, the second of a corrosive metal. The premise was simple. One strap would permanently bind them, the other strap eventually would fall away, enabling the less restrained side to provide additional habitat surfaces. Unfortunately, even the noncorrosive straps were no match for ferocious ocean storms. And thousands of tires were unleashed — some all at once, some over time — to foul fishing nets and litter beaches. Never again, Nothing would happen, she says, if it were not for the partnership of the DMF with the State Ports Authority and stevedores to provide port clearance, space, equip- ment and heavy lifting needed to get reef materials out to permit sites. Francesconi would argue that Merritt leaves out the most important factor in the partnership — the involve- ment and financial support of the recreational fishing community. But it hasn't always been as systematic. LEARNING FROM HISTORY It could be said that North Carolina's artificial reef program began when the earliest sailing vessels sank to the ocean floor to create a spontaneous marine habitat. But a
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookcollectionunclibra, booksubjectoceanography
