This summary report (SW-119) was written
/or the Federal solid waste management programs
by RICHARD B. STONE, CHESTER C. BUCHANAN,
•and FRANK W. STEIMLE, JR.,
National Marine Fisheries Service,
U.S. Department of Commerce,
under an Interagency Agreement,
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
1974
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ENFISOlfi.ZlTTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, D.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402 • Price It cents
Anjsnvironmental protection publication (SW-119)
in the solid waste management series
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MARINE SPORT FISHING is a billion dollar business. There are
more than 5 million sport fishermen along the Atlantic coast
alone, and each of these fishermen catch about 180 pounds of
fish each year.1 If this figure of almost 1 billion pounds is added
to the approximately 1.7 billion pounds caught annually by
commercial fishermen in the same area, it is easy to see that
fishermen reap a large harvest. With projected population
growth and increase in leisure time, we can expect the number
of anglers to more than double by the year 2000.
The Atlantic Continental Shelf, that expanse of shallow
ocean bottom stretching from the coast out to a depth of 600
feet, is the area inhabited by the majority of our valuable reef
fishes. Much of this Shelf area, however, is relatively barren,
consisting of a flat, sand, or mud bottom which slopes gently
offshore, with little hard, irregular substrate. Areas of rough,
hard bottom are necessary for encrusting organisms such as
barnacles, hydroids, corals, and mussels, vital organisms in the
food chain, to settle and complete their life cycles and are used
as protective areas, food sources, spawning grounds, and visual
reference points for many fishes. It is well Toiown by fishermen
that coral reefs, rock ledges, wrecks, and other areas of relief
on the Shelf are productive fishing grounds.
If we are to meet and properly manage the future demands,
on our fishery resources, we must have effective management
programs. We believe that artificial reefs, if used properly, can
be a valuable management tool.
In March 1966, we started experimentally building artificial
reefs from scrap materials in an attempt to increase the pro-
ductivity of the marine environment. Test materials included^
1
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junked automobiles, damaged concrete culverts, scrap tires,
and derelict or obsolete ship hulls. From evaluations of data
collected early in our studies, scrap tires appeared to be one
of the most practical reef materials. In small-scale tests tires
had been inexpensive to obtain and easy to handle on land.
However, we needed to learn how tires could be handled
efficiently in large numbers to develop many acres of ocean
bottom.
The disposal of scrap tires is a problem national in scope.
New and more efficient techniques are needed to handle this
disposal problem. Scrap tires pose a menace to public health
and add to the degradation of our landscape (Figure 1).
The first effort should be to recycle this resource whenever
possible. At present, only a few metropolitan areas can do this
economically.
D
ENDS
FIGURE 1. Over 200 million tires are discarded each year. Only a few
of these are recycled, the majority create unsightly waste-disposal problems
for many communities^
Since less than 10 percent of scrap rubber is reused, the
remainder, more than 200 million scrap tires per year, continue
to pile up around the countryside. If large numbers of scrap
rubber tires could be used to develop coastal fishing reefs, this
would offer at least a partial or temporary solution to the scrap
.tire disposal problem and benefit our fishery resources.
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With this belief that scrap tire reefs could be effective for
marine gamefish management, we entered into a cooperative
agreement with the Solid Waste Management Program of
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the National
Tire Dealers and Retreaders Association to study the possi-
bility of using large numbers of scrap tires to build artificial
reefs in the marine environment. This study phase began on
October 1, 1968.
The objectives of this investigation were to determine:
(1) methods of assembling tires into units that would be
inexpensive, easy to assemble and handle, and effective; (2)
the cost, both to build the units and to transport them to the
reef site; (3) how these reefs function in the marine environ-
ment; (4) the effect of reefs on angling success in the New York
Bight; (5) the number of reefs that could be established, and
the potential number of scrap tires that could be used effec-
tively in the marine environment.
Artificial reefs are manmade or natural objects intentionally
placed in selected areas of the marine environment to duplicate
those conditions that cause concentrations of fishes and inverte-
brates on natural reefs and rough bottom areas. Through
increasing the amount of reef habitat, artificial reefs provide
the potential for increasing the stock sizes of reef fishes.
Irrespective of the types of materials used to build reefs, the
main features that appear to attract marine animals to these
habitats are shelter, areas of calm water, visual reference points,
and food. Artificial reefs also can provide some fishes access
to new feeding grounds and open new territories for territorial
fishes.
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An obvious feature of reef habitat is the shelter provided by
holes, ledges, and dark corners of the irregular substrate. In
addition, organisms (e.g., algae, corals, and sponges) that
attach to the reef provide additional shelter by increasing the
complexity of the habitat. Since most fishes are subject to
predation, their first recourse as prey is to conceal themselves.2
Thus, the availability of shelter (Figure 2) can contribute
significantly to their survival and growth.
FIGURE 2. Tires provide shelter from predators for many fishes. This
can add significantly to the survival of these fishes.
The rough profile of a reef also provides areas of calm water
or favorable currents, by damping or deflecting currents and
wave surge. Fishes use the resultant calm areas, eddies, and
upwellings to conserve their energy.3 We have observed this
phenomenon repeatedly on the Palm Beach artificial reef where
the strong current of the Gulf Stream is over the reef much of
the time. When the current is strong, the fishes are inside or
close to the reef material (Figure 3). On days when the
current is weak or absent the fishes are not crowded inside the
shelter, but scattered around or above the material (Figure 4).
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FIGURE 3. The rough profile of the artificial reef off Palm Beach
provides areas of calm water or favorable currents by damping the strong cur-
rent of the Gulf Stream. When the current is strong, the fishes will remain
inside or close to the reef material.
__ FIGURE 4. On days when the current is weak or absent fium the Palm
Beach artificial reef the fishes will scatter around the reef material.
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Features of the reef profile may be used as landmarks or vis-
ual reference points for fishes. These landmarks provide a spatial
reference for fishes in an otherwise featureless environment.4
Species that exhibit strong homing tendencies or those that in-
habit a fixed territory may rely on landmarks to locate or define
their territory. Visual reference appears to be important to
fishes that make daily movements to feeding grounds; after feed-
ing, many of these fishes return to specific sheltered areas.5'6
Thus, prominent landmarks on the reef profile may also be used
by fishes for orientation in locating their feeding grounds and
schooling areas.
Some fishes feed primarily on motile or encrusting organisms
associated with reefs (Figure 5); however, the availability of
food on or in the surrounding bottom is important to many
fishes that depend on the reef for shelter but forage away from
the reef (Figure 6). This food source may be invertebrates
living in or on the sediment or grass beds and algae nearby.
Randall found the availability of new feeding grounds was im-
portant to the initial success of artificial reefs in tropical waters.7
FIGURE 5. Many fishes, such as the ocean "surgeon feed on organisms
encrusting the reef material.
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FIGURE 6. The availability of food on or in the surrounding bottom is
important to many fishes that depend on the reef for shelter.
FIGURE 7. Artificial reefs, by providing new habitat, can create addi-
tional areas for fishes such as this sergeant major that establish territories.
Artificial reefs, by providing new habitat, can create addi-
tional areas for fishes that establish territories (Figure 7). The
existing natural reef habitats can only satisfy the territorial
needs of a limited number of fish, relative to the size of the
habitat. The additional habitat provided by building artificial
reefs affords the opportunity for more fishes to establish terri-
tories, potentially increasing both their distribution and abun-
dance.
The design of an artificial reef can be an important determi-
nant in the species of fishes attracted to the reef. The size of the
holes in the reef material, for example, will determine the size
of the fish using them; larger holes can shelter larger fish.8-9
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Material producing high profile should attract more pelagic
fishes than low profile material. The flexibility of artificial reefs
(wide range of designs, locations, materials, etc.) makes them
an important tool in the areas of fishery resource management
and conservation.
There are 114 artificial reef locations along the east coast of
the United States.10 During this study, we collected or received
information from 20 of these sites (Figure 8). We limited our
detailed studies to only six of these sites. Four of the sites are
within the New York Bight, an area of extremely heavy fishing
pressure. We conducted the sport fishing survey exclusively in
SHINNICOCK
iOIICHH
'SHAD
•ATLANTIC MACH
ONMOUTH SEACH
HA OUT
ISC»YNe »AY
FIGURE 8. The National Marine Fisheries Service has been studying
artificial reefs since 1966. Most of our research activities have been concen-
trated on 20 reefs along the east coast.
8
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nl^r^n ^
KOCKAWAY At» T|C -HSWHIAD
•EACH
^
^°
X
FIGURE 9. During 1970, we conducted a survey of sport fishery activities
in the northwest section of the New York Bight. The purpose of our survey
was to compare fishing success and effort over man made habitats to that over
natural habitats. The four study reefs are shown by black dots.
mis area (Figure 9). The fifth site is located off Murrells Inlet,
S.C., and the sixth just north of Palm Beach, Fla. Only one of
the reefs was constructed entirely of tires (Sea Girt, N.J.), the
others are composite reefs consisting of a variety of materials,
including tires, car bodies, scrap ships and barges, and concrete
pipe and rubble.
The use of scrap tires as reef material is not new. They have
been used for many years in areas where other materials were
either too expensive or not available. Little experimenting had
gone into the design of these units. Most of the units were varia
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tions of a three-tire unit (Figure 10). We tested several new
and current designs for their potential to provide an effective
and durable habitat that would attract many fish species. A
good design must also be relatively easy and inexpensive to
assemble and handle.
FIGURE 10. The concrete-base 3-tire unit consists of three tires standing
side by side in a concrete base. Several thousand of the units were built by the
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and placed on
reef sites off Long Island. This is an effective habitat but requires much more
concrete than is necessary to ballast the unit. (Picture courtesy of Chester
Zawacki, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.)
We tested six different tire unit designs in this study and ob-
tained data for two other tire units from State agencies and pri-
vate groups (Table 1). For the eight units, the cost of materials
ranged from $0.07 to $0.68 per tire; the cost of labor, from
$0.19 to $2.05 per tire; and the cost of transportation, from
$0.08 to $2.90 per tire. The cost of the majority of the designs
fell in the lower end of the cost range. Only two units were rela-
tively expensive.
10
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TABLE 1
AVERAGE COSTS FOR EIGHT TIRE UNIT DESIGNS
Material/ Transporta-
Tire unit tire* Labor/tire tion/tire t
Remarks
12 0.49 0.75 2.90 Partial load of the test units
accounts for high trans-
portation costs. A full
load would have reduced
cost/tire about one-third.
Chain — — — Current cost for scrap chain
is $40/ton. This amounts
to a per-tire cost of $0.64.
We received an estimate
of $1.00 per tire for labor
and transportation.
Band-8
Rod-8
Single
Band-4
Rod-3
Concrete-3
0.17
0.16
0.07
0.07
0.11
0.68
0.20
0.20
0.19
0.25
0.89
2.05
0.14
0.14
0.08
0.10
0.56
1.35
* Figures based on a no-cost delivery of donated tires to a dockside staging
area. Last two unit cost figures obtained from private and state-supported reef
projects.
t Transportation for barging to a reef site. Costs figured on a charge of $700
per day for use of a tow vessel. The concrete-3 estimate includes a large fraction
for loading fees.
DATA
Twelve-Tire Unit. The 12-tire unit design consists of 12
tires in a triangular array, spaced on reinforcing rods, held to-
gether by bolts, and weighted with concrete (100 Ibs.) for sta-
bility (Figure 11). We tested 20 such units on our Monmouth
Beach, N.J., reef site. This unit provides an excellent habitat be-
cause it has a large surface area exposed for encrusting organ-
isms, 5 to 6 feet of relief, and many crevices for fish shelter. The
major drawbacks to this unit are that heavy equipment is re-
. quired to move it and it is time consuming to build. Materials
and labor for each unit cost about $15.
11
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FIGURE 11. The 12-tire unit provides an excellent habitat for marine
fauna, but was expensive to build and difficult to handle.
FIGURE 12. The chain-tire units, a string of tires on 'anchor chain, can
only be built and placed on the reef site with the assistance of a crane. The
cost and materials required eliminates this unit from consideration by most
reef-building groups.
12
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Chain-Tire Unit. The chain-tire unit is made by stringing
car and truck tires on scrap anchor chain (Figure 12). Using
these units, we placed 1,100 tires on a reef site 50 feet long and
25 feet wide and obtained 6 to 10 feet of elevation. Although
chain is an effective ballast for tires, the supply of scrap chain
is limited. Market purchase of chain results hi a high material
cost per tire. Another disadvantage of this unit is that it requires
heavy equipment to move it.
Band 8-Tire Unit. The band 8-tire unit consists of a stack
of tires held together by four stainless steel or plastic bands
(Figure 13). A completed unit is about 3 feet high with a poured
cement core. They were too difficult and time-consuming to
assemble and too awkward to handle to be practical. South
Carolina reef builders, along with several private groups on the
east and Gulf coasts are using a modified version of this unit
which is quite effective.11 It is made by compressing ten or more
tires into a stack with a tire baler.
FIGURE 13. Banding is used to hold band 8-tire unit together. The unit
is ballasted by pouring concrete in the core of the unit .
13
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Rod 8-Tire Unit. The rod 8-tire unit is constructed with
eight tires, held together by reinforcing rods and weighted with
a concrete filled base tire. The original unit we used on our
research reefs is described in detail by Stone and Buchanan.12
However, State Fish and Game Departments have modified
this unit and made it easier to build. The unit is now con-
structed by inserting three reinforcing rods into a base tire and
tying the rods together at the top to make a tripod configura-
tion. The base tire is then filled with concrete and six or seven
tires with air holes are stacked over the tripod. The rods are
then bent over the top tire. This unit should be used in deep
or protected waters to minimize the possibility of the reinforc-
ing rods breaking through the action of wave surge. A safety
line or band of noncorrosive material, e.g., nylon, should be
used to secure the ventilated tires to the concrete filled base
tire.
Single-Tire Unit. The single-tire unit consists of a single
tire with a No. 10-size can filled with concrete or a concrete test
cylinder weighing approximately 15 pounds for the ballast.12
The ballast is forced between the sidewalls of the tire (Figure
14). One or more holes, drilled or punched in the tire opposite
the ballast, allow trapped air to escape and the unit to sink
rapidly when thrown overboard. The single-tire unit costs about
$0.26 per tire for materials and labor and is easy to handle from
any size boat. This unit should not be used on soft or unstable
bottoms, since it can be easily covered by mud or shifting sand.
Band 4-Tire Unit. The band 4-tire unit is made of four
single-tire units banded together at a common point with stain-
less steel or plastic banding (Figure 15). Although more difficult
to handle than the single-tire unit, this design offers the advan-
tage of higher profile and more surface area.
Rod 3-Tire Unit. The rod 3-tire unit design has been used
by many private groups along the east and Gulf coasts. It con-
sists of three tires, standing upright, that are held together with
a piece of reinforcing rod inserted through the sidewalls (Figure
16). The unit is weighted with concrete poured around the rod.13
Air vents are drilled in the tire face opposite the concrete.
14
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&&*.'
FIGURE 14. The single-tire unit, the most economical and easiest to build,
is simply a single tire with a 15 pound concrete weight forced between the
sides and an air vent opposite the \veight. This unit can be carried in small
boats to the reef site.
FIGURE 15. The band 4-tire unit is simply four single-tire units banded
together at a common point. This unit is an effective habitat for reef fishes
but is difficult to handle.
15
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This is easily built and provides about 2 feet of elevation to
the reef. Moving it around is, however, a two-man job. Once
on the bottom, this unit has proved to be stable in strong cur-
rents and wave surge.
FIGURE 16. The rod 3-tire unit consists of three tires held together by a
reinforcing rod and ballasted by concrete. The main disadvantage of this unit
is that it is too heavy for one man to move, but once on the bottom it has
proved to be stable.
Concrete-Base 3-Tire Unit. The concrete-base 3-tire unit
is a modification of the rod 3-tire unit and simpler to build, but
much more difficult to handle. It consists of three tires standing
side by side in a concrete base (Figure 10). It is the most costly
of the eight units to build, because of the amount of concrete
required and the need for heavy equipment to load and unload.
This unit is probably the most stable of the eight and should not
move once on the bottom.
Cost Variations. A number of States are continuing to
experiment with tire units, so the price will vary from year to
year. For the latest information on costs and more detailed
information on construction techniques contact the authors.
The least variable figure for judging tire unit costs is that for
materials. Artificial reef-building groups may use volunteer
labor but normally must pay for most materials, except tires.
Several reef committees along the east coast have had much
of the material as well as the labor donated, particularly if the
project is a community effort. In these cases, a tire reef can be
built for minimal cost. The cost of transporting materials to the
reef may also be minimal, depending on the interest of partici-
pants.
16
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Artificial reefs have been built in the New York Bight since
1937. Their effect on the local sport fishery is relatively un-
known, although it is generally believed that anglers catch a
greater variety of fish and at a greater rate over artificial reefs
than over natural habitats. During 1970, we conducted a survey
to assess the fishing effort and success of sportsmen over artifi-
cial reefs, wrecks and natural habitat in the northwest section
of the New York Bight (Figure 9).* Due to the inherent diffi-
culties of collecting sport fishery statistics, we were not able
to segregate the data by individual reefs.
Natural habitat within the survey area is composed of sand
and mud, with scattered areas of rock (Table 2). There are
four artificial reefs and approximately 180 wrecks, which are
still sufficiently intact to attract fish, within the survey area.
These manmade habitats encompass less than .1 percent of
the survey area.
There are three types of boats used by sportsmen: headboats,
private, and charter.1 The headboat fleet is most active in the
spring, summer, and fall with only a few boats sailing during
the winter. The majority of these vessels fish only during day-
light hours, while a few vessels, during the summer, fish at night.
Private boats are most active during the summer, while very
few, if any, are active during the winter.
CATCH RATES AND SPECIES COMPOSITION
We estimated catch rates (number of fish caught per angler-
hour) and catch composition (number of each species caught
of private boat anglers) through mail questionnaires and that of
headboat anglers through logbooks maintained by the vessels'
captains. Refer to the 1972 report by Buchanan for more
* Preliminary report of the first year's data from a 2-year study.
t Charter boat data were not presented in this report.
17
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information on survey methods.14 We received returns from
nearly 1,700 (57%) of our 3,000 inquiries made to private
boat owners and nearly 3,000 logbook pages from headboat
captains. We considered only gamefish in our analyses, since
many non-gamefishes were not reported during the survey.
Three dozen different kinds of fishes were caught during the
survey (Table 3). We omitted all night-fishing data.
TABLE 2
APPROXIMATE AMOUNTS OF MANMADE AND NATURAL HABITATS
IN THE NORTHWEST SECTION OF THE NEW YORK BIGHT
Habitat Square miles % of Total
Manmade 0.11 <0.1
Artificial Reefs (4 ) * 0.02 < 0.1
Wrecks (Approx. 180)f 0.09 <0.1
Natural habitats 755.00 99.9
Sand and/or mud $ 583.00 77.0
Clam beds (commercially 132.00 17.7
fished)f
Gravel (cobblestone and 23.00 3.1
smaller) ft
Rock (larger than 7.00 0.9
cobblestone)!
Mussel beds f 4.00 0.5
Polluted § 6.00 0.8
* Includes the open area between individual pieces of reef material.
t Acquired through personal communication with several headboat captains
who fish in the survey area.
t Compiled from C&GS Charts 1215 and 1216.
§ Greater than 20% organic matter. From report "The Effects of Waste Dis-
posal in the New York Bight" for the Coastal Engineering Research Center, U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers by the Sandy Hook Sport Fisheries Marine Laboratory,
9 July 71.
18
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TABLE 3
COMMON AND SCIENTIFIC NAMES OF FISHES REPORTED CAUGHT DURING
1970 MARINE SPORT FISHING SURVEY AND HABITAT CAUGHT
Type of habitat
Local name
American eel
Atlantic bonito
Atlantic cod
Atlantic herring
Atlantic mackerel
Atlantic menhaden
Black sea bass
Bluefin tuna
Bluefish
Gunner
Dolphin
Goosefish
Hake
Jacks
Little tunny
Northern kingfish
Northern puffer
Northern searobin
Northern stargazer
Ocean tout
Oyster toad
Pollock
Sculpins
Scup
Shad
Sharks
Silver hake
Skates and rays
Skipjack tuna
Striped bass
Summer flounder
Tautog
Weakfish
Windowpane
Winter flounder
Yellowtail flounder
Scientific name Artificial Natural
reef bottom
Anguilla rostrata
Sarda sarda
Gadus morhua
Clupea harengus
Scomber scombrus
Brevoortia tyrannus
Centropristis striata
Thunnus thynnus
Pomatomus saltatrix
Tautogolabrus adspersus
Coryphaena hippurus
Lophius americanus
Urophycis sp.
Carangidae
Euthynnus alletteratus
Menticirrhus saxatilis
Sphoeroides maculatus
Prionotus carolinus
Astroscopus guttatus
Macrozoarces americanus
Opsanus tau
Pollachius virens
Cottidae
Stenotomus chrysops
Alosa sp.
Squaliformes
Merluccius bilinearis
Rajiformes
Euthynnus pelamis
Morone saxatilis
Paralichthys dentatus
Tautoga onitis
Cynoscion regalis
Scophthalmus aquosus
Pseudopleuronectes americanus
Limanda ferruginea
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Wreck
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
19
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ANGLING SYSTEMS
Bottom Fishing. Headboat anglers had about the same
degree of success over artificial reefs as over wrecks (Table 4).
They caught only 0.42 fish per angler-hour less from reefs as
from wrecks. Hake, black sea bass, tautog, and scup, species
normally found over rocky areas, constituted over 90 percent
of each catch (Table 5). The most marked difference was that
scup represented over 25 percent of the reef catch and less than
1 percent of the wreck catch.
TABLE 4
BOTTOM FISHING STATISTICS OF PRIVATE BOAT AND HEADBOAT ANGLERS
Habitat
types
Artificial Reefs
Natural
Artificial Reefs
Wrecks
Natural
Wrecks
Artificial Reefs
Natural
Artificial Reefs
Wrecks
Natural
Wrecks
Angler hours
Private Boats
252
3,344
179
144
2,585
144
Headboat s
2,726
48,972
2,679
7,934
72,405
8,234
Catch
187
3,148
106
263
2,801
263
7,660
85,360
7,541
25,629
108,400
25,838
Catch per
angler-hour
.74
.94
.60
1.83
1.08
1.83
2.81
1.74
2.81
3.23
1.50
3.14
Differences in the number of different fish caught from artifi-
cial reefs and wrecks may be due to physical variations between
the habitats. Profile and depth of water over the material will
influence the species which occupy a habitat. The age of a
20
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manmade habitat and depth of water will affect the number
and kinds of food organisms present. Most of the artificial reefs
in the survey area are located in shallow water, have low to
medium profile (1 to 10 feet) and have been in place only a
few years, whereas the approximately 180 wrecks encompass
an array of profiles and depths. Most of these wrecks have
been on the bottom much longer than the reef material.
Therefore, it was expected that we should find some differences
in the species composition between the two types of man-
made habitats.
TABLE 5
THE RELATIVE ABUNDANCE OF EACH SPECIES CAUGHT BY HEADBOAT AND
PRIVATE BOAT ANGLERS BOTTOM FISHING ON ARTIFICIAL REEFS,
WRECKS AND NATURAL HABITATS
Private
Headboat
Species
Artificial
reefs
Wrecks
Natural
habitats
Artificial
reefs
Wrecks
Natural
habitats
Atlantic cod 8.55
Atlantic herring
Atlantic mackerel
Black sea bass 14.43
Bluefish
Hake 52.40
Northern kingfish
Pollock
Scup 14.43
Silver hake
Striped bass
Summer flounder 8.02
Tautog 1.60
Weakfish
Windowpane
Winter flounder .53
Yellowtail flounder
5.32
94.67
.36
.84
.63
.84
18.87
2.9
15.21
9.86
4.39
21.57
12.66
.33
.48
11.00
8.03
.15
51.56
.01
25.86
.14
.44
12.50
.94
8.60
.16
83.83
.29
.71
.36
Tr.
5.00
.07
4.39
.02
.79
2.18
.07
60.81
.07
.04
1.78
11.36
.76
6.46
10.72
Tr.
.02
.42
.04
21
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Headboat anglers bottom fishing over reefs caught 1.07 more
fish per angler-hour than over natural habitats (Table 4). Their
catches differed in the relative abundance of species primarily
associated with one type of bottom (Table 5). Silver hake and
summer flounder, which are associated with flat, sandy bottom,
made up a larger portion of the catch from natural habitats
(18%) than from artificial reefs (less than' .5%), whereas
scup, tautog, and black sea bass composed a larger portion
of the catch from artificial reefs (46%) than from natural
habitats (19%). Hake accounted for over 50% of each catch.
Headboat captains choose the type of natural habitat they
fish over, depending on the species desired by their patrons.
We cannot, therefore, fully evaluate the effect of artificial reefs
on species composition without first segregating fishing over
natural habitat by bottom type. This is beyond the scope of
this paper and will be done at a later time.
Headboat anglers bottom fishing over wrecks caught 1.64
fish per angler-hour more than over natural habitats (Table 4).
The differences in their catch composition were similar to those
between reefs and natural habitats (Table 5).
Private boat anglers caught 1.23 and .75 fish per angler-hour
more from wrecks than from artificial reefs or natural habitats
respectively (Table 4). Their catch rates while over natural
habitats and artificial reefs differed by only .20 fish per angler-
hour. The number of species caught and the relative abundance
of each differed considerably among the habitat types (Table
5). Natural habitats yielded 14 game fish species and artificial
reefs only 7 game fish species, while wrecks, which received
very little fishing pressure, only produced 2 game fish species.
Natural habitats yielded mostly hake, scup, tautog, and summer
flounder; artificial reefs mostly hake, black sea bass, and scup;
and wrecks nearly all tautog.
The differences in the private boat angler's success between
the different habitat types is probably due to the physical
variations between the habitats and selective fishing.
Headboat and private boat anglers differed as to their aver-
age bottom fishing catch rates and species composition from
wrecks and artificial reefs. These differences may partly be
22
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due to the private boat angler's inability to locate the exact
position of the reef material. Even though the artificial reef
sites in the survey area are buoyed and easy to find, most
materials on the sites are scattered over a large area. From
our experience, we found that in order to achieve a high catch
rate on an artificial reef, you must fish on or directly next to
material. We believe that as more materials are added to the
sites, they will become easier to locate, resulting in higher
catch rates for private boat anglers.
Surface Fishing. Manmade habitats did not affect the catch
per angler-hour and species composition of headboat and pri-
vate boat anglers seeking pelagic species, although Tables 6
and 7 falsely show marked differences. The differences in
angling success are due to disproportional distribution of
monthly fishing pressure and selective fishing for certain species
on the different habitat types. This caused different months and
species to receive undue emphasis in the analysis. For example,
during May, headboat anglers surface fishing over wrecks
spent most of their angler-hours selectively fishing for bluefish.
But, while surface fishing over natural habitats during the same
month, they spent the majority of their efforts for Atlantic
mackerel. This resulted in different catch rates and catch
composition.
ANGLING EFFORT
Only angler-hours reported through the questionnaires and
logbooks are presented since it was not possible to estimate
total fishing effort during the 1970 survey.
Manmade habitats did not receive a large portion of the
total fishing effort (Table 8) since the combined area of reef
habitat covers less than 0.1 percent of the survey area. How-
ever, the rate of fishing pressure (angler-hours per square mile
of habitat) on manmade habitats was several hundred times
greater than on natural habitat (Table 9).
Artificial reefs and wrecks did not receive the same relative
amounts of bottom fishing time from the two groups of anglers
(Table 8). Headboat anglers bottom fished nearly 3 times as
23
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many angler-hours on wrecks as they did on artificial reefs,
whereas private boat anglers bottom fished twice as much on
artificial reefs as on wrecks.
TABLE 6
SURFACE FISHING STATISTICS FOR PRIVATE BOAT AND HEADBOAT ANGLERS
Catch per
Habitat types Angler hours Catch Angler-hour
Artificial Reefs
Natural
Artificial Reefs
Wrecks
Natural
Wrecks
Artificial Reefs
Natural
Artificial Reefs
Wrecks
Natural
Wrecks
Private Boats
1,234
13,498
210
8
1,930
8
Headboats
1,527
60,953
42
46
50,252
100
2,441
17,053
1,107
6
6,992
6
3,749
196,674
3
15
611,864
76
1.98
1.26
5.27
.75
3.62
.75
2.45
3.23
.07
.33
12.18
.76
Several factors may have contributed to the differences m
fishing intensity by the two angler groups on wrecks and artifi-
cial reefs. Private boat anglers may have been influenced to
fish over the reefs because of the publicity in the local news-
papers and the fact the reefs sites are easy to locate. However,
the average private boat angler has difficulty in locating most
wrecks because he does not know the required land ranges or
does not have the necessary electronic sounding and position-
ing equipment. Most headboat captains know land ranges for
many wrecks or have equipped their boats with sophisticated
sounding and locating devices. Headboat anglers probably
fished as intensely on artificial reefs as on wrecks because of
24
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the similarity of their angler success on each manmade habitat
type. But they may have fished more angler-hours over wrecks
than artificial reefs simply because of the greater number of
wrecks available. The number of wrecks available to any one
headboat captain is limited by the distance he can travel dur-
ing a normal fishing trip. Most headboats have about 50 wrecks
and one or two artificial reefs within their normal fishing areas.
TABLE 7
THE RELATIVE ABUNDANCE OF EACH SPECIES CAUGHT BY HEADBOAT AND
PRIVATE BOAT ANGLERS SURFACE FISHING ON ARTIFICIAL REEFS,
WRECKS. AND NATURAL HABITATS
Private
Headboat
Species
Artificial Natural Artificial Natural
reefs Wrecks habitats reefs Wrecks habitats
Atlantic bonito
Atlantic cod
Atlantic herring
Atlantic mackerel
Black sea bass
Bluefin tuna
Bluefish
Dolphin
Hake
Little tuna
Northern kingfish
Scup
Shad
Silver hake
Skipjack tuna
Striped bass
Summer flounder
Tautog
Weakfish
Windowpane
Winter flounder
.12
.12
67.06
.04
.04
30.72
.49
.81
.24
.20
.08
.04
1.28
.06
45.80 46.54 2.63
.03
.84
100.00 42.90 53.24 93.42
.14
.68
1.73
.06
.21
.01
1.07 - .05
.40
4.25 3.94
.36 .16
.03
.02
.05
Tr.
Tr.
.01
83.11
Tr.
.02
16.51
Tr.
.03
.01
Tr.
Tr.
.23
Tr.
.01
Tr.
Tr.
25
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TABLE 8
, ANGLER-HOURS SAMPLED SPENT BY HEADBOAT AND PRIVATE BOAT
ANGLERS FISHING IN THE NEW YORK BIGHT DURING 1970
Fishing
Vessel type method Artificial reefs Natural habitats Wrecks
Headboal Surface 1,521.3 142,636.7 100
% of total 1.05 98.87, .06
Bottom 2,746.6 77,639.9 8,233.6
% of total 3.09 87.60 9.29
Private Surface 1,233.8 13,951.3 8
% of total 8.12 91.82 .05
Bottom 251.9 3,374.4 143.6
% of total 6.68 89.50 3.80
TABLE 9
PISHING INTENSITY RATES * (ANGLER-HOURS PER MILE) OF SAMPLED
HEADBOAT AND PRIVATE BOAT ANGLERS SURFACE AND BOTTOM
FISHING ON EACH TYPE OF HABITAT
Pishing method Artificial reefs Natural habitats Wrecks
Open Boat Anglers
Surface 76,350 117 1,111
Bottom 136,300 103 91,489
Private Boat A nglers
Surface 61,700 18 88
Bottom 12,600 4 1,600
* It should be noted that the fishing intensity rates in Table 9 are only relative
estimates and are valid for comparisons only within an angler group, not between
groups. This limitation was caused by disproportional sampling of the groups.
26
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By January 1, 1973, there were 114 approved artificial reef
sites along the east coast of the United States. A total of about
400,000 scrap tires have been used on 43 of these sites (Table
10). None of the 114 reefs have been constructed as large as
originally, planned. Actually, only a small portion of the total
surface area the sites encompass (approximately 36 nautical
sq mi) contains reef material.
Most of these reefs are not large enough to maintain angler
success at a high level with the increasing fishing effort. To
meet immediate demands, existing reef sites should be enlarged.
If scrap tires are used to complete these reefs to an average
height of 3 feet, a total of about 600 million tires would be
required. We also anticipate a need for more reefs to meet
future demands. If tires are only a portion of the material used
to build these reefs, several hundred million more tires would
be needed. Based on these projections, nearly one billion tires
could be used on artificial reefs in marine waters off the east
coast of the United States.
In studying the use of scrap tires as artificial reef material,
we found that scrap tires can be readily obtained at no cost
from many tire dealers, easily assembled into units, and trans-
ported to reef sites at moderate cost. Once on the bottom they
provide additional habitats for many fishes and invertebrates.
During 1970, we questioned a number of service station
operators, tire dealers, and retreaders in the New York-New
Jersey area to determine methods and costs of scrap tire dis-
posal. Service stations and low volume tire dealers had three
common methods of tire disposal, as follows: (1) place two
27
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or three tires in the garbage each night before a scheduled
pickup and hope that the city sanitation department would
remove them. This method helped only dealers who handled
few tires. (2) Contract for removal of scrap tires. This could
cost as much as $150 per 1,500 tires. (3) Take the tires
directly to the city dump. In New York City this was an
expensive choice. Dealers paid either $2.00'per cubic yard or
$80.00 per 1,500 tires to use the dump, exclusive of labor and
transportation costs. It cost up to $5 per pickup truck load to
dispose of tires in the municipal dump for a suburban area
within commuting distance of New York City.
Large volume tire dealers or recappers were able to sell some
scrap tires to recapping companies in other areas. Most of the
time, however, dealers paid for disposal of their tires. Some
engaged a contractor at $35 to $100 per 1,500 tires to haul
tires to a reprocessing mill. A mill could handle only a small
percentage of the scrap tires available in a metropolitan area.
Some dealers or recappers had a contract enabling them to
take tires directly to the mill on a pre-set schedule. They
received $6 per ton (about 200 tires) which, in many cases,
did not cover the cost of labor and transportation. A few
dealers would freight scrap tires to a mill that paid $10 per
ton for them. This return did not equal the costs of shipping
and handling. Use of the city dump was another choice for
larger volume dealers, but many city dumps would not accept
scrap tires unless directed to do so by the police.
With this tire disposal problem, we were able to obtain an
ample supply of tires from local tire dealers at no cost to build
our study reefs. In addition to the dealers who actually sup-
plied tires, other dealers offered tires, not only in New Jersey
and New York but also in many of the surrounding States.
One company in Brooklyn, New York, offered to deliver 1,400
tires a day at their expense. This would have involved a round
trip of about 120 miles for each delivery. The same type of
cooperation is presumably available from tire dealers in most
cities along the coast. At present, however, there might be
some problem in obtaining large numbers of tires at no cost
in rural areas.
28
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TABLE 10
LOCATION OF EAST COAST ARTIFICIAL REEFS CONSTRUCTED PARTIALLY OR
COMPLETELY OF SCRAP TIRE UNITS (JAN. 1, 1973)
Location
Number of tires
Ipswich Bay, Mass.
Shinnecock Bay, N.Y.
Ocean off Shinnecock, N.Y.
Ocean off Moriches, N.Y.
Great South Bay, N.Y.
Ocean off Fire Island, N.Y.
Ocean off Atlantic Beach, N.Y.
Ocean off Rockaway, N.Y.
Ocean off Monmouth Beach, N.J.
Ocean off Sea Girt, N.J.
Ocean off Indian River Inlet, Del.
Ocean off Ocean City, Md.
Bay near Millers I., Md.
Bay near Love Pt., Md.
Bay near Cedarhurst, Md.
Bay near Eastern Bay, Md.
Bay near Holland Pt., Md.
Bay near Patuxent, Md.
Tangier Sound, Md.
Ocean off Parramore I., Va.
Bay near Onancock, Va.
Ocean near Chesapeake Light Tower, Va.
Ocean off Morehead City, N.C.
Ocean off Wrightsville Beach, N.C.
Ocean off Lockwood Folly, N.C.
Ocean off Murrells Inlet, S.C.
Ocean off Murrells Inlet, S.C.
Ocean near Charleston, S.C.
Ocean off Beaufort, S.C.
Ocean off Beaufort, S.C.
Ocean off Beaufort, S.C.
Ocean off Warsaw I., Ga.
Ocean off St. Simons, Ga.
Ocean off Brunswick, Ga.
Ocean off Cumberland I., Ga.
Ocean off Jacksonville, Fla.
Ocean off St. Augustine, Fla.
Ocean off Ponce de Leon Inlet, Fla.
Ocean near Cape Canaveral, Fla.
Ocean off Singer Island, Fla.
Ocean off Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
Ocean off Hallandale, Fla.
Ocean off Elliott Key, Fla.
1,000
1,000
6,000
600
3,500
1,500
30,420
6,500
1,500
70,000
2,000
1,000
660
660
660
660
660
660
660
2,500
1,000
300
1,000
500
3,800
6,000
36,000
20,000
8,000
20,000
20,000
16,000
24,768
768
14,320
7,000
2,000
1,500
1,200
2,000
65,000
1,000
560
Total
384,856
29
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The cost of building tire units was extremely variable, but
the total cost per tire for the single-tire unit, including labor
and materials, was only a few cents higher than some tire
dealers have to pay to dispose of their tires. By incorporating
some assembly and staging refinements, the cost per tire to
build tire units could probably be reduced below their disposal
costs. We conferred with major tire companies, the National
Tire Dealers and Retreaders Association, and the Rubber
Manufacturers Association about ways to mechanize the pro-
cessing of large numbers of scrapped tires for -artificial reef
sites. If this process proves feasible, as now seems likely, then
building reefs with large numbers of scrap tires could be much
less expensive than present disposal costs. In addition, the tires
would be used beneficially for habitat improvement programs
rather than buried at city dumps or left stockpiled to harbor
rats or to collect water in which mosquitoes may breed.
Once tires are in place on the reef site, they provide an
excellent surface for the attachment of encrusting organisms.
Tires are durable; we found no evidence of toxic substances
leaching from the tires,15 they do not decompose like metal,
and there is no evidence of structural breakdown caused by
boring organisms, such as occurs with wood, although some
'bacteria can attack them. They have a high ratio of surface
area to volume, and the configuration of the tire provides pro-
tective niches for motile species as well as the useful substrate.
Just like any reef material, tires must be used properly to
assure that a reef will not conflict with other uses of the marine
environment such as navigation and commercial fishing. If the
units are constructed correctly, there should be no movement
of materials once they are on the bottom. To construct a reef,
Federal, and in most cases State, permits are required. These
permits allow regulation of where and how reefs can be con-
structed and eliminate conflicting uses of an area of ocean
bottom. For more details on constructing artificial reefs and
the problems involved, contact the authors.
The need for marine habitat improvement exists because of
the limited amount of reef habitat now available and the
increasing demand placed on reef-related or associated marine
30
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fishes by sport and commercial fishermen. During the 10-year
period from 1960 to 1970 the number of salt water anglers
increased from 6.2 million to 9.4 million (51.6%). It is
necessary to manage the marine environment if this ever-
increasing demand on its resources is to be provided for. The
carrying capacity (the ability of the ocean to support fish)
can be increased especially for bottom species by enlarging
existing artificial reefs and constructing additional reefs along
the coast.
Our preliminary findings indicate that manmade habitats in
the New York Bight area improved angler success for game
species normally associated with rocky habitats, but not for
pelagic species or species typical of open bottom. Only anglers
on commercial sport fishing boats were able to take advantage
of the improved bottom fishing. The inability of private boat
anglers to reap this new success was probably due to their
inability to locate the reef material and not due to limitations
of the manmade habitats.
Artificial reefs have proven to be an effective tool for increas-
ing the amount of good bottom fishing sites in the New York
Bight, although, the average angler fished only a small percent
of his time over artificial reefs. This may be due to the small
portion of the survey area covered by artificial reefs, limiting
the number of anglers which could fish a reef at one time.-
We are confident that as artificial reefs are increased in num-
bers and size, they will be more effectively and habitually used
by a much larger portion of the marine sportfishing population.
Another use for tire reefs could be rehabilitation of areas,
both ocean and estuarine, that have been damaged either by
pollution or by dredge-and-fill operations. The sludge-dumping
area off New York City, for example, which contains many
square miles of oxygen-depleted sediment and an impoverished
fish fauna, could possibly be rehabilitated more quickly, once
the sludge dumping has stopped, if tire reefs were constructed
in that area. These could provide a substrate that would pro-
trude above the oxygen-depleted sediments and enable the
encrusting organisms to settle and have enough oxygen to
survive. A recolonization of the area by other invertebrates.and
31
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fish may then occur. An example of this is a reef in Biscayne
Bay, Miami, Fla. The reef was constructed in an area that
had been dredged to a depth of approximately 30 feet from a
normal depth of 8 to 10 feet. The natural bottom (coral and
limestone) had been destroyed, leaving an unstable, soupy mix-
ture of particulate matter that could support very few organ-
isms. When high-profile reef material was placed on the bottom,
it protruded above this soft bottom and provided a substrate
that quickly was covered with encrusting organisms. A variety
of fish returned to the area, and anglers reported' making good
catches within 6 months after the reef was constructed.16
Most of the successful reefs built along the Atlantic coast
have been cooperative efforts. Cooperation between Federal
and State Governments, industry, and local groups can reduce
both the time required to build a large reef and the cost of
building it. A number of reef committees are receiving tech-
nical assistance from State conservation departments and the
National Marine Fisheries Service. In many cases, they also
receive financial support from the State.
The future for habitat improvement with use of artificial
reefs seems bright. These reefs offer a potential for increasing
coastal gamefish resources, the possibility for improved catches
in local commercial and sport fisheries, and a functional use
for certain non-toxic waste materials.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We wish to express our appreciation to Clarence demons, Special Technical
>.dvisor, Environment Protection Agency, for continued assistance and interest
throughout the study. We are also grateful to Dewitt Myatt of the South Carolina
Wildlife and Marine Resources Department, Larry Smith, Georgia Department of
Natural Resources, and Chester Zawacki of New York State Department of Environ-
mental Conservation for the information they provided and their assistance on
i ertain phases of the study.
32
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Leaflet 8. St. Petersburg, Florida Board of Conservation, Marine Laboratory,
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33
M0519R GPO 871.932
A U S GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1974- 546-318/349
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