National Geographic Ocean Views piece on artificial reefs

(S)ome environmentalists, as well as federal and independent scientists, question whether an artificial reef program provides ecological benefits. Some view the creation of artificial reefs as a dumping ground for unwanted industrial trash and claim it to be an economic shortcut opportunity for recycling. Others note that although most artificial reefs offer potential habitat for certain kinds of marine life, these are not always environmentally harmonious homes. Artificial reefs can cause damage to natural habitats during their construction and can displace naturally occurring species and habitats. Also, because they tend to concentrate fish unnaturally, they can become more vulnerable to overfishing.

read more at http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2014/11/06/artificial-reefing-the-blue-solution-to-americas-aging-infrastructure/

Group against sinking ship to create artificial reef off Sunshine Coast files petition in court

"In January, the federal government tested the ship for hazardous materials and an Environment Canada report found it contained toxins known as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at almost eight times the legal limit. The Canadian Environmental Protection Act sets the acceptable limits as 50 parts per million. The report shows that in some areas of the ship, the PCBs were as high as 377 parts per million.
In response to the findings, the federal government in June paid contractor Jenkins Marine Ltd. $865,000 to remove PCBs from the Annapolis, but results of the ship's final inspection were not released to the public."

Group against sinking ship to create artificial reef off Sunshine Coast files petition in court:



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PCBs found on ship destined for artificial reef | Local News | Coast Reporter, Sunshine Coast, BC

"Dangerous levels of PCBs have been found onboard the HMCS Annapolis. Environment Canada is looking for contractors to remove the contaminant before sinking the ship to create an artificial reef."

PCBs found on ship destined for artificial reef | Local News | Coast Reporter, Sunshine Coast, BC:


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Sandbox at bottom of ocean is an ecological playground - Outdoors - MiamiHerald.com

A great deal of research has been done on coral reef ecosystems, but there have been few studies on the sandy bottoms they cover — until now.

Read more here: 
Sandbox at bottom of ocean is an ecological playground - Outdoors - MiamiHerald.com:

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Legal action prompted cleanup but tons of hazardous material still end up in Australian waters

No Ship Action Group newsletter outlines how legal action prompted environmental clean-up but tons of hazardous material remained on board sunken ship.

Items removed from HMAS Adelaide after the first scuttle attempt on 27 March 2010 following NSAG legal action:
23 000 square metres of fibreglass insulation that tested positive for PCBs. Download PCB test results 48/61 items tested positive for PCBs. 28 items tested at 10 mg/kg or higher 23 000 square metres of painted canvas covering
Over two tonnes of electrical cable that tested positive for PCBs
All polyurethane insulation foam from coolrooms
Over 200 junction boxes
Only ‘exfoliating’ lead paint. Download lead paint test results.
'The additional works to comply with the Tribunal orders were completed in March 2011...Over 44 tonnes of insulation was removed, which took 25 truckloads to take away for safe disposal.'
Excerpt from State governtment Environment Fact sheet about HMAS Adelaide

Items remaining on the vessel when it was dumped on 13 April 2011:
• 4 tonnes anti fouling paint
• 9 tonnes lead based paint containing up to 2.3 tonnes pure lead (lead content averages 28%)
• Paint on the aluminium superstructure contains Hexavalent Chromium
• Large amount of plastics in fittings and furniture that is destined to become marine debris
• Linoleum floorings
• Asbestos cladding on walls, ceilings and fixtures

read the complete newsletter here

http://noshipactiongroupincorporated.cmail1.com/t/ViewEmail/r/1AFF97D7CF60F9CE/B638F73161BC39A9D9767B6002735221

Australian government scraps plans to create new dive sites

Australian government chooses to scrap naval ships rather than take on new environmental fight

The government has decided a minimal return to taxpayers for scrap is a better outcome than spending $4 million to make each ship safe for use as a dive wreck. The 8000-tonne hulks have a scrap metal value of about $2.5 million each.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/dive-wreck-hopes-sunk-as-ships-head-to-scrapyard/story-e6freuy9-1226546770740

Gambier Island residents fight plans for new artificial reef

Global BC | Gambier Island residents fight plans for new artificial reef: "“It’s the size of three football fields and when it goes down on that fine sediment sea bed, it is going to destroy it,’ says Andrew Strang with savehalkettbay.com. “The Department of Fisheries and Oceans was very clear, and said that this was unacceptable.”
"

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Artificial reef program modified after rise in PCB's found

U.S. - Stripes: "In 2004, the USS Oriskany aircraft carrier was removed from the reserve fleet in Texas, remediated and in 2006 sunk off the Pensacola coast in a pilot project for artificial reefs. It's still the largest such reef in the country, said Self.

Site monitoring since then by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservaton Commission indicates a leap in PCB contamination in fish around the reef, he said. The results appear in a BAN report from July 2011 called "Dishonorable Disposal: The Case Against Dumping U.S. Naval Vessels at Sea."

Before the sinking, Self said, PCB concentrations in fish were 3.8 parts per billion (ppb). Afterward, they rocketed to 58.75 ppb.

In that time, total PCB concentrations in fish samples increased an average of 1,446 percent, he said."

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Obama Administration Scuttles Popular Artificial Reef Program | Sport Fishing

Obama Administration Scuttles Popular Artificial Reef Program | Sport Fishing: "Once touted by the agency as an environmentally responsible method for disposing of old, useless ships that were stripped clean for sinking, the program has now been called into question due to evironmental concerns, the report indicates. "

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Concerns likely won’t stop project | Local News | Coast Reporter, Sunshine Coast, BC

Concerns likely won’t stop project | Local News | Coast Reporter, Sunshine Coast, BC: "

“In light of this new study and the fact that the U.S. Marine administration has taken the dramatic step recently of effectively banning this practice in the United States, we respectfully ask that you halt this imminent sinking of the Annapolis and put a moratorium on the practice of making artificial reefs out of former armed forces vessels until further study,” Andrew Strang wrote on behalf of Save Halkett Bay."

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Rules halt program using 'ghost fleet' ships as reefs | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com

Rules halt program using 'ghost fleet' ships as reefs | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com:

"Chief among the changes is a rule that all ships built before 1985 no longer can be sunk as reefs. The rule is targeted at curtailing PCBs, a highly toxic class of chemicals that, before 1985, often were found in ship wiring, insulation, gaskets and paint."

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U.S. Government Ends The Sinking Of Old Ships as Artificial Reefs

U.S. Government Ends The Sinking Of Old Ships as Artificial Reefs: " MARAD's new policy excludes from artificial reefing consideration of any vessel that was built before 1985 (and likely to contain PCBs). PCBs are a persistent toxic chemical family that is described by the U.S. EPA as potentially carcinogenic to humans and builds-up in the marine food chain. They are banned from use and production under the U.S. Toxic Substances Control Act."

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Sinking fate of HMCS Annapolis destroyer generates environmental concern - The Globe and Mail

Sinking fate of HMCS Annapolis destroyer generates environmental concern - The Globe and Mail:

 "“We haven’t seen anything from the province that shows us the ship has been cleaned. The people in Howe Sound are not confident it is clean,” he said, expressing concerns that polychlorinated biphenyls, mercury and other contaminants might be released from the sunken hulk."

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A thousandfold increase in PCB levels and millions of dollars lost, the real cost of artificial reefs

A report  by the Basel Action Network highlights the environmental risks and economic losses caused by artificial reefing. In one reef, the total PCB concentrations in fish samples increased 1,446% on average from pre-sinking to postsinking"

"Study of the sunken Ex-USS ORISKANY, reveals startling toxic PCB
leaching from the sunken aircraft carrier. According to the data, the leaching is occurring
at more than twice the Navy’s and EPA’s presinking modeled expectations of 2006. In fact, leaching PCBs from the sunken vessel has been taken up by fish at the reef site at levels above the Florida Department of Health fish consumption advisory threshold. Total PCB concentrations in fish samples increased 1,446% on average from pre-sinking to postsinking"
http://ban.org/library/Dishonorable%20Disposal_BAN%20Report.pdf

MARAD change in policy scuttles sinking of USS Kawishiwi

A planned artificial reef of the USS Kawishiwi has been cancelled following the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) 's decision not to sink ships made prior to 1985 due to concerns about PCB's.

'"The vessel, which is docked in Suisun Bay, was withdrawn from the list of ships after MARAD announced that it had revised its policies and the Kawishiwi will now be part of the ship recycling programme. The agency is now excluding all ships that are likely to contain Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)."

MARAD has offered a replacement ship which meets the new standards.

The CEO of California Ships to Reefs, Joel Geldin said: “We have always made ocean safety the top priority in our reefing plans and we’re willing to move forward with MARAD, working with whatever standards they require.”

read more here:
 MARAD Withdraws Plans to Turn USS Kawishiwi into Artificial Reef in California - The Scuba Diving Place:

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U.S. Government Ends The Sinking Of Old Ships as Artificial Reefs

Recognizing the potential environmental impact and loss of economic revenue, the Obama administration has made significant chances to the federal  artificial reefing program 

"The U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) has adopted a new policy that effectively terminates the federal artificial reefing program that allowed the scuttling of old ships for so-called "artificial reefs" – a practice that dates back to the Liberty Ship Act of 1972. Since the program's inception, approximately 45 ships have been disposed of at sea, along with untold tons of toxic substances such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and heavy metals built into each vessel, as well as many millions of dollars-worth of steel and non-ferrous metal resources. "

Read more here


U.S. Government Ends The Sinking Of Old Ships as Artificial Reefs:

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Regulations leave anglers, boat captains frustrated | TuscaloosaNews.com

"Federal officials are hesitant to accept data collected from reefs off Alabama because the reefs are almost entirely artificial — objects sunk to create fish habitat. Some people debate whether the red snapper are actually reproducing on artificial reefs or if they are just attracted to artificial reefs, Anson said.
The ratio of red snapper to other fish is very high on artificial reefs.
“They're 95 percent of the fish on our reefs,” Anson said. “That's not what you would expect to find on a natural reef.”"
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Regulations leave anglers, boat captains frustrated | TuscaloosaNews.com:

The Associated Press: AP ENTERPRISE: Navy 'Sinkex' raises pollution fear

The Associated Press: AP ENTERPRISE: Navy 'Sinkex' raises pollution fear:

PCB's found in fish near an aircraft carrier sunk in 2006 as an artificial reef near Pensacola, Florida have raised concerns about the impacts, although the ship was located much closer to shore and in much shallower waters than Sinkex vessels.

"Annual monitoring by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission of waters around the USS Oriskany concluded that fish around the carrier exceeded state and federal PCB standards in the first two years. Florida's PCB limits are 50 parts per billion for safe human consumption— EPA standards are 20 ppb. Fish later collected saw a drop in those levels overall, but some still exceeded the EPA and Florida standards."

read more

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Concrete dropped in ocean for fisho's - ABC Northern Territory - Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)

Concrete dropped in ocean for fisho's - ABC Northern Territory - Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC): "We like to say deploy instead of dumping"

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Can we fake the reefs? | News | Practical Fishkeeping:

""Many of the most ardent advocates of artificial reefs seem to have large quantities of bulky waste to dispose of — be they tyres, power station ash, railway stock, cars, ships and oil rigs. I once saw a newspaper photograph of three rubbish trucks being pushed off the side of a boat in Thailand."

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