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'"The vessel, which is docked in Suisun Bay, was withdrawn from the list of ships after MARAD announced that it had revised its policies and the Kawishiwi will now be part of the ship recycling programme.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.”

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 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. "

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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."

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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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Marine scientists organization stress importance of environmental assessment and removal of toxins

Scottish Association of Marine Science (SAMS) emphasizes the challenges of creating artificial reefs which help, not harm, the environment.

"The accumulation of marine life attracts animals that will not be interested in the structure but i the food that is accumulating within and around it. However, some wrecks may have slowly ‘leaked’ toxic materials into the environment – which is why it is crucial that deliberate wrecks are very thorughly cleaned of all toxic materials."

Argyll News: The SMART question: to reef or not to reef? | For Argyll:

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