"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:
"Clean-up has continued this week after a second wave of tires, once used in building artificial reefs, appeared along the island’s shoreline following Hurricane Katia, which stayed well offshore but kicked up heavy surf along the North Carolina coast.
A piece of an old aircraft, also possibly from an artificial reef, was hauled away this week after washing up on the beach at Emerald Isle after Hurricane Irene."
An estimated 700 to 800 tires, believed to be from an artificial reef, washed ashore, with most concentrated in an area between Fort Macon and Indian Beach, according to a division news release.http://www.enctoday.com/news/tires-94481-jdn-beach-division.html
"Less than two months after the Radford was ceremoniously sunk to the bottom, recent dives on the vessel confirmed it has already broken in two large pieces, likely caused by cracks and tears during it settling and accelerated by the effects of Hurricane Irene, which blew through the area at the end of August."
"...Swarming fish at one site doesn't automatically equal a healthy ecosystem. "If you draw fish populations away from their natural habitat, then you have to ask if that is
having an effect on an adjacent population."
"The concentrating effect of an artificial reef canArtificial reefs can also be detrimental to the existing habitat.
make it easier for fishermen to catch fish and lead to overfishing. In
addition to exposing them to human predators, these reefs can also
attract ocean predators that prey on these aggregations of smaller
fish that wouldn't be gathered if the artificial reefs weren't there."
“To some people, it appears that a sandy ocean bottom is a wasteland with no value, so a reef would create a wonderful habitat,” Powell says. What people aren’t taking into account is that the sandy bottom is a natural habitat supporting ocean life. “Many artificial reefs are being put in place with little thought of how they affect the habitat that was originally there.”
"...(T)he silt, mostly iodized iron, found within wrecks can easily be kicked up by divers"Last week's tragedy was third since '07 at our artificial reefs for divers
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“The Obama Administration’s new plan to recycle these four aircraft carriers appears to be a signal that the Administration may be correcting long-standing misguided policies that not only squander resources, but American jobs as well,” said Colby Self, BAN’s Green Ship Recycling Campaign director.
