New, locally designed structures will join barges, boxcars and thousands of tires planted on the ocean floor to supplement nearby artificial reefs by the end of 2014.
Designed by Wilmington-based Atlantic Coast Industrial and dubbed Atlantic Pods, the hollow concrete cubes are roughly 4 feet by 4 feet.
Rita Merritt, Onslow Bay Artificial Reef Association (OBARA) executive director, said the cubes could eventually be deployed for use in other reefs but four local sites will be the first to claim them.
“One of the big deals that we see in this is the potential for a whole new type of habitat that’s being developed. … It’s experimental right now but it’s passed everything, as far as we know, through the various agencies it has to go through,” Merritt said during an Aug. 5 interview.
Reinforced concrete pipes will also be used for the project. The added structures provide habitat for marine life on barren stretches of sea bottom.
While divers and fishermen might be the first to notice a reef enhancement, Merritt said the boost will have far-reaching effects, from corals and plants that filter water to stabilization of the ocean floor.
“We’re taking desert and making it an oasis. That’s the way we look at doing an artificial reef,” Merritt said.
A $637,500 N.C. Coastal Recreational Fishing License grant awarded to OBARA helped to fund fresh material for the Billy Murrell Reef off of Topsail Island, the Meares Harris Reef off of Masonboro Inlet and the Phillip Wolfe Reef Complex off of Carolina Beach Inlet.
Private funding from the Bruce Barclay Cameron Foundation supported enhancement of the Bruce Barclay Cameron Reef, also known as the Five-Mile Boxcar Reef, off Masonboro Inlet, but the grant money cannot be used on the Cameron reef because it sits in federal waters.
The cubes and pipe will be deployed once all permits are secured by the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries Artificial Reef Program. Merritt said she hopes to deploy material as soon as fall 2014.
Still tying up loose ends for one deployment, OBARA is already preparing for another round of enhancements in 2015. Merritt said an application for another N.C. Coastal Recreational Fishing License grant was submitted July 30. Even if it is awarded, she said the organization will need help to completely fund the project.
Shawn Nasseri, owner of Scuba Now on Oleander Drive, offered to host a fundraiser to benefit reef enhancement this fall. A date has not yet been set for the event.
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