Guide to South Carolina marine artificial reefs

Abstract

The Marine Resources Division of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources currently manages 45 manmade fishing reefs in estuarine and offshore waters of South Carolina. These reef sites are constructed from a variety of durable materials including specially designed concrete and steel structures, ships and tugboats, barges, even army tanks and subway cars. When durable materials such as these are placed in the marine environment their surfaces are rapidly colonized, and eventually completely covered, by a wide variety of sessile organisms including algae, barnacles, corals, sponges, hydroids, bryozoans, and marine worms. In time, these organisms become the foundation of the reef community and the base of the food web which is critical to later fishing success.