navy sinks ship for new reef..... isnt it bad though?????????/

[agoutihead]

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/05/17/carrier.reef.ap/index.html

there is the link....

my question is.... isnt a GIANT piece of rusting metal actually bad for the ecosystem?

i just dont understand.

how can that possibly be beneficial?

[spoiledcats]

They do this kind of stuff all the time. Besides there are so very many sunk ships in the ocean already. Metals in your tank are more toxic because your tank cannot clean itself the way the ocean can.

[MiddletonMark]

Figuring we used to dump radioactive waste not too far outside San Francisco bay 40 years ago - it's an improvement.

That's a good question, but given the history of reefs growing on ships [WWII-era stuff in the pacific is incredible] ... I'd hope they'd know that it's not a problem.

But IMO, in that water volume - not a huge issue.

[Big Ying]

Those ships are clean as a whistle by the time the EPA approves them. Metal rusting in the vastness of the ocean has no appreciable impact. What these ships do is provide additional homes for fish, inverts and coral to colonize, that otherwise would not have a place to live. The Gulf of Mexico in particular is like a large desert. There are few natural reef structures to provide homes for reef inhabitants. These reefs are like oasis. The population of these creatures has certainly increased substantially as a result of all the artificial reefs added in the last 20 years.

[Redfish]

I sure bet it improves my winter grouper fishing.:D

[deansreef]

how many years till it is a reef?

[omni2226]

Doesnt take years, it only takes months. They have sunk a few ships here in florida to make reefs. Some old freighters and military ships. Within a few days fish move in, within months myriads of crustaceans and soon after corals.

[duec22]

The fish will probably use it pretty fast, not sure about coral

[omni2226]

Whats neat about them is that alga and crustaceans like barnacles and things absolutlely love smooth surfaces.

So the steel is covered up so fast that it slows the oxidation (rusting) down to a point where years later you can still make out the form of the ship.

Have to see it to beleive it. In just a few months if you didnt know better you would swear the ship has been there for a century. And yes corals form after just a few months.

[fkshiu]

They just sunk an old 737 (yes, the plane) out here in the Juan de Fuca strait.

Takes many months to properly clean and prepare the hulks for sinking for both environmental and safety reasons.

Not only do the fish and corals like it, artificial reefs are a boon to local economies with the added dive tourism they generate.

Who says ecology and capitalism can't mix?

http://www.artificialreef.bc.ca/Home_Frame.htm

[Redfish]

Pelagic fish such as dolphin, wahoo, marlin, cobia, etc... will be on the wreck tommorrow.

Pelagic forms of bait will be on the wreck as soon as a good weedline passes nearby.

Grouper, snapper, etc.. will be on the wreck within weeks.

The wreck is so close to the edge that it will populated very quickly.

[Redfish]

Unfortunately, the species that is the bane of fishermen around the world, scubasdiverus p***usfishmaneroffus, will be on the wreck on friday.:D

I dive as well as fish, so I am entitled to, and resemble, that comment.

[adnup]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7385598#post7385598 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Redfish
I sure bet it improves my winter grouper fishing.:D


Thats what I was thinking!! :D