NEWS OF THE DELAWARE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL

September 14, 2009
Vol. 39, No. 373

For more information contact Jeffrey Tinsman, Fisheries Section, Division of Fish and Wildlife, 302-739-4782 or 302-258-5247; or Michael Globetti, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902.

Latest  “train” of NYC subway cars pulls in and
is pushed onto Del-Jersey-Land artificial reef

Another “train” of retired New York City subway cars made their way onto the Del-Jersey-Land Reef today, the latest deployment of cars that are making more marine habitat for Delaware’s artificial reef program.

As with the first subway car sinking last month over the state’s newest reef, 44 more cars by way of New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) were barged down the coast and dropped over the Del-Jersey-Land site—26 miles southeast of Indian River Inlet, and equidistant from the three states comprising the reef’s name.

The reef is a cooperative venture between Delaware, New Jersey and Maryland for enhancing fisheries habitat through decommissioned and retired ships.

As with the earlier sinking on the Del-Jersey-Land reef, this deployment will test the stainless steel subway cars’ durability in 120-150 feet of water by placing them singly on the ocean floor. Earlier sinkings at artificial reefs along the East Coast were made with one subway car piled atop another on bottom, for a two-tiered reef habitat.

The subway cars are sunk to expand reef capacity that bolsters fisheries habitat, in turn increasing fishing and diving opportunities for the thousands of recreational anglers and divers who visit Delaware’s network of artificial reefs each year. “The cars provide protection for reef fish like black sea bass and hard substrate for the attachment of a diverse invertebrate community, giving reef fish more feeding opportunities,” said Jeffrey Tinsman, reef program manager with DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife.

This is the fifth sinking of retired NYC subway cars in recent months in Delaware waters and brings the number of subway cars that help comprise the state’s artificial reef sites to 1,085 since the reef project began in 2001.

The great majority of the cars make up the state’s most popular artificial reef, the Redbird Reef (the name a variation of the nickname for the subway cars deployed onto the reef). With the subway cars accounting for a total surface area of more than 2.5 million square feet, Redbird Reef supports a marine life community up to 400 times richer than the natural bottom. Subway cars make ideal reef material, because voids and cavities in the cars’ structure provide the perfect sanctuary for reef fish.

As with much of Delaware’s reefing, today’s operation was carried out by the marine transportation division of Weeks Marine, Inc., a worldwide towing and barge operator contracted by the MTA/New York City Transit, which also completed the car cleanup to remove all greases and buoyant materials that might be harmful to the marine environment. The operation was funded by MTA New York City Transit. DNREC’s role was to oversee the placement of the subway cars at the reef.

For more information, visit http://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/fw/Fisheries/Pages/ArtificialReefProgram.aspx or contact Jeff Tinsman, Delaware Reef Program administrator, at 302-739-4782.