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- What Is CARE?
- What Role Does A Platform Fulfill As An Artificial Reef?
- Are Obsolete Platforms Better Than Other Materials For Making A Reef?
- Why Should California Expand Its Existing Artificial Reef Program?
- Are There Any Similar Programs In Existence Elsewhere? What Has Been The Experience?
- How Can We Be Certain the Oil Rigs Are Already in the Best Locations For Artificial Reefs?
- How Can I Become Involved With CARE?
- How Can I Get More Information About CARE Or Issues Pertaining To Artificial Reefs?
A. The California Artificial Reef Enhancement (CARE) Program is a 501(c)3 Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation. The goal of CARE is to encourage additional research and educate Californians about artificial reefs and their role in the marine ecosystem.
Q. What Role Does A Platform Fulfill As An Artificial Reef?
A. Actual experience, as well as extensive scientific research, shows that offshore oil platforms provide considerable habitat for marine organisms even when they are in full operation. Invertebrates like mussels and barnacles attach themselves to the steel structures, forming additional habitat by encrusting pilings and pipes as well as covering the bottom. This habitat in turn supports a vast array of fish. The immense size and extensive vertical profile of these structures promote the growth and development of large populations of diverse marine organisms.
Q. Are Obsolete Platforms Better Than Other Materials For Making A Reef?
A. According to experts, platform structures are ideal (durable, stable, complex) materials because of their engineering design and construction. The rounded steel legs of the jackets provide the maximum surface area for biological growth and attachment of benthic organisms. They were also constructed to withstand the horizontal wave forces of 100-year storms. A variety of Gulf reef fish spend at least some part of their life cycle in the shadow or protection of these structures. When a platform is removed, these fish have hard bottom areas for refuge or for critical phases in their life cycle. The benthic organisms attached to the structure such as barnacles, sponges and cup corals are lost forever when the structure is taken to shore.
The extensive vertical profile of the structure, and the steel lattice construction, provide a habitat that supports a vast array of fish and other marine life.
Q. Why Should California Expand Its Existing Artificial Reef Program?
A: The CARE program protects and enhances an existing thriving habitat around oil platforms that is rich with marine life. California and its coastal communities will also benefit from the increased fishing habitat through increased tourism, diving and recreational fishing opportunities. For the petroleum industry, this program provides an alternative to full platform removal that is more economical and less disruptive to the environment. Moreover, this approach frees up resources to create an endowment to fund new research and other projects that will enhance the quality, use, and enjoyment of the state’s marine resources.
Q. Are There Any Similar Programs In Existence Elsewhere? What Has Been
The Experience?
A: Preservation-not destruction-works, and has proven to be successful in other states. Texas and Louisiana have enabling legislation to set up very successful programs.
For example, in Texas and Louisiana more than 100 rigs in the Gulf of Mexico have been preserved as artificial reefs and now attract thriving marine life, that benefits the ecosystem and the economy by attracting divers and fishermen.
Q. How Can We Be Certain the Oil Rigs Are Already in the Best Locations For Artificial Reefs?
A. It is difficult to know precisely where the “best” locations might be, or if there is even a significantly better site for an artificial reef. However, what is certain is that the platform already exists and that its jacket currently supports a thriving habitat for both vertebrate and invertebrate organisms that would be destroyed if the jacket is removed.
Q. How Can I Become Involved With CARE?
A. By joining the CARE membership program, you will receive periodic updates on events surrounding the artificial reefs off the coast of California. Join by visiting our website at www.calreefs.org.
Q. How Can I Get More Information About CARE Or Issues Pertaining To
Artificial Reefs?
A. Contact CARE toll-free at 1-800-804-6002, e-mail us at:
info@calreefs.org, write to us at: CARE, 1008 Tenth Street #298,
Sacramento, CA 95814-3584, or visit our Web site at www.calreefs.org.