Soon after the oil and gas platforms were installed offshore Southern California, it became obvious that marine life, both fishes and invertebrates, began to accumulate on and around the platforms. Operators began to periodically remove marine growth to insure platform stability. Recreational divers, underwater photographers, and marine scientists were drawn to the platforms by the abundant and diverse marine life.

Marine biologists began to examine the marine life in more detail in the 1980′s, but it was not until 1995 when scientists at the Marine Science Institute (MSI) at the University of California of Santa Barbara began to systematically survey the platforms. These surveys began with federal funding from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the Minerals Management Service (MMS). Since it founding in 1999, CARE has provided funding to insure that the surveys continued when federal funds were not available. Annual surveys have been conducted for nine consecutive years (1995 to 2004) and are planned for 2005.

MSI scientists have directly surveyed 18 platforms and have reviewed inspection tapes from Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV) for five additional platforms. Also, the surveys included natural outcrops in the vicinity of the platforms to allow comparisons to be made between artificial and natural reefs sites.

The data set accumulated over this period is the most comprehensive and complete available for any comparable locations on the Pacific Coast. It has allowed scientists to understand the biological processes at the platforms and to define the ecological role platforms play in the marine environment.