Once Subway, Now Coral Reef

Have you heard that some states are building synthetic reefs by dropping old subway cars into the ocean? It sounds crazy and even detrimental to dump huge metal cars into our oceans…but actually, its a wonderful technique to help provide protective habitats for the fish. I only learned about this technique a week ago, but its been going on for a few years now. These artificial reefs are popping up all over the eastern U.S. in the Atlantic Ocean, and the fishing community couldn’t be happier. They provide safe havens for many different varieties of marine life such as oysters, blue mussels, and fish which are attracted to the hard surfaces of the cars.

Greg Hall, President of the Ocean City Reef Foundation in Maryland, says “its pretty amazing to go back to reef sites and see the area covered in mussels and swarming with marine life, even as soon as six months after initial placement.”

But this new technique is becoming popular among some states, and there’s actually some stiff competition to claim the donated subway cars from New York City. Jeff Tinsman, the artificial reef program manager for Delaware’s Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, said that he sunk an old tugboat and a decommissioned Navy tank last year when the subway cars ran out. Tinsman describes the artificial reefs as “luxury condominiums for fish.”

Check out the video on NYT’s Dot Earth blog where you can see a simulation of the subway cars underwater. Very cool!