The
artificial reef site called the "Charleston Deep Reef’ is a 4 by 6 mile area
located approximately 52 nautical miles southeast of Charleston Harbor. Water
depths range from about 300 to 450 feet.
The area was
selected with the assistance of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council
after reviewing their database of known live-bottom areas off South Carolina.
This particular area was chosen because of its lack of live or hard bottom, a
necessity for an artificial reef construction site.
From its
inception, the reef site was planned as a potential deep-water Marine Protected
Area, an area of ocean bottom with limited angling activity, for the protection
of over-fished snapper and grouper species. The site was permitted by the US
Army Corps of Engineers in 2005 and added to the SAFMC’s list of other potential
MPA areas in Amendment 14 of the
Snapper Grouper Fishery
Management Plan. This amendment was approved by the Council in 2007 and by NOAA
Fisheries Service earlier this year (2008) making the Charleston Deep Reef the
state’s first artificial reef Type II MPA, a designation that prohibits bottom
fishing for snapper or grouper but allows surface trolling for species such as
billfish or dolphin.
As originally permitted, the reef was to be constructed from the
steel super-structures of the old Cooper River Bridges. Once the new bridge was
built, these large structures were to be removed relatively intact and barged to
the reef site. However, as demolition plans commenced the price of scrap metal
rose dramatically and the SC Department of Transportation decided to recoup some
of its construction costs by scrapping the steel portions of the old bridges.
Without suitable materials to construct the reef, it remains
unbuilt.
The SC Memorial Reef is a private effort
to raise funds to begin the building of the Charleston Deep Reef project. In
cooperation with the SCDNR, the Memorial Reef will become the first
significant contribution to the Charleston Deep Reef project.
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