(04/119) TRENTON - The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) today released a copy of the update to its "Artificial Reef Management Plan for New Jersey" for public comment. The Plan has helped to guide New Jersey's extensive reef building efforts at 14 artificial reef locations for more than 17 years. New Jersey is now a national leader in artificial reef development and this plan will strengthen our reef program through appropriate standards and fisheries goals," said DEP Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell.

Artificial reefs are an environmental and economic boon for New Jersey. New fishing and diving opportunities enhance our shore economy, while our marine ecosystems gain new habitat. The new draft of the Plan covers all aspects of the multi-faceted program, including its objectives, history, benefits, site selection and other considerations. It also establishes a protective standard for the stability, durability and effectiveness of various materials used in reef construction. Currently there is no uniform national standard for the durability of reef materials. Over the years, New Jersey has had tremendous success with its artificial reef program. Past studies of artificial reefs show that they may be colonized by up to 200 species of fish and invertebrates. Reefs have 800 to 1,000 times more biomass than open ocean. Artificial reefs can also form important nurseries for juvenile fish.

In recent years, DEP added several ships and tugboats to its reefs, as well as more unusual materials such as the 250 decommissioned New York City subway cars added at five reef locations in the summer of 2003. DEP has formed an independent committee to oversee a multi-year monitoring program at the subway car sites that will study water quality, fisheries and biota, and the durability of the reefs. The results of this study will further help New Jersey refine its artificial reef program.

The state currently has 14 artificial reef sites where it periodically deploys new reef materials. These sites include: Sandy Hook Reef, Sea Girt Reef, Shark River Reef, Axel Carlson Reef (offshore from Mantoloking), Barnegat Light Reef, Garden State North Reef (offshore from Harvey Cedars), Garden South Reef (offshore from Spray Beach), Little Egg Reef (offshore from Holgate), Atlantic City Reef, Great Egg Reef (offshore from Atlantic City), Ocean City Reef, Wildwood Reef, Deep Water Reef (offshore from Wildwood), and Cape May Reef. The DEP is accepting public comments on the draft for the next 60 days.

A copy of the update to the Plan is available at the DEP website at http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/reefplan04.htm. 
Send your written comments to:
Bill Figley, Reef Coordinator NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife PO Box 418Port Republic, NJ   08241
*In providing specific comments, please reference the page or section number in the plan to which you are referring.

The New Jersey Council of Diving Clubs is an organization of 20 Sport Diving Clubs from New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. Our members are actively involved in sport scuba diving off of the New Jersey coast and have helped to support the New Jersey Artificial Reef Program over the years by funding and supporting several artificial reef projects. 

The NJCDC strongly supports using these "Redbird" subway cars as artificial reefs in accordance with all Federal and State environmental laws and regulations.  They will not only provide excellent needed habitat for important fish, such as Sea Bass and Tautog, but they will also provide food for all species by allowing mussels and other marine organisms to anchor to them. As sport divers, we actually see this process unfold. The NJCDC would volunteer to aid in monitoring the status of the cars through our members’ divers. I include with this testimony excerpts from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Fish and Wildlife’s Reef Program’s Reef News 2002 that give documentation of the activities on and benefits of these artificial reefs.

A NEW WRECK on the Shark River Reef - July 23, 2001
APL 31 - From the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard - A 260 foot Barracks Barge!
Now known as "Jack's Spot" for Jack Myers, a Brick Township fisherman and also chairman of the state Marine Fisheries Council from 1984 to 1998. Without an engine, it only cost $25,000 to clean and tow (That is lots of t-shirts divers bought.) Peggy got to witness the sinking from the Outlaw. Report - it is on it's starboard side by about 70 degrees, sand at 125 feet.

12/01 - New York has been working to have artificial reefs in NY waters protected as Artificial Reef Management Areas

We need Diver concerns in writing this new NY proposal!
See Jack Fullmer letter (NJCDC Legislation Director) below-
(12/26/01 - LIDA will meet with Steve Heins in January.)
- - -
As some of you know, New York has been working to have artificial reefs in NY waters protected as Artificial Reef Management Areas.  In the beginning (November) they were calling these Special Management Areas.
LIDA (Long Island Divers Assoc.) has been working to allow divers to continue their access and NJ Council of Diving Clubs has joined with LIDA to this end.  We have gotten spearfishing added to the 'taking of fish' but we have a way to go.  I would like the wording 'taken by hand' added (and maybe gaff...).

We are now working on the prohibitions to "move, alter, damage or remove any structure or object'.  As with any ruling lately, it doesn't explicitly state that divers could anchor into the wreck without being law-breakers - (the NY state guy, Steve Heins, says the ruling wasn't meant to be a problem for divers but we have seen how that goes down the line....) 
Or that we could take an artifact off a purposely sunk vessel.  (See below)

If you dive in NY waters, you might want to add your comments (address below) - they have refused to have a hearing.
- - -
This is the newest info (12/18) from NY on their reef protection areas.
I had them convert it to a word.doc since their word perfect file was messed up in several places during conversion. And I have added some information from Steve Heins that was sent to Paula Jerman of LIDA at the bottom.
---------------
Section 40.7  Special Management Areas

(Statutory Authority: ECL 3-0301(2)(m); ECL 13-0360)

(a) Definitions.
(1) artificial reef - a hard structure deliberately placed in a marine or coastal water body for the purpose of imitating environmental conditions found on natural underwater rock outcroppings, shellfish reefs, or coral reefs.
(2) wreck - an abandoned shipwreck which occurred through an accidental circumstance or deliberate scuttling or sinking that was not part of artificial reef construction activities.
(3) natural reef - a naturally occurring and persistent hard structure formation composed of rock or rocks, gravel or hard-packed sediment, which generally rises above the surrounding sea floor and supports or is
capable of supporting a marine ecosystem dependent upon hard-bottom habitat.
(4) special management area - an area of the marine and coastal district in which artificial reefs, wrecks and/or natural reefs are located, so designated by this Part, within which the rules and regulations restricting the taking of fish, shellfish and crustaceans may be different from those regulations outside of the bounds.
(5) artificial reef management area - a special management area surrounding and including an artificial reef;
(6) spearfishing - taking of fish using any penetrating device or spear, including mechanical or pneumatic spear guns , but not powerheads or explosive-tipped spears.
 (7) the Race - The area known as the Race shall have the same meaning as set forth in 6NYCRR Part 44.1(i).

(b) PURPOSE.  The purposes of this section shall be to provide controls on the taking of fish, shellfish and crustaceans in defined areas that contain artificial reefs, natural reefs and/or wrecks, consistent with
state, federal and interstate management plans and with the marine fisheries conservation and management policy set forth in Section 13-0105 of the ECL, and to protect the physical structure and ecological
integrity of artificial reefs, natural reefs and wrecks and their associated marine habitat.

(c) Prohibitions within all Special Management Areas (SMAs).
(1)Within the bounds of any and all SMAs, no person, other than an authorized agent of the Department, shall:
(a) possess, set, use or operate any net of any kind, except for a hand-operated net used in the landing of fish legally taken by angling; 
(b) possess, use or operate any dredge of any kind;
(c) possess, set, use or operate setlines, longlines or any hook-and-line gear other than hand-held gear used for angling;
(2) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to prohibit the transportation of lawfully possessed fishing gear or fish over the waters of any special management zone.

(d) Artificial Reef Management Areas.
(1) Designation of Artificial Reef Management Areas. All Department-managed artificial reefs within state marine and coastal waters, including the area within 500 feet of the bounds of these artificial reefs, are designated as artificial reef management areas, or ARMAs.  A description and location of these artificial reefs is given in 6NYCRR, Section 40.6 (f), which is incorporated herein by this reference.
(2) Prohibitions within Artificial Reef Management Areas. 
In addition to the prohibitions in paragraph (c) of this section, within the bounds of any and all ARMAs, no person, other than an authorized agent of the Department, shall:
(i) move, alter, damage or remove any structure or object, other than personal property;
(ii) take any fish by any means, other than by angling or spearfishing;
(iii) possess, set, use or operate traps or pots of any kind.

(e) Designation of other Special Management Areas.
(1) Fishers Island Special Management Area (FISMA).  The FISMA is a special management area which includes extensive areas of natural reefs, and which is described by the following bounds: all New York State waters north and east of Fishers Island to the New York-Connecticut and New York-Rhode Island state boundary lines and within one mile of the south and west shores of Fishers Island.
(2) Special requirements for taking of lobsters in FISMA.
(i) No person, other than the holder of a New York State non-commercial lobster permit,  shall fish, set or use any lobster pots or possess any American lobsters, Homarus americanus, within the FISMA without first obtaining a FISMA permit from the Department. The Department shall furnish forms for application for such permit.  Any person who is legally eligible to take lobsters from the FISMA for commercial purposes
and who holds the requisite New York State  commercial lobster permit provided for by section 13-0329 of the ECL is eligible to apply for the FISMA permit.  Any person requesting a FISMA permit must furnish the Department with their commercial lobster permit before being issued the FISMA permit.  The holder of a FISMA permit may take and land lobsters only from the FISMA, and not from any other waters.
(ii) Notwithstanding any other provision of 6NYCRR Part 44, the holder of a FISMA permit may set, use or otherwise fish a total of not more than five hundred (500) lobster pots within the waters of the FISMA at any one time.
(iii) No lobster pot may be placed in the waters of FISMA unless it bears a tag issued by the Department or an authorized agent of the Department for the year in which the pot is fished.  New tags shall be
issued annually.  Such trap tags shall be issued consistent with the provisions of 6NYCRR Part 44,  except that FISMA permit holders shall receive tags for no more than 500 pots or the maximum number of pots
which they are permitted to fish under the rules of the Department or the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission at the time in effect whichever is lower (plus replacement tags for lost gear as provided in
6NYCRR Part 44).  FISMA trap tags may not be used to fish outside FISMA waters, and no FISMA permitholder shall receive or use trap tags to fish in any other waters.
(iv) Between the dates of September 15 and October 15, and between the dates of April 1 and May 15, all FISMA permit holders must remove all lobster pots from the waters of the FISMA.  The department may, by written direction of the Chief of the Bureau of Marine Resources, require removal of lobster pots from the waters of the FISMA during two alternate periods of four to six weeks to reflect changes in lobster molting and spawning seasons.
(v) Not more than two lobster pots may be attached to any single buoyed line, also known as a trawl, within the FISMA, except that three lobster pots may be attached to a trawl within that portion of the Race that falls within the FISMA.
 (vi) FISMA permits shall be non-transferrable, and not assignable, except that a FISMA permit may be transferred to an immediate family member who has also received by transfer the New York State commercial lobster permit from the same person, as authorized by the Environmental Conservation Law.
(vii) FISMA permits shall expire on December 31, and new permits must be issued annually.  In calendar year 2001, such permits will be issued to any qualified applicant.  Thereafter, such permits will be issued only to persons who held them in the preceding year.
- - -
This needs to be addressed BEFORE January 7, 2002
NY State Dept of Environmental Conservation
Bureau of Marine Resources    Attn: SMAs
205 Belle Mead Rd, Suite 1
East Setauket, NY  11733
Phone - (631) 444-0430   Fax  (631) 444-0434
- - - - - - -
Clarifications by Steve Hein 
(THAT SHOULD BE IN THE WRITTEN RULING! - it doesn't help what their intent was 5 yrs from now if this guy is gone and they enforce to the letter of the law. - Peggy)
You'll notice that the proposed regs do allow spear fishing, just not with powerheads.  Does anybody use powerheads around here? The notice that was sent out failed to make it clear that spear fishing
would be allowed. 
Also,  there was no intent to prohibit anchoring, use of a grappling device, or "tying in" to a wreck or reef.  If you think  there is a problem, I'll look into what we can do about it.  Also, the artifact thing didn't
come up, either, mainly because the "wrecks" we put on our reefs don't have much in the way of artifacts.  We were looking to stop activities that destroyed reef structure and habitat.

These regulations would only apply to the areas designated by the rule, which include the DEC-managed reef sites in State waters and the Fishers Island Special Management Area.  Wrecks outside the reef sites and reef sites beyond the three-mile limit are not covered.

The reef sites covered include:  Shinnecock, Moriches, Fire Island, Smithtown Bay, Matinecock, Kismet, Fisherman, Fishing Line and Rockaway.
Not covered are Atlantic Beach and Hempstead Town.
-----------------
Jack's comments on the NY State proposal
---------------------------
Attached is the final testimony sent to NY Dept Environmental Conservation on Special Management Areas.  Sport divers need to be very careful when addressing the issue of taking items off shipwrecks or artificial reefs. Never refer to these items as "artifacts" as that suggests something of historic value, and few recoveries fit that definition, especially not on artificial reefs.  Artifacts is a charged word. Always use "items" or "souvenirs."
We should defend shipwrecks against massive sand replenishment projects and dumping mud on shipwrecks, but I don't expect marine fisheries will help us much with that political football.
Jack Fullmer
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
12/18/01
NYS D.E.C.
205 Belle Mead Rd, Suite 1
East Setauket, NY 11733

TESTIMONY – SMAs and ARTIFICIAL REEFS
With regard to Part II – Proposed Regulations in notice dated November 5, 2001, designating all Artificial Reefs as SMAs, and with regards to proposal to revise Section 40.7 (Special Management Areas) and change regulations regarding Fishers Islands Special Management Area, the 24 clubs of the New Jersey Council of Diving Clubs, with its three member clubs from New York State (New York City Sea Gypsies, Staten Island Sport Divers, and Rockland Aquanauts), make the following comments: 

The sport diving clubs strongly object to wording that came out in the Nov 5th notice that says: “No person may take fish by any other means other than by angling.”  For 50 years the sport diving community has taken lobster and fish from the wrecks and artificial reefs of New York and New Jersey.  Sport Divers have helped sponsor the sinking of  many artificial reefs in both states.  There is at least an 80 million dollar recreational sport diving industry in New York that is largely dependent on underwater fishing  (spearfishing). 
By what right does your agency have to make shipwrecks and artificial reefs the exclusive preserve of hook and line fishermen when these reefs have historically been the domain of all recreational and some commercial fishing?  There was no statement in this regulation that it intended to devastate the sport diving fishery, but that, in fact, would be the result if this wording is correct and passes.  I have also been told that this wording was in error, and that spearfishing is included in allowable activities on SMAs and artificial reefs.  A latter version sent to me by your agency does appear to include spearfishing on artificial reefs and I do hope that that is correct.

By the way, hook and line fishing has left many shipwrecks looking like Christmas trees with monofilament line all over the wreck. These lost rigs continue to catch fish and divers often cut fish loose.  I am not suggesting any regulations, but pointing out that your concept of what fishing methods are good or bad for SMAs may be a little distorted or biased.

The NJCDC is also confused as to where these special management areas are located as they certainly are not marked on the surface of the water.  Please send us the exact location along with the exact boundaries (all four corners) of your 500 foot perimeters of everything you consider to be a SMA in New York State Marine waters.  This must include all shipwrecks, all artificial reefs, and each and every rock that you consider a SMA.  Please send in Loran C (to the 10th of a microsecond) and in GPS (to a thousandth of a decimal minute) as these are the accepted norms for giving locations over water.

Your blanket statement that no person may move, alter, damage or remove any structure or object from an artificial reef is far too general and ignores reality.   Party boats slip their anchor and drag into the artificial reefs or wrecks. In trying to get the anchor loose, they may do minor damage.  Dive boats and fishing boats often grapple into a reef or wreck and could conceivably do minor damage.  Dive boats are forced to anchor on the reef or wreck so that the diver does not end up over a sand bottom with little visibility and unable to find the wreck, and this is a safety issue!  Lobster boats often snag a wreck and do minor damage in pulling the trap out.  Commercial fishing boats (Trawlers, Scallop Dredges, etc) inadvertently plow into wrecks and reefs all the time with their heavy equipment and do major damage, but this may not be intentional.  If you do not allow for inadvertent damage, the regulations will make law violators out of all user groups. 

Sport divers have traditionally taken small items (brass fasteners, lost sinkers, lost fishing poles, valves, lost anchors, other small items) off artificial reefs, as this is part and parcel of the sport diving scene and does no harm and adds to the sport. We do not want this to be made illegal! Taking these items would not harm the reef as the vessel had been stripped prior to sinking. Removing the lead sinkers will help the environment.  Commercial salvage of an artificial reef for the metal of the wreck should not be permitted, as this would defeat the purpose for which the artificial reef was put there – habitat value.  Since I haven’t heard of any commercial salvage of any artificial reef by any commercial salvage firm, it is suggested that you delete this entire section of the proposed regulation until such time as it actually becomes a relevant problem. 

Sport divers do all their underwater fishing and exploring on natural rocks, artificial reefs, and wrecks, as there is little or nothing of interest over a barren sand bottom.  All of the diving areas visited by sport divers would probably fit in your blanket definition of Special Management Areas.  We object to your blanket definition of  shipwrecks, natural rocks, and artificial reefs as Special Management Areas in which special rules apply, as that is much too inclusive and includes all the areas that we visit.  The definition is far too encompassing and may include much of New York’s ocean waters.

Even if you mean only those rocks, artificial reefs and wrecks that you have specifically named as SMAs and given locations (which I don’t see), the idea of creating special rules for specific areas is something that could make marine fisheries extremely complicated for fishermen if you have to change rules every time you change location, and the whole concept may flawed. 

Furthermore, lobstermen have traditionally set traps on rocks and around shipwrecks for the last 100 years, and around artificial reefs more recently.  Since lobsters are only found near rocks, wrecks, and artificial reefs and other hard structure, the proposed regulation would appear to be grossly unfair to Lobstermen that are already reeling from disease problems in New York Sound.   Commercial net fishermen use traps and nets near shipwrecks and rocks to take Blackfish (Tautog)  and other ground fish which are associated with hard habitat.  You would be closing down entire traditional fisheries by describing  rocks and wrecks as SMAs and prohibiting any nets or traps near them.

Finally, when the Long Island Divers Association received the Nov 5th proposed rule at the Nov 28th hearing on Lobsters, they were given a proposed rule with wording that did not agree with the proposed rule I was sent. When Peggy Bowen (another director of the NJCDC) requested a copy of the proposed rule, she received wording that differed from both the other versions.  How are we supposed to know what version is the version you are really considering?  Don’t you have a docket or proposal number to identify the proposals?

Another observation is that this proposal would have benefited much from a committee consisting of representatives of all the different user groups of your so-called SMAs to advise you prior to proposing regulations.  It would also have benefited from a hearing.  If you had done that, you may not now be facing a lawsuit concerning the Fischer Island emergency regulation and a lot of potential lawsuits if you let this go through unchanged.  My guess is that the user groups were not consulted, and that whoever wrote these proposed regulations has never seen a shipwreck, a submerged rock reef, or artificial reef underwater.

The artificial reefs were specifically built to be fully utilized by all fishermen, not to be overly protected to the point that the normal users would become law violators. 

The NJCDC respectfully request that you extend the comment period and schedule a hearing on this proposal.  Another approach would be to withdraw the proposal and start over again forming a committee of the user groups to advise you.

Sincerely
Jack Fullmer
Legislative Committee Chairman

PS.  What you need to do is protect shipwrecks and natural rock reefs from massive sand replenishment projects that have been burying them in record numbers in the replenishment areas near the beach (killing
everything on the wreck), while the COE contracted dredges have been pulverizing shipwrecks in the borrow areas!  This has become a serious problem in New Jersey with at least 10 wrecks destroyed so far.

March 2001 - It seems now that Clean Ocean Action and the American Littoral Society have found that the subway cars have asbestos in them.  They sent out a press release. They didn't send one to the New Jersey Council of Diving Clubs or Jersey Coast Anglers Assoc.  And it wasn't an oversight! What is happening? They don't want us to know until a reporter calls to ask us questions on their press release?  This is going further than these subway cars..... The Atlantic City Press is again pushing for stopping ALL artificial reef placements. Guess we will have to just dive that wonderful pumped sand! 

The NJ Gov. Task Force met on April 9th (Peggy was on the task force). There are standards for Artificial Reefs - I just don't have the latest one, both the new state and the federal standards are done but not released for comment yet. A question has come up about the asbestos in the subway cars (and in ships). But if the subway cars have been in use in subway tunnels all this time, did the asbestos hurt the people riding in the subway cars every day?  UPDATE April 2001 - some of the subway cars will be going to Maryland and other states but not New Jersey or New York.  UPDATE - August 2001 -- subway cars sunk in Delaware.

November 2000 - Clean Ocean Action wondered if the 1,300 subway cars being offered by NY Transit to the NY and NJ Artificial Reefs would be a form of 'trashing' the ocean. We sent out some information by e-mail and all the divers and fishermen that responded approved of putting the cleaned, free subway cars in the ocean at reef sites.  Herb Segars is letting us use one of his pictures that shows a Philadelphia subway car after 10 years on the bottom (click here to go to Herb's website to see more.).  It does show marine life ON the cars, not the barren metal people have been led to believe. We discussed this topic at the November 2000 Dive Council Meeting. 

NJCDC Home page     NJ Scuba Lobster Rules     NJ Scuba Diving Rules     NJ Scuba Diving Clubs Council Members  
NJ Council Meeting Dates & Map     NJ Dive Council Membership Application     SCUBA Recalls
       NJ Scuba Diving Links     NJ Dive Shops     NJ Council Diving Awards     NJ Council Reef
Artificial Reef Issues     Essential Fish Habitat Info     Legislation Alerts
    UNESCO History     UNESCO Stand     NJ Dive Events     Dive Events Directions       
New Jersey Council of Diving Clubs 
PO Box 841, Eatontown, NJ  07724-0841
comments?? send them to:   webdiver  --AT--   earthlink  --DOT--  net 
A new Listserver for NJ Divers Info - Join here - Yahoo Group  NJ Council of Diving Clubs
 Web Hosting provided by netAccess                                                        web updated: 09/24/2008