sports__

/ outdoors with Lou Rodia

More Reefs Needed off Jersey Shore?

New Jersey's coastal fishery depends a lot on wreckage on the bottom. Some was* put there by nature -Storms ravaged vessels in the coastal shipping trade for generations. There will always Ik* shipwrecks Not as many as before, thanks to better navigational equipment, safety regulations, weather warnings, and rescue

organizations Some of the ships were wrecked by hostile enemy action during a series of wars. Hopefully, no ship will ever again sink beneath the waves because of wartime action. Some boats hit icebergs and sink others hit each other and sink And. a few have been scuttled intentionally to make artifical reefs. At

some point in time, man found that these shipwrecks — weather caused, sunk in wartime or by other marine accidents — became havens for fish to hide and to feed. And. as man was able to reach these wrecks and fish around them, it became apparent that they were good places to fish. WRECKS ARK located and become known as good fishing spots. As more and more wrecks get sanded over or destroyed by salt water corrosion, storms and time, it becomes necessary for man to create more "wrecks" so that fishing opportunities are available The fish need places to hide and places to feed. Open bottom provides little protection or feeding area for fish. Man has step ped in to create artificial reefs to assist the fish byimproving their natural habitat. The fishermen get help because the reefs gather fish. New Jersey has little in the way of natural or manmade cover in the first 30 miles of its coastline. Over the years, a number of artificial reefs were constructed along the Jersey Coast. Some still remain active OTHERS HAVE all but disappeared as interest waned and material to place on the reef sites dwindled away. In some cases, cost became a factor and when funds dwindled, so did the efforts to keep the reefs active. At present, there are five reefs active in Jersey waters. Even they are having trouble keeping material flowing to the reef sites. Not all material can be put down for artificial reefs. Some materials have been found to be of Itttle or no value. Some materials just do not last long enough. In other cases, materials which might be considered could actually pollute. Auto bodies were once thought to be excellent for reefs. And, for a time, they do produce the results. Then the thin

metal rusts away and the remnants get silted over. . What is worse is that it takes a lot of money and work to sanitize a car bodyto remove all of the possible pollutants, including grease, oil and gasoline. BOATS ALSO present some problems. Preparation costs for cleaning and towing to the sites can reach into the five-figure range easily. And there is still the matter of getting the work done. New Jersey's Marine Fisheries Administration has become aware of the biological and economic benefits of artificial reefs. In 1982. the fisheries administration began to assert itself in an effort to unify fragmented efforts to constructing reefs. The administration is becoming the pivotal point for coordinating and managing reef activities. To assist, the Marine Fisheries Administration is taking over the five existing reef sites and is expected to apply for more sites along the coast. A PILOT PROGRAM is under way. It is studying the feasibility of using baled tires in reef construction They will study the stability, longevity and biological productivity of baled tires on the sea floor. They will investigate other materials and their viability for use in artificial reefs. Under consideration are vessels, building rubble and fiberglass structures. They will also study the locations of reefs to determine if they have been properly situated for optimum use. Three of the five reefs are located off Sea Girt, Atlantic City and Ocean City. The other two (Garden State North and Garden State South) are located between Barnegate and Little Egg Inlets The Sea Girt reef was created when a 300-ft steel barge was sunk in 1982 off Sea Girt. The U.S. Navywas the sponsor. The Garden State North Reef was created originally when the 52-ft wooden boat Good Times was sunk in 1984 John Canning, skipper of the Captain's Lady. was the sponsor IN APRIL OF 1985. the Shirley Ann. an 85-ft barge loaded with 200 tire uniLs made with 60 tires each, was sunk at the same site. The Ocean County Highway Department was the sponsor The Garden State South reef was created in October. 1984. when the Ocean County Road Department sank 385 tire units made with 60 tires each. They added fifty more tire units in April of 1985. The Atlantic City reef was created in March. 1985. when the Pauline Marie was sunk. The sunken steel vessel is 165 feet long. The sponsors were Seacoast Products and the Fisherman Magazine. In June. 1985, the Schooner America, a 125-ft. wooden vessel, was sunk on the Atlantic City site. The j sponsor was VYally I Laudeman of the Lobster I House in Cape May. A third vessel was added to the Atlantic City reef. It was the First Lady, a 93-ft. clammer which was placed on the reef in July of this

year. The sponsor was the - M and P Boat Company. THE REEF OFF Ocean City is waiting efforts to be developed. To date, no material has been placed on the site, according to the Marine Fisheries Administration. It is interesting to note ' that as each reef is created and as each new wreck is discovered off the Jersey coast, the Loran numbers are readily available. With the new. modern Loran units, it is possible for even small boaters to locate wrecks and reefs. Manysmall boaters have started to do more wreck fishing as a result. Reefs have had their supporters. They have also had their detractors. Some commercial fishermen feel that if reefs are put into areas where they would normally be fishing, it takes away their opportunity to work there. Nets would tangle in the reefs. Wreckage broken away from the reefs could be carried a distance away by storms to create other problems for commercial netters. SOME PARTY BOAT operators feel that the r*

- reefs would be so accessible that they- would not be able to fish there anyway. Others feel that the reefs do not actually create more fish, but in fact they gather up the available supply- in an area and concentrate it in one place where the fish become easier to catch. The question of reef ethics has also arisen. Who gets to use the reef Will other boats respect the rights of the first boat or boats on the scene? Or will' there be confrontations when bigger boats try to move in on the smaller boats? Will there be problems when little boats follow the bigger boats to the sites and try to fish in competition with the bigger vessels? There are lots of unanswered questions. But these questions should be answered by the test of time. While these things are being studied, all efforts to support reefs and their construction should be the first consideration. The recreational anglers — be they private or partyboat oriented — should be working together in this project.

(.ape May Countv *~ **"^ ALMANAC NOVEMBER ISK5

MOON PHASES/POSITIONS The Moon * effect on the Title u greatest when t latest hi Karlh (in perigee! unit when in direct alignment with Sun i - Kjrlfi i full t new moon phases I On and about ihe%e dale s. In w pressure wlfni and/or strong windi {depending upon direr tmnl max/ retail in flooding and/or ext remelv law tidet Moon Ph»sr» last Quarter \ph Moon 12 f ir.t Quarter I* I ull Moon 27 Xpogrr 25 Perigee 12 TIDK TXHI.K Computed for Cape Max Citv beachfront for other areat tee Correction Timet HXTF. Jllt.ll low a % p m am pro I Kri 'i .-I* h » i its t vt Sal in nr. in 42 J h j ^t I Sun 10 51 II 34 4 in 5:15 4 Mon II 42 4 49 6 12 5 Tue 12 34 12 40 5 55 7 22 W ill I 14 1 44 7 2li H 24 7 TIlU 2 38 2 52 8 37 0 IK K Kri :l 43 1 57 !l :W lotw 9 Sill 4 .19 4 58 10 16 10-57 10 Sun 5 .12 5 51 II 28 II 46 II Mon 6:31- 6. XI 1223 12 Tue 7:07 7 27 12 34 I 15 13 Wit I 7 53 8 17 I 24 2 07 14 Thu 8 42 0 08 2 13 2 57 15 Kri 9 34 10 (M 3 02 3 40 16 Sal 10 30- || 04 3 53 4 43 17 Sun 1 1 28 4 40 5 40 18 Mon 12 05 12 27 5 52 fi 43 19 Tue I Of. I 25 7 02 7 45 2U Wed 2 07 2 25 8 12 8 42 21 Thu 107 3 24 9:09 M 30 | 22 Kn 4 02 4 20 10:02 10:15 23 Sal 4 52 5 09 10 50 10 56 24 Sun 5 35 5 51 II 35 II 37 25 Mon 6 14 6 30 12' 17 26 Tue 6 49 7 III 12 17 I on 1 27 Weil 7 24 7 46 12 57 I 41 28 Thu 7 56 8 22 I 33 2 31 I 29 Kri 8 .11 9 00 2 10 2 56 30 Sal 9 08 9 40 2 43 3 34 [ 1 V

COHHKCTION TIMKS Compute approximate times of high it low water for your area by adding or subtracting the following number of minutes for each tide phase in the Tide Table M»W HIGH Great Egg Harbor Inlet Plus 12 pluslO 1 Ocean City < 9th SI Bridge* plus 35 plus 22 Corson Inlet i bridge > plus 21 plus 7 Sea Isle City Ludlam Thoro Bridge' plus 66 plus 43 Sea Isle City Beach minus 2 minus 21 Townsend Inlel plus 21 plus 4 Seven Mile Beach plus 15 o Stone Harbor ' Great Channel Bridge * plus 43 plus 40 Hereford Inlel ' Anglesea > plus 19 o Wilduood Beach Minus 2 minus 17 Wesl Wildwood ' Grassy Channel bridge > plus 46 plus 43 Cape May Harbor plus I minus 4 Five Fathom Bank plus II plus I Cape May Point plus 46 plus 34 McCne Shoal Plus 28 plus 22 Delaware Boy Bay shore Channel 'Bay Canal Junction' Plus 47 plus 36 Miami Beach plus 75 plus 61 Dennis Creek Kntranre Plus 114 pins 97 Brandywinc Shoal Lighi Plus 77 plus 52 / ^ KM

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