What's the deal w/ artificial reefs? Are there not enough places for the fish? Seems to me the greenies would be pitching a fit.
Don't laugh, I've always wondered about this.
I guess it's either this or dump it into some landfill somewhere. It's a rather large thing to dispose of.
The floor of the Gulf is flat and desolate like a sandy desert.
This gives the fish a place to hang out.
Sinking these ships make awesome artifical reefs. Great for diving and fishing. This thing will be covered with sealife almost immediately.
There are lots of them in the Gulf of Mexico--they are called production platforms, you even get oil out of them (and not in the water, if it is done right).
Fish love 'em so much, the crews are not allowed to fish off of them.
But you can't have one of those within 200 miles of the Florida coast, so they have to sink ships, instead.
Maybe that will change after the Cubans start drilling.
I was wondering how they picked any particular location for it. I mean, they didn't just sail it out of sight of land and say "this'll do". They chose the specific location. I wonder what criteria they use for sinking sites?
The bottom of the ocean is mostly flat and sandy. You put any relief such as a single concrete block and you've made a home for marine life.
You'd be absolutely amazed at how much life can exist due to a single concrete block. Much less a 1000 foot long aircraft carrier.
The expenses of a reef like this are enormous due to the fact that it is scrubbed. No oil or fuel and any and all objects left are secured and rendered safe.
There will be no oil slick or debris of any kind from this reef.
If you look at the economic side effects they are enormous. How many fishermen will go to this to catch fish? How many scuba divers will go to see this? Even if it is sunk in 200 feet many divers can get to the flight deck. And you have the dive of a lifetime.
A co-worker asked the same question at lunch. Why not recycle the steel? It seems to me that it would be mighty valuable.