VIDEO: Del-Jersey-Land Reef Expanded with Sinking of Calcasieu Pass

DNREC has expanded the Delaware artificial reef system with the sinking of the Calcasieu Pass – an offshore oilfield supply vessel turned menhaden processing ship. The vessel has become part of Reef Site 13 – the Del-Jersey-Land Reef. The 180 feet long vessel will provide valuable habitat for aquatic life as well as angling and diving opportunities. Calcasieu Pass was sunk only after receiving approvals from the US Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Coast Guard for environmental cleanliness and safety. DNREC invested $285,000 in federal Sport Fish Restoration funds to purchase and reef Calcasieu Pass.

Additional information from DNREC:

The Del-Jersey-Land Reef is the centerpiece of the reef system – with its offshore location equidistant from ports in the three states that make up its name.

The Calcasieu Pass, 180 feet long with a 40-foot beam, will provide valuable habitat for aquatic life, along with angling and diving opportunities for outdoor recreationalists. Originally built in 1982 as an offshore supply vessel, later joining the East Coast menhaden fleet, the ship’s final repurposing is expected to buoy both economic and environmental opportunity for Delaware.

“The addition of this vessel to our reef system continues DNREC’s commitment to improving marine habitat while giving retired maritime vessels a new purpose beneath the waves,” said DNREC Secretary Greg Patterson. “The artificial reef system is a driver for Delaware’s coastal and conservation economies, and carries out the Department’s mission of conserving and sustaining our natural resources.”

The new reef addition’s name reflects its original commissioning – Calcasieu Pass is a bend of the Calcasieu Ship Channel, at the mouth of the Gulf of Mexico, near Lake Charles, La. – an area that specializes in liquified natural gas production. The ship supported offshore oilfield operations until 1989, when it was converted into an Atlantic menhaden fishing vessel. Calcasieu Pass then sailed for more than 30 years from Reedville, Va. in the Atlantic menhaden reduction industry, processing the species for the many commercial products that menhaden is an ingredient in, from fish oil to pet food to lipstick and cosmetics.

On the Del-Jersey-Land Reef, Calcasieu Pass will provide complex underwater habitat that attracts a variety of reef-associated fish and invertebrates. Over time, marine organisms such as mussels, barnacles, and corals will colonize the structure, creating a thriving ecosystem from the bottom up that supports both marine life and recreational fishing and deep-water diving opportunities.

The Calcasieu Pass sinking was carried out by Norfolk, Va.-based marine contractor Coleen Marine, which has handled numerous reef deployments over the DNREC artificial reef program’s existence at many of Delaware’s 14 permitted artificial reef sites.

As with all ships and other reefed vessels that DNREC sends down, Calcasieu Pass was sunk only after receiving approvals from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Coast Guard for environmental cleanliness and safety. Before a vessel is turned into an artificial reef, it undergoes extensive preparation in accordance with all applicable federal and state environmental standards to ensure it is suitable for use.

To buy and reef Calcasieu Pass, the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife, which oversees the reef program, invested $285,000 in federal Sport Fish Restoration funds.

For more information about the DNREC Artificial Reef Program, visit the de.gov/artificialreefs webpage.