The addition of a fourth artificial reef site to the Sabine Pass area should attract more saltwater anglers, divers and tourists to Jefferson County.
Last month, the Texas Parks and Wildlife’s (TPWD) Artificial Reef Program, in partnership with the nonprofit organization Friends of Sabine Reef, added the artificial reef site to the Sabine Pass area.
The new 20-acre reef, named HI-54 Shallow, is approximately eight miles from the Sabine Pass jetty and 1.7 miles from the coastline of Sea Rim State Park.
HI-54 Shallow consists of artificial materials that were deployed to help create a new artificial reef habitat for aquatic life as well as enhance fishing opportunities for saltwater anglers and divers along the Gulf of Mexico.
Jefferson County Judge Jeff Branick said he “extremely grateful” to TPWD and all of the local sport fishermen who have been involved in helping these projects to become a reality.
“I am thankful to those who have provided transportation of the reef materials to their offshore locations and for the collaboration between TPWD and Coastal Conservation Association (CCA)," said Branick. “These reefs will create new habitat, more fishing opportunities and increased travel and tourism in an area already renowned for recreational fishing opportunities. We are also thankful that we have been able to partner with TPWD to rehabilitate area boat ramps to accommodate the increased number of outdoor enthusiasts that have visited our area the last several years.”
Executive Director Tammy Kotzur, of Visit Port Arthur, said the top three reasons for visiting the area are fishing, bird watching and cultural activities.
“Fishing is one of the major marketings that we do,” said Kotzur. "People come from all over to fish and we attract a lot of people from Dallas, Fort Worth, Longview and Tyler areas because we have the closest saltwater.”
She noted that losing a lot of the offshore platforms decreased habitats available for fish, but the artificial reefs create “better fishing.”
Freddie Willard, executive director of the Beaumont Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the new artificial reef project is a “win-win” for Southeast Texas.
For Beaumont, this translates to exciting ecotourism opportunities. Visitors can experience the wonders of the revitalized marine life,” said Willard. “This not only fosters an appreciation for our coastal environment but also positions the area as a leader in sustainable tourism practices.”
According to the TPWD, the gulf’s sea floor is mostly comprised of a vast, featureless plain of mud and sand, and lacks natural reefs or structures for marine animals and plants to settle upon.
Artificial reefs are made up of structures and/or materials that have been placed to help support a vast array of natural reef-like communities.
Artificial reefs in gulf
The intentional deployment of artificial materials along the Texas Coast has occurred since the 1950s. But it was not until the mid-1970s that materials were intentionally placed on the sea floor in the Gulf of Mexico to enhance and create marine habitats.
In 1975 and 1976, 12 obsolete World War II Liberty Ships were cleaned and intentionally “reefed” off the coast by the Texas Coastal and Marine Council. The Texas Legislature passed the 1989 Artificial Reef Act, which provided guidance for planning and developing artificial reefs. A year later, the TPWD’s Artificial Reef Program was officially established.
The Artificial Reef Program focuses its deployment efforts on three types of materials:
• Decommissioned drilling rigs in the Rigs-to-Reefs Program.
• Highway bridge materials and other sources of concrete and heavy-gauge steel in the Nearshore Reefing Program.
• Large marine vessels in the Ships-toReefs Program. All materials must meet federal and state guidelines for environmental safety and be free of contaminants. Artificial reefs have historically been placed in aquatic environments – coastal, marine and freshwater – to enhance the receiving ecosystems. The reefs boast numerous benefits, including:
• Improving recruitment and spawning potential of reef associated species
• Creating fishing and scuba diving opportunities for the public
• Facilitating access and use by Texas recreational and commercial anglers
• Potentially serving as conservation and mitigation tools by alleviating fishing and diving pressure on natural reefs
• Reducing fishing efforts by attracting dispersed fishes
• Producing new fish biomass
All of TPWD’s established reef sites are known to attract a variety of fish species, including red snapper, cobia, mackerel and sharks, that live within the reefs to feed and breed. HI-54 Shallow is located in water 21 feet deep and will also attract juvenile fish, as well as various coastal fish species, such as spotted sea trout and red drum.
With a donation from the CCA and other partners’ donation of deployment materials, the new reef is focused on repurposing and reusing various outdated materials. The materials used to build the artificial reef site consist of obsolete concrete and metal pieces that would otherwise sit in a landfill, serving no purpose.
The outdated materials have been given a new life in hopes of becoming a new thriving sanctuary for aquatic plants and animals. Each piece of material has been thoroughly inspected to ensure it is clean and safe for the environment, is durable and stable, and is the proper design to attract various organisms.
Creating artificial reef sites along the coast is crucial to improving and enhancing the delicate marine life in the Gulf of Mexico, TPWD noted.
For more information about TPWD’s Artificial Reef Program: https://tpwd. texas.gov/landwater/water/habitats/artificial_reef/.