State to Add Concrete to Two Local N.J. Artificial Reefs

Concrete material being deployed to an artificial reef. (Photo: NJ Fish and Wildlife)

Concrete rubble will be added to the Axel Carlson and Sea Girt artificial reefs in May, officials with the state Division of Fish and Wildlife announced Wednesday.

The reefs, off Ocean and Monmouth counties, will receive 1,853 yards of concrete rubble from a seawall. Each reef will receive one load of approximately 930 cubic yards.

Once the concrete is deployed it will serve as an attachment surface for mussels, barnacles, hydroids, anemones, stony coral and other invertebrates, which will quickly cover the structures with a “living carpet,” the state agency said in a statement, providing the base of a productive marine food chain. By summer, the new reef will be colonized by sea bass, tautog (blackfish), scup (porgies), triggerfish and summer flounder.

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Concrete material after being fully colonized. (Photo: NJ Fish and Wildlife)

“It will then become a favorite target of anglers coming out of Manasquan Inlet,” the statement said.

The exact date of the concrete deployments are dependent on weather and sea conditions.

The deployment location for the Axel Carlson Reef is:

• 40 00.900′    73 59.700′

The deployment location for the Sea Girt is:

• 40 07.450′    73 56.800′[/box]