SUSSEX COUNTY, Del.- The new 2023-2024 Delaware Reef Guide covering Delaware’s artificial fishing reefs in the Delaware Bay and Atlantic Ocean is now available.
Delaware's artificial reef system is made up of rock, concrete and decommissioned subway cars and vessels. In recent years, an old ferry, a floating casino, and even the ship from the Perfect Storm was sunk for the reef.
DNREC says the reef provides both anglers and scuba divers a great opportunity to explore, as well as supporting the marine ecosystem.
“We often see that when we put material [at the bottom of the ocean], a huge increase in the number of blue mussels, and the mussel then attract other species that feed on them," explains John Clark, Administrator for DNREC’s Fisheries Section. "So it’s just diversifying the habitat we have out there. And because of that, it can hold more species and more fish.”
Clark says the reef is a great economic investment as well as a way of recycling.
“We figure for every dollar we put into the reefs, we get much more than that back in what anglers spend to fish there," he tells WRDE.
Along with individual reef site descriptions, reef material deployments, reef coordinates and maps, the new guide includes a quick reference to fishing hot spots. The guide’s maps were created with the assistance of the Delaware Department of Technology and Information.
Additional Reef Guide information is available at de.gov/artificialreefs, where the reef guide can be downloaded as a pdf.