Redbird Reef is an artificial reef located in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Slaughter Beach, Delaware, east of the Indian River Inlet.
Established by the Maryland Reef InitiativeDNREC Sinks Three Tugboats Off Delaware Coast to Enhance Artificial Reef; Vessels Recycled on “Redbird Reef” As Home for Fish and Sea Life in 2001, this reef covers 1.3 square nautical miles of ocean floor and is located below the surface.Urbina, Ian. Growing pains for a deep-sea home built of subway cars New York Times, 2008. Accessed: 10 March 2011.
The reef comprises 714 Redbird (R26–R36 series) New York City Subway cars dumped by Weeks Marine, 86 retired tanks and armored personnel carriers, eight tugboats and barges, and 3,000 tons of ballasted truck tires.
From 2001 to 2008, within the vicinity of the reef, the amount of marine food per square foot has increased 400 times.
The site is the most visited reef site off Delaware's coast, receiving more than 10,000 fishing parties annually, and is home to numerous marine species, including black sea bass, flounder, blue mussels, sponges, barnacles, and coral. Also, tuna and mackerel hunt at the reef. The site has become so popular that fishermen steal from each other, and other states apply for the next subway cars to be dumped in their waters.
Similar reefs The Redbirds were not the only trains that were reefed. In December 2007, an agreement was made with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control to reef the trains (R32s, R38s, R40/As, R42s) that would be retired by the R160s, as well as work trains (R71s (converted R14s, R15s, R17s, R21s, R22s) that were retired around the same time by converted Redbirds into work trains.
Other trains to be reefed included a number of R16s, R30s, and R62s.
See also
Marine biology Osborne Reef
References Notes
Sources Deepwater Reef Coordinates: Reference for coordinates
Further reading
External links Exact coordinates for submerged objects