Building a recycled reef

The Coastal Conservation Association on Wednesday took a boatload of reporters and local dignitaries to see its latest project, an artificial reef being constructed in Eugene Island Block 51, south of Burns Point and 43 miles southwest of Morgan City. The reef will replace an energy platform removed about eight years ago. That's good for fishermen because the catch is often good around such structures. But it's also good for coral, sponges and other marine organisms whose life cycles require something solid to latch on to. The project, the subject of planning for two years, was expected to be complete in two to three days, using concrete debris to build the 5-foot reef in 17 feet of water. The major sponsors are Chevron; DLS Energy of the Port of West St. Mary, which provided the equipment and labor for the reef's construction; and Road Rock Recycling of Scott, which provided 500 chunks of concrete debris to use on the 4-acre site.

The Review/Bill Decker