A great white shark is lurking in the waters at the Edisto 60 Reef. And while you might be able to hook the 11-foot giant, there’s no way you’ll be able to reel it in.
The great white is a 2,800-pound replica of a shark constructed from concrete and steel that is welded to the deck of a 250-foot barge that was sunk at the reef located off the South Carolina coast on Sept. 14.
The shark is one of many unique pieces affixed to the barge that soon will be attracting aquatic species for anglers and divers to enjoy. Much of the water tower that once towered over the Old Village in Mount Pleasant also is part of the reef addition, along with container boxes donated by Coastal Conservation Association of South Carolina.
Robert Martore, who heads the artificial reef program for the S.C. Department of Natural Resources, said the shark has received a lot of positive feedback. The open spaces of the container boxes will provide habitat for grouper and snappers and other species will find safety around the other structure affixed to the barge, he said.
Shipping containers and parts of the Old Village Water Tower from Mount Pleasant were added to a 250-foot barge that was added to the Edisto 60 Reef. Robert Martore/SCDNRÂ
Martore said the shark had been under construction “for at least a year and a half” by employees who would come in and work on the giant during the COVID quarantine.
“Once they started developing it, they got pretty specific, looking up anatomical features and how they could make it anatomically correct,” Martore said of the great white sculpture. “Because it’s concrete, invertebrates will colonize it just like any other structures. It will be overgrown with corals and sponges and things like that and that’s what will attract the fish. There’s no interior space for them to live in. But you will get lots of invertebrates and juvenile life once it becomes colonized with those other marine organisms.”
Stevens Towing on Yonges Island, which does a lot of work with the reef program, had the barge – which had been used to transport reef material in the past – that was being retired. Mount Pleasant Waterworks offered the material from the old water tower. And CCA, which has worked with SCDNR on 15 other reef projects, provided the shipping containers. And since the shark was completed, well, Martore said they decided to add it to the barge to make it a little more interesting.
The old water tower had to be cut into sections for transport and no longer has the huge bowl look. All of those pieces and parts were welded into place to provide habitat for the fish.
South Carolina has 48 artificial reef sites, 45 of which are open to the public to fish and three of which are protected sites. There is the Deep Water Marine Protected Area in which the South Carolina Memorial Reef is located, where bottom fishing is prohibited but trolling for pelagics is allowed. And there are two other sites called Spawning Special Management Zones which began as research sites but now are federally protected and fishing is prohibited. They are listed on nautical charts as protected sites, Martore noted.
During the early days, South Carolina’s artificial reef program was conceived as a way to improve recreational fishing but also as “an effective means of disposing of materials which are unsightly litter when accumulated on land, according to a 1978 publication. Baled automobile tires, metal milk crates and junked steel appliances aren’t used today, but some of the materials used back then are still usable, such as old steel hulled boats and military equipment.
Martore said country singer Kenny Chesney’s No Shoes Reef Fund has donated reef ball molds and they now have eight molds that can be filled with concrete in order to form reef structures. And SCDNR employees work on their own designs, first making prototype molds from plywood. If the result is promising, they then will build steel molds that can be used over and over. But donations of larger pieces, such as the water tower, bridges that are being replaced or vessels such as the ones donated by CCA South Carolina are very much appreciated.
“People approach me and ask if this is something you’d be interested in, something you can use. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn’t,” Martore said.
Country singer Kenny Chesney’s No Shoes Reefs project has donated molds for reef balls to the SCDNR artificial reef program. Robert Martore/SCDNR
There are ICBMs (intercontinental ballistic missiles) filled with concrete on South Carolina reefs. There are missile cradles, some M60 battle tanks, howitzers and armored personnel carriers. The New York City Transit Authority donated nearly 250 subway cars. Companies have donated concrete culverts and concrete utility boxes that didn’t pass inspection for their intended use.
“Many years ago, a porcelain company sent down a shipment of toilet bowls. Porcelain is a nice hard structure that can be colonized, and it actually turned out pretty functional,” Martore said.
“The big thing is can it be used at a reasonable cost. For example, all those military vehicles needed a very thorough cleaning. Because they were vehicles, the engines had to be removed, the transmissions, the fuel tanks. That was something the military did themselves. The same thing with the subway cars. They did the cleanup and we got them completely free.
“It always comes down to cost benefit. Is it worth spending money on? Is someone else willing to do the work?”
East Cooper-Sea Islands CCA banquet
The East Cooper and Sea Islands chapters of CCA South Carolina will hold their annual Celebrating Conservation Banquet and Auction at 6 p.m. Oct. 15 at Omar Shrine Auditorium in Mount Pleasant. Call Jay Brown at 843-224-0028; J.R. McCroskey at 843-906-2431; or the CCA State Office at 803-865-4164 or visit ccasouthcarolina.com.
#Whoyouwhit fishing tournament
The #Whoyouwhit Benefit fishing tournament, fished in honor of Whit Nelson, will be held Oct. 23 at The Marina at Edisto Beach. Proceeds will benefit The National Institute of Mental Health and Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing.
America’s Boating Club
America’s Boating Club Charleston will hold boating safety classes Nov. 6, Dec. 4 and Jan. 15 at 1376 Orange Grove Road, Charleston. Classes begin at 9 a.m. and end around 4 p.m. Successful participants earn the S.C. Department of Natural Resources Boater Education Card. The cost is $25 for adults and youth 12-18 are free. Call 843-312-2876 or email lynes@tds.net.
ECOMC Turkey Shoot
The East Cooper Outboard Motor Club will hold its annual turkey shoot Nov. 3-24 from 6:30-10 p.m. at Goldbug Island in Mount Pleasant. Last year the event donated $30,000 to Lowcountry charities and since the shoot began in 1997 it has raised $483,500 for charity.
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