In the underwater world off the Texas coast, piles of steel and concrete, a dozen old World War II ships and even an obsolete tugboat are stashed just off the ocean floor, providing game fish and other marine life with what Dale Shively sees as one off the most beneficial coastal projects ever.

Their varied identities in the past have become one.

Now, they are all artificial reefs.

Like desert oases, these carefully placed stashes of previously unwanted objects provide havens in an otherwise limited habitat.

"The artificial reefs provide invertebrates [coral, barnacles, sponges, clams and hydroids] with a place to attach themselves, and that's the bottom of the food chain that soon begins to attract game fish and other larger fish," said Shively, program coordinator for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's Rigs to Reefs program, which was initiated in 1989.

The artificial reefs often attract divers and anglers, usually trolling or drift fishing beside them or deep fishing straight down from over them for snapper. Divers may want to merely see or photograph marine life -- the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department recently held a coastal underwater photography contest -- or they might go spearfishing.

"Some reefs are in 50 to 60 feet of water and some ... are in 200 feet of water," Shively said. "We have about 68 old oil and gas platforms, 12 World War II Liberty Ships, a tanker, one tugboat, one Navy barge, 50 one-ton quarry rocks, 300 coal combustion fly-ash blocks, a large U.S. Navy buoy and more than 132 concrete reef balls."

The use of artificial reefs in the United States dates back to the 1860s, when South Carolina used fallen trees to attract fish off its coast. Texas' first attempt came in 1958, when the old Texas Game and Fish Commission dropped several automobiles into about 60 feet of water in the Gulf of Mexico. Since then, several other states -- including Louisiana, Florida, California, Alabama and Georgia -- have started programs similar to Rigs to Reefs.

The artificial reefs fill a void in marine habitat because natural reefs are few and far between, Shively said. The soft, muddy Gulf floor doesn't offer much substrata for algae or invertebrates to attach to and form natural reefs.

Among the oldest artificial reefs off the Texas coast are a dozen old Liberty Ships sunk in the 1970s. The newest are the man-made reef balls, which are underwater "hotels" for small fish. Holes are bored in the hollow concrete reef balls to allow small fish to come and go as they please. Government inspections, an environmental impact statement and a federal permit are required before Texas creates these reefs.

Although almost any large concrete or metal object can be used to create a reef, the old oil and gas platforms have provided the biggest boost to the Texas and Louisiana programs.

Once a rig's usefulness is over, the oil and gas company is required to have it removed, which is costly. Dismantling a rig and leaving it on the ocean floor as an artificial reef is a win-win situation for the oil company that doesn't have to pay to have it removed, for the marine life that is attracted to the structure and for anglers and divers.

"Many of the companies also have donated half of their realized savings from leaving the rigs offshore rather than having to dismantle them and tow them to shore," Shively said.

That money has been given to the Texas Artificial Reef Fund to finance research and the construction of new reefs.

One of the most popular artificial reefs on the Texas coast is the "Mitchell's 12-mile-rig," located 12 miles southeast of the Galveston jetties in about 60 feet of water. It is one of the largest and most easily accessible spots on the Texas coast for anglers with small boats to find red snapper, king mackerel and grouper.

When the Mitchell company decided to abandon the rig in 1999, it had the structure cut into 17 pieces and arranged in three sections to cover more than 100,000 square feet of ocean bottom as a reef.

In addition to the 12-Mile Reef, other popular and easily accessible reefs for small boats include Barr's Reef, located less than a mile from the 12-Mile Reef; Basco's Reef, 23 miles south of Sabine; and the George Vancouver Liberty Ship Reef, nine miles south of Freeport.

Lower-coast shallow-water artificial reefs can be found near Port Aransas and Port Isabel.

Solunar table

King Features Syndicate

Plan your day so you will be fishing good territory or hunting good cover during these times, if you wish to find the best sport that each has to offer.

Events

Through today: Dallas Boat Show, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Dallas Market Hall. $7 for adults, $3 for ages 4-12, free for children under 4. Two-for-one discount coupons available at Dodge dealers. For information, call (469) 549-0673 or go to dallasboatshow.net.

Wednesday: Tarrant County Sportsmen's Club meeting, National Hall, 3316 Roberts Cutoff. Call (817) 731-3402. Other meetings are March 12, April 9 and May 14.

Saturday-Feb. 15: David Alloway's Desert Survival Course, Big Bend Ranch State Park. Other courses are Feb. 28-March 2, March 21-22, Nov. 7-9, Nov. 21-23, Dec. 5-7 and Dec. 19-21. Call (877) 371-2534.

April 3: Tarrant County National Wild Turkey Federation banquet, Lockeed Martin Recreation Center, Fort Worth. Call (817) 731-3402.

April 4-6: David Alloway's Desert Survival Course, Longhorn Ranch. Other courses are April 25-27, May 1-4, May 16-18, Aug. 30-Sept. 1, Oct. 3-5 and Oct. 17-19. Call (877) 371-2634.

Boating-education classes

April 19: At North Richland Hills Recreation Center, 6720 NE Loop 820, North Richland Hills. Other classes are third Saturday of each month through Oct. 18. Call (817) 271-0354.

Hunting seasons

Though Sunday: Western Zone light and dark goose

Through Feb. 23: Statewide quail

Through Feb. 23: Coastal pheasant

Through March 30: Light goose conservation season in East Zone

Monday-March 30: Light goose conservation season in West Zone

March 29-May 4: South Texas spring Rio Grande turkey

April 5-May 11: North Texas spring Rio Grande turkey

April 14-27: East Texas spring eastern turkey

Fishing tournaments

Tuesdays: Working Man's bass at Grapevine; call (817) 726-5688. Working Man's bass at Eagle Mountain; call (817) 282-3815. Evening bass at Pat Cleburne; call (817) 645-0088.

Wednesdays: Working Man's bass at Granbury. Call (817) 291-9025.

Thursdays: Night bass at Weatherford; call (817) 594-6402. Working Man's bass at Grapevine; call (817) 917-8261.

Saturday: Bass Champs.com North Team at Cedar Creek. Call (817) 439-3274.

Sunday: Lake Granbury/Wal-Mart Tournament Trail team at Granbury. Call (817) 326-0299.

March 1: Pro Team Open Team at Amistad.

March 1: Honey Hole North Team at Granbury. Call (817) 275-1857.

March 8: Media Bass Team at Granbury. Call (972) 222-3751.

March 8: Bass Champs.com North Individual at Lewisville. Call (817) 439-3274.

March 22: Bass Champs.com North Team at Lewisville. Call (817) 439-3274.

March 23: Lake Granbury/Wal-Mart Tournament Trail team at Granbury. Call (817) 326-0299.

March 29: Honey Hole North Team at Bridgeport. Call (817) 275-1857.

April 12: Media Bass Team at Eagle Mountain. Call (972) 222-3751.

April 12: Bass Champs.com North Individual at Richland Chambers. Call (817) 439-3274.

April 19: Honey Hole North Team at Lewisville. Call (817) 275-1857.

April 26: Bass Champs.com North Team at Richland Chambers. Call (817) 439-3274.

Trout stockings

Thursday: Kidd Springs Park, Dallas

Friday: Lakeside Park, Duncanville

Friday: Hurst Chisholm Park

Feb. 20: Green Valley Community Center Pond A, North Richland Hills

Feb. 22: Bear Creek Park, Keller

March 2: Colleyville Nature Center

March 7: Possum Kingdom Tailrace near Graford

Artificial reefs: High Island

Texas' Rigs to Reefs program depends on donated oil and gas rigs to create artificial reefs along the Gulf coast. The map below locates almost all of the reefs; some in the High Islander area are not shown because no information was availabe on them. Divers or anglers wishing to find latitudes and longitudes for use with a GPS can go online to www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fish/reef/2001_reef.pdf

Other areas

Note: Distance from land is in nautical miles; depth is in feet.