REEF BALLS
A New Direction for the Reef Program
"Reef Balls" are concrete fish habitats designed by a firm in Sarasota,
Florida and are used worldwide to build ocean artificial reefs. They are igloo-shaped and
hollow and have over a dozen access holes for fish. Measuring 4 feet in diameter and 3
feet high, they weigh 1,400 pounds each.
Through a cooperative project between Southern State Correctional Facility, located in
Delmont (Cape May County), and the Division's Reef Program, inmate laborers use fiberglass
molds to fabricate Reef Ball habitats. The structures will be stockpiled until early
summer, when over 600 of them will be barged offshore for placement on New Jersey reef
sites.
These designed habitats are expected to maximize use by fish, especially those species,
like tautog and sea bass, that hide under ledges or in caverns. The internal cavity will
also provide juvenile fish with refuge from larger, ocean predators. To further enhance
their value as sanctuary habitat, the Reef Balls will be widely dispersed on the sea
floor.
