Message #99
1) The Reef Ball Foundation proved a grant to the Catalina Island Marine
Institue which included Reef Ball mold systems and travel and training
fees for Reef Innovations, Inc. to teach the staff to build and deploy
Reef Balls. The project will place 30-50 Reef and Bay Balls in Toyon Bay,
2 miles west of Avalon, California. Training and the first castings are
occuring this week. The project will continue for 3 months.
2) Molds arrived in Indonesia and training is tentatively sceduled for two
weeks starting July 13th.
3) The Universtiy of Maryland is working to develop habitats and a diving
venue in a fresh water lake and anticipates the use of Reef Balls.
4) The New York Department of Environmental Protection and the state
artificial reef coordinator will build about 200 Reef Balls this year,
"We'd like to put about 50 units around a fishing
pier that is also an extremely popular dive site, and the rest on a new
reef in Little Peconic Bay."
5) The Reef Ball Coalition is conducting a trip to the Turks and Caicos
from July 2-July 7th to intially set up the location as an ecotourist
destination for the constructions and building of Reef Balls.
6) The first of 600 Reef Balls were deployed in New Jersey this week.
Several articles about the project were published. Read the full story at
the address below:
http://www.phillynews.com/inquirer/99/Jun/27/city/FISH27.htm
7) Press Release
INTERESTING PHOTO/VIDEO ALERT
WHAT: Reef Balls – very large (350 – 750 pounds each), round artificial
reefs are being built by 4-H youth that will be sunk in Sarasota Bay at
the end of July. Bradenton-based Reefball Development Group is
instructing and assisting the 4-H youth with this project.
WHEN: Friday, July 2
WHERE: South Down Inc. 1100 Central Ave, Sarasota, IN THE BACK LOT
9 – 10:15 a.m., – 4-H youth & Reefball Development officials will put
together the large reef ball molds
10:15 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. – concrete truck arrives; concrete is mixed
10:30 – 11 a.m. – concrete truck dumps concrete into 24 large reef ball
molds
5 – 6:30 p.m. – reef balls will be taken out of the molds
WHY: The 4-H team hopes to defray destruction to Sarasota area reefs, and
encourage better fishing opportunities in Sarasota Bay. The reef balls
are made of specially treated concrete that has a lowered pH balance of 7,
the same as seawater. Altering the pH balance will help the fish and
underwater plants to accept the reef as a part of their natural habitat.
FUNDING: Five personal watercraft manufacturers – Bombardier Recreational
Products, Kawasaki Motors Corp., Yamaha Motor Corp., U.S.A., Arctic Cat,
Inc. and Polaris Industries, Inc. – donated funds to pay for materials and
equipment related to the project. Personal watercraft will also be used
to deploy the reef at the end of July. Because of their design and
capabilities, personal watercraft are better suited to release the reef
balls than traditional motorboats. There is less chance that the reef
balls will be damaged, and they provide more maneuverability for the 4-H
youth.
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