BULLETIN OF MARINE SCIENCE, 37(1): 1-2, 1985
THIRD INTERNATIONAL ARTIFICIAL REEF CONFERENCE
3-5 NOVEMBER 1983, NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA
FOREWORD
Raymond Buckley, John Grant and John Stephens, Jr.
The use of artificial structures to attract fish and/or enhance fisheries has long
been practiced. Increasing impacts on nearshore fisheries from fishing pressure,
habitat loss, and pollution have caused fisheries authorities in coastal areas of the
world to review the potential for artificial reefs. In many of the coastal United
States, particularly California, there is increased interest in these habitat enhancement structures as mitigation for losses to fisheries or other living marine resources.
Artificial reef construction involves long-term, if not permanent, alteration of
bottom habitat to enhance the abundance and availability of primarily demersal
biota; the deployment offish aggregation devices, while physically less permanent,
has equal potential to affect pelagic biota. The use of either of these technologies
includes responsibility for understanding the resulting effects on target and ancillary organisms. Unfortunately, the surge of interest in artificial reefs and fish
aggregation devices in recent years has resulted in a proliferation of implementation projects which have not been followed by an analysis of results.
The Third International Artificial Reef Conference, of which this is the proceedings, evolved out of an attempt by Southern California Edison Company, a
major utility, to develop artificial reefs as a mitigative tool for potential losses
due to the operation of coastal power generating stations. In cooperative agreement
with the California Department of Fish and Game, Southern California Edison
Company funded both the construction of Pendleton Artificial Reef in the nearshore waters south of San Mateo Point, and the related studies of the reef's marine
community development. The Third International Artificial Reef Conference was
convened under the theme of highlighting this need to integrate definitive research
and analysis into all future projects involving artificial reefs and fish aggregation,
as well as the need to critically examine previous projects for results that relate
to their original objectives. These technologies have a tremendous potential for
improving fishery resources through thoughtful, rational use to provide specific
enhancement. The conference theme urged widespread support for meeting these
definitive research needs and enhancement criteria, and for an end to the use of
artificial reef construction to justify solid waste disposal in the aquatic environment.
It had been over nine years since the First International Artificial Reef Conference, held in Texas in 1974, provided an international forum for the exchange
of information on enhancement and utilization of aquatic resources through artificial reef construction. The Second International Artificial Reef Conference,
held in Brisbane, Australia in 1977, was unfortunately monetarily inaccessible to
the majority of researchers in the continental United States. During the intervening
years, technological advances in artificial reef design, siting and construction, and
the evolution offish aggregation devices, exceeded capabilities for timely, effective
communication on national and international levels. This resulted in part from
a lack of coordination and current information exchange between the various
United States programs, and in part because the most significant investments,
2
BULLETIN OF MARINE SCIENCE, VOl. 37, NO. I, 1985
advances and results had occurred in programs in other countries. For example,
Japan is engaged in a l2-year program (1976-1987) for coastal fisheries enhancement which provides $750 million for development of artificial fishing reefs. The
results of this mammoth effort are only now becoming available to English speaking researchers through translations of scientific literature.
The Third International Artificial Reef Conference brought together many of
the major researchers concerned with recreational and commercial fishery applications of artificial reef enhancement and fish aggregation in the United States,
Japan, the Republic of China, Australia, the Philippines, Israel and Kuwait. This
conference provided a forum to expedite the exchange of valuable information
through papers covering in detail the engineering, biological, and fishery management aspects of these technologies, and established many personal contacts
which encouraged continued exchanges of information on methodologies and
preliminary results from current research. In Summary Session, the conference
also emphasized the need to establish coordination between current and future
artificial reef enhancement and fish aggregation research efforts throughout the
United States and other countries.
Credit for the success of this conference must be shared by the Steering Committee and supporting staff, the presenters of many excellent formal and poster
session papers, the Conference Co-sponsors, and the Conference Exhibitors. While
all of these individuals and organizations made significant contributions, two stand
out as major efforts worthy of special recognition: the co-sponsorship by the
Southern California Edison Company which provided the major funding for the
conference, as well as pre- and post-conference activities, and travel and accommodations for many national and international attendees; and, the excellent and
informative presentations by the Japanese researchers, Dr. Makoto Nakamura
and Dr. Osamu Sato, and the Japanese reef module exhibitors from the "Large
Reef Association" (Ohgata Gyosho Kyokai) and the "Steel Productions Association" (Kozai Club).
At a post-conference workshop held in Los Angeles, California on January 1718, 1984, the following recommendations were developed to guide future artificial
reef and fish aggregation research in the United States: (a) Quantification of resource and fishery "production" aspects of the enhancement; (b) Establishment
of construction design criteria for specific species, fisheries and physical stability;
(c) Identify and secure sources of research funds; (d) Development of regional
planning and siting criteria; (e) Coordination and communication of research and
development activities within and between regions; and (f) Research on biological
aspects of reef biota and their impacts on natural ecosystems. Although the workshop attendees did not want to prioritize these recommendations, it is clear that
there is an overriding need for further research on artificial reefs and fish aggregation devices to establish their value in resource management and enhancement
programs, and that this research will require funding. The potential benefits of
this research go far beyond creating better tools for resource managers; there is
also the possibility of an important common interest between nations with mutual
fishery problems.
(R.B.) Washington State Department of Fisheries, Marine Fish Program, Room 115,
General Administration Building, Olympia, Washington 98504; (J.G.) California Department of Fish
and Game, Marine Resources Region, 245 West Broadway, Long Beach, California 90802; (J.S.)
Occidental College, Department of Biology, 1600 Campus Road, Los Angeles, California 90041.
ADDRESSES: