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Giving old ships a new life, a new purpose... |
Press Release, March 2005
In 2000, the San Diego Oceans Foundation (SDOF) scuttled the Canadian Destroyer Escort Yukon off of the San Diego coastline,
turning the ship into an artificial reef. Since its transformation into a reef, the Yukon has become the site of 10,800
dives each year, including 6,000 by out-of-town divers. An analysis of preliminary data indicate that the expenditures may be as high as $4.5 million to the local economy.
In order to quantify the direct economic benefits to San Diego of this new marine habitat, SDOF initiated two studies on the economic
effects of divers visiting Yukon:
1. An expenditure survey to determine the project's market contributions
and local economic impact;
2. An analysis of data regarding the origin of divers visiting the Yukon
and other reefs in Southern California.
While the environmental benefits of similar manmade habitats are well-known in Gulf Coast states, the Yukon is the first such project
on the West Coast. The SDOF therefore also commissioned a report on the Yukon's environmental effects.
The findings of the reports indicate that the Yukon has contributed
significant benefits to the local economy and can be expected to continue to be a positive attraction for both sea life and humans.
Specific findings of the reports, released to the public in a comprehensive DVD, include the following:
Economic Highlights
· An analysis of preliminary data indicate that expenditures may be as high as $4.5 million to local economy, and have supported 225 full-time jobs and more than $700,000 in
wages and salaries.
· Local economy benefits from more than ten times the initial investment every year ($4.5 million compared to $435,000).
· With more than half of its divers from out of town, the Yukon benefits not only the diving industry, but also businesses relying
on tourism as well as city and county governments through tax revenues.
Environmental Highlights
· Fish populations have increased significantly since reef first formed.
· The Yukon has benefited certain fish species by functioning as a breeding ground and nursery for blackfish as well as sheephead
and boccacio, two species whose populations have been seriously depleted by overfishing.
· The reef is more favorable for vermillion rockfish and boccacio than a nearby natural habitat in La Jolla
· The Yukon may also have a beneficial effect as a new "stepping stone" for mobile species in "Wreck Alley," a network of artificial
reefs between natural habitats north and south of the reef.
· Marine life on and around the Yukon has and continues to increase in species richness and diver
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Click on the "Donate" Button to join the Ships to Reefs Movement! A $100 tax-deductible donation entitles you to monthly newsletters regarding the ships to reefs effort, a 1-year
membership to the San Diego Oceans Foundation, and other benefits. |
Adobe PDF documents found in the Yukon DVD:
Yukon Environmental Report, Ed Parnell, Ph.D.
Yukon Economic Report, Linwood Pendleton, Ph.D.
Ships to Reefs Economic Overview, Linwood Pendleton, Ph.D.
Yukon Environmental Impact Report
ARMP Volunteer Research Manual
Presentation - Training Citizen Scientists
"Mapping the Yukon" GIS Article
Sidescan Sonar Article
Rand Report
Roadmap to Reefing: A Step by Step Guide
Presentation
Bring a Warship to a Dive Site near You
Artificial Reef Conference Proceedings,
San Diego 2000
Assessing the Ecological Risks of Creating Artificial Reefs from ex-warships
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Get your FREE Yukon DVD!
Released to the public on March 11, 2005
This DVD was prepared to give the viewer an educational overview of Ships to Reefs. Included are
videos, helpful resources, documents, and more! Don't waste your time trying to download the documents ...
send $2.00 for S&H today to receive your own personal copy.
Mail your check to:
SDOF / P.O. Box 90672 / SD, CA 92169
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In the 1960s and 1970s, the U.S.
government recycled hundreds of ships both internationally and in America. However in the 1980s the Navy stock-piled
ships during the Reagen era and very few ships were recycled for scrap. In 1991 an influx of ships were added to the
inactive fleet as a result of the post-Cold War military downsizing. But by the 90s the ship recycling industry had
shifted from the United States, Spain, Portugal, and Italy to Indian, Pakistan, China, the Philippines, and
Bangladesh where there are less environmental restrictions and cheaper labor.
As a result, from 1970 - 1982 there were 980 ships recycled, but between 1991 and 1997 only 34 Navy ships were
recycled domestically. Also, the discovery of harmful Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in ships and subsequent
environmental acts led to the banning of selling ships overseas to be recycled.Therefore, the Navy has increasingly
looked to reefing ships. Reefing is one of the most cost-effective options; however it fails
to take into account potential taxes from businesses associated with reef usage and potential revenue earned from
sunken ships from diving, fishing, and other benefits. With revenue taken into account, it's estimated that the
Navy could offset the cost of reefing a ship within 12 years, and even earn a potential profit from sinking ships
as artificial reefs. (Incidentally, another method of ship dispersal utilized by the Navy was to use them as targets
for military sinking exercises, called SINKEX.)
So recently there has been a rapid growth in reefing; in the past 25 years (most in recent years) Atlantic and Gulf
Coast reef authorities report over 846 vessels used for artificial reefs, with a demand for hundreds more. Recently,
artificial reef structures have expanded to include oil drilling structures that have become obsolete.
The San Diego Oceans Foundation has developed a committee to address the feasibility of creating additional artificial
reefs along the California coast. CS2R (California Ships to Reefs) will be working closely with regulatory agencies, the
federal government and NGO's to ensure that the acquisition, cleaning and sinking process of all ships is completed
in a manor that is satisfactory to all parties involved.
References Used
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