Artificial Reef Project Moves Forward Despite Controversy
Two 1,300-Pound Reef Balls Were Dropped in the Ocean Off Hendry's Beach
Roughly five weeks ago, with the hope of jump-starting a plan to install a fish — and fishermen — friendly artificial reef offshore of Santa Barbara, Chris Goldblatt, himself a former commercial fisherman and outspoken critic of the recently imposed, state-sanctioned marine protected areas in Southern California, and some colleagues dropped two 1,300-pound hollow concrete igloos into the ocean offshore of Hendry’s Beach.
The custom-made objects, known as reef balls, were deployed with little fanfare and without the direct knowledge of any regulatory agency. As you can imagine, in a community that prides itself on keeping regular tabs on its ocean resources, that relative anonymity has been short-lived. “No doubt [Goldblatt] jumped the gun a bit,” explained the California Coastal Commission’s Cassidy Teufel last week. “At the very least, you definitely need a permit from us to do something like that.”
Premature ball-dropping aside, Goldblatt and his officially named Fish Reef Project are angling to eventually build a large artificial reef, roughly five acres in size, somewhere off the coast between Miramar Beach in Montecito and Loon Point in Summerland. The idea is that by creating a carefully designed hardscape habitat on the ocean floor comprising reef balls (3-by-4-foot rounded hollow shapes with various open portals on them and flat surfaces) and large quarry rocks, marine life will move in, new life will be recruited, and a thriving marine ecosystem will eventually develop in the area and form a space that proponents say will be a boon for both fishermen (recreational and commercial) and researchers alike. “If done right, there is just no downside to this,” opined Goldblatt recently. “Reefs are a rare and precious oasis of life, and we need more of them.”
