Ally

A nonprofit artificial reef group wants to sink retired warships near Morro Bay and Port San Luis to create fish habitats and recreational diving destinations.

Under the proposal, retired Navy ships mothballed at Suisun Bay near San Francisco would be cleaned, towed to a location off San Luis Obispo County and scuttled in approximately 120 feet of water. Before being sunk, holes would be cut into the ships to enhance diver access.

California Ships to Reefs of Wheatland, near Sacramento, along with the Port San Luis Harbor District and the Morro Bay Harbor Department, has scheduled a public forum next week to formally unveil the plan and answer questions.

A representative of the reefs organization, harbor managers Kirk Sturm and Rick Algert and two representatives of the National Marine Fisheries

Service will participate at the forum.

The goal of the meeting is to allay concerns that county residents might have, said Eleanore Rewerts, the group’s vice president of administration.

“The last thing we want to do is show up with a ship in tow and say, ‘How are you?’ ” she said. “We are trying to get a feel for if there is anything we might be missing.”

The wrecks would accomplish three things, Rewerts said. They would create new reefs, more fish habitat and recreational diving destinations.

The sites selected by the group are a mile northwest of Morro Rock and a mile southwest of Harford Pier. The length of ships that could be sunk there range from 120 to 700 feet.

The Morro Bay Harbor Department has conceptually approved the idea, Algert said. The city’s Harbor Advisory Board will consider the idea and possibly seek City Council endorsement in October.

The Port San Luis Harbor District and tourism officials in Pismo Beach also support the idea, Rewerts said. One of the benefits of artificial reefs is increased tourism.

Rewerts cites economic studies showing that a Canadian warship, the Yukon, in San Diego’s Mission Bay has created $4.5 million in increased underwater tourism annually. More than one ship can be sunk at individual locations.

“Divers love these things,” Rewerts said.

Creating these artificial reefs would not be cheap or easy. As many as 13 federal, state and local permits would be needed, and an environmental impact report would have to be prepared for each wreck site, Rewerts said.

It would cost about $2 million to sink a smaller vessel and $5.5 million for a larger one.

The federal government is required to clean up these ships, which accounts for about a third of the cost. The rest would have to be made up by state and local grants or corporate donations.

The local proposed reefs are part of a system of 10 envisioned by the reefs group statewide. Other potential sites include San Pedro, Crystal Cove in Orange County and Monterey.

Pete Raimondi, a biologist with UC Santa Cruz and an expert on near-shore marine ecosystems, said sunken ships do not harm the environment as long as they are cleaned properly and are placed on the sandy ocean floor.

He recommends that communities such as San Luis Obispo County be clear on what they hope these artificial reefs will accomplish.

“What we know from long experience is that ships do not create reef habitat that is similar to natural rocky habitat,” he said.

“They’re great for attracting fish. If that’s the goal, I think they could be of value.”

He also said wrecks sunk at 120 feet might be too deep for most recreational divers. Central Coast waters at that depth are often cold and dark.

Cold water is a fact of life along most of California’s coast, Rewerts said. Divers from her group have visited the two proposed sites and found visibility to be good.

“Some recreational divers don’t go that deep, but many do,” she said.

MEETING INFO

The forum“Hopes and Fears of Artificial Reefing in San Luis Obispo County” will be held from 1:30 to 4 p.m. Sept. 27 at the PG&E Community Center, 6588 Ontario Road, south of San Luis Obispo.

Presenters include Kirk Sturm, interim Port San Luis harbor manager; Rick Algert, Morro Bay harbor director; Dean Rewerts, vice president for reef development, California Ships to Reefs; Martin Golden, Pacific Coast recreational fisheries coordinator, National Marine Fisheries Service; and Bryant Chesney, Southern California habitat coordinator, National Marine Fisheries Service.

Seating is limited. Register for by e-mailing admin@cs2r.org or calling 530-633-4858.

(SanLuisObispo)