GUY TALK
GREAT GAINS IN THE GULF In the Cayman Islands, where I live, the fsh habitat is abundant. Crystal-clear
reefs. With only a 60-mile shoreline,
Caribbean water with miles of coral reefs provides a home to everything from
Alabama has had to be creative. Many
sea anemones to lobsters to grouper and other reef fsh. Patrolling the outer
of the original artifcial reefs were
perimeter of those reefs are wahoo, marlin, sharks and a host of schooling fsh. The
single cars or a pile of tires. Just drop a
marine ecosystem in the Caymans and other tropical outposts around the world
Ford or Chevy overboard and, presto,
is a perfect exhibition of nature’s balance—something that man could not and
a reef is born. Time and research on
should not try to improve upon.
the efectiveness of artifcial reefs has
Other areas of the world, such as the northern Gulf of Mexico, aren’t quite so
produced smarter fsh homes that don’t
fortunate. Sure, there are a few ancient, rocky outcroppings scattered about, but
rust and break apart (see article on
for the most part, the bottom topography in the Gulf is a massive desert—just
page 34). Other popular artifcial reefs
hundreds and hundreds of miles of fat, sandy bottom. We all know, of course, that
are formed on large, sunken ships as
GUY HARVEY, PhD
there’s a lot of oil and gas under that unassuming sand. Because of that, states
well as giant spans of concrete left to fall
is an internationally-acclaimed
like Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi and Alabama have built hundreds of oil wells
to the ocean foor after bridge removal
artist, fsherman, scientist, and
ofshore. The downside of that are super tragedies like Deepwater Horizon. The
and reconstruction.
world traveler, who devotes
upside (besides providing energy, jobs and a huge revenue stream for the states)
The end game of this record number
much of his time and money
is that they become vibrant reefs. Obviously, they’re not as picturesque as the
of reefs Alabama has deployed is an
Caribbean coral reefs where many of my painting subjects live, but for the average
equally explosive population in the red
fsh, rigs are as perfect a habitat as man can provide.
snapper fshery. Where there once were very few snapper, there are now hundreds
Everyone is well aware of the incredible diving and fshing those rigs ofer.
toward ocean conservation.
of thousands of these prized and delicious gamefsh supporting a sustainable
However, fewer know about the 17,000-plus artifcial reefs that Alabama has built
recreational and commercial fshery. It’s a testament to man’s ability to manage an
over the past four decades, making it the number-one state in the U.S. for artifcial
ecosystem efectively rather than destroy it, like what has happened to some of
