SOUTH PADRE ISLAND ENVIRONMENT
RGV REEF HABITAT Could save the planet By Dr. Kimberly Selber
Manmade reefs are not a new concept.
Why Is The RGV Reef Important?
History tells us that during the First Punic War (way back in the 3rd century BCE), the Romans built a reef across the mouth of the Carthaginian harbor in Sicily to trap enemy ships. And no later than the 17th century, artificial reefs were used in Japan to grow kelp. While the RGV REEF, established in 2016, was not created to trap pirate ships, it was designed to keep an enemy at bay—the decline of habitat.
Founded in 2015, Friends of RGV REEF, a 501c3 nonprofit, was created to curtail the decline in marine life on South Padre Island. The primary culprit for this decline was habitat loss. “We knew we had a problem,” said Gary Glick, president of RGV REEF, “but we needed partners who could help us find solutions.”
The RGV REEF, located 12 miles north of the South Padre Island jetties and covering 1,650 acres, is by far the largest and most complex reef off the Texas coast. Now, six years after the initial establishment of the RGV REEF, new and exciting research is taking place.
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SOCIALIFE SUMMER
They found the perfect partner in Richard Kline, Ph.D. Professor, School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. “Dr. Kline quickly noticed that we had no nursery environment, no babies,” said Glick. Through column testing, Kline established that there was no Red Snapper in the waters where the proposed reef would be located.
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