RGV REEF

RGV REEF HABITAT

Could save the planet

By Dr. Kimberly Selber

Manmade reefs are not a new concept.

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.

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.

Why Is The RGV Reef Important?

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.”

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.

Eighteen months after the first stage of the reef was built, the fish population had exploded from zero to at least 250,000 and has continued to grow annually at this rate throughout the additional phases of construction.

“If we can get it right [habitat] for the Red Snapper, we’ll get it right for other marine life,” stated Kline. This includes providing critical food sources for the endangered Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles that make their nests on the beaches of South Padre Island.

Recreational fishing has also experienced a resurgence. “We’re already seeing an increase in recreational fishing in the area,” reflected Glick. “Easily ten times more fishing boats are going out annually.”

So how do you build a reef?

The RGV Reef is primarily comprised of recycled concrete, cinder blocks, box culverts, and steel-hulled (cleaned and stripped) sunken vessels. Flat plane material is essential for algae, barnacles, and other microscopic sea life to attach to. Over the past six years, materials have been built up in grades of low, medium, and high relief to provide shelter (hiding places) for various sizes of fish. In 2021, over 450 cables spools weighing 450, 5500, and 25,000 lbs. each were installed; 17 of them are two stories tall.

Friends need friends

Establishing the RGV Reef comes at a tremendous economic expense. RGV Reef was supposed to take decades to finish and cost $20 million. This was predicated on the standard Reefing contracts through the state or the federal government. Dale Shively, with Texas Parks and Wildlife and a leader in establishing artificial reefs along the Texas coast, told Glick to round up stakeholders and partners.

So he did.

Friends of RGV Reef secured donated professional services, donated equipment, donated management, and donated site prep. “The majority of our material is recycled concrete railroad ties from the BNSF Railroad, with additions of donated broken concrete from local contractors, mainly Foremost Paving,” said Glick.

The Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway donated 78,000 concrete rail ties and transported them at their own expense from Colorado, Wyoming, and the Pacific Northwest. These ties formed the base of the reef. BNSF has continued to provide RGV REEF with materials.

The Port of Brownsville has also been a huge supporter of RGV REEF, providing a deep-water frontage and rail siding to allow the transport of the nearly 46,000,000 lbs. of primarily recycled concrete and steel hull ships at an economical price.

From construction to research

With the reef currently 75% complete, new scientific questions are being raised.

Primarily, can the reef combat climate change?

With a $250,000 Fueling Futures grant from Enbridges, Inc., Dr. Kline will begin carbon sequestration research. “The research we are conducting here will fill important gaps in our knowledge regarding carbon sequestration in the marine environment and will be the first of its kind in Texas,” said Kline.

It is believed reefs, both natural and artificial, capture and store carbon (an act of carbon sequestration) and can assist in the effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide (CO2).

“It’s suspected that artificial reefs can hold a substantial amount of carbon biomass,” said Kline. “It’s truly exciting to believe this underwater project [RGV REEF], which has already provided substantial habitat for reef fishers, could also be beneficial in reducing the carbon footprint of humans.” “We are embarking on another important mission —this one to see if what we’re doing here int eh waters of the Gulf of Mexico could one day directly benefit all Texans on land and even lead to a better world for all people,” mused Glick.

What started as a dream to keep fishing alive for future generations at South Padre Island has grown into a significant cause, one that could have global effects for generations to come.

2021 UT System SmartBook