A Neighborhood for Everyone
There is a lot of activity atop the oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, but like an
iceberg, there's more below. Fish, crustaceans, mollusks, corals and other
sea creatures make their home among the legs and cross-members of these
giant man-made structures.
Rich communities of sea life thrive on coral or rocky reefs in all the world's oceans, but the Gulf of Mexico does not have many natural reefs. Its sea floor is mostly sandy and barren. But each of the more than 4,000 rigs in the Gulf offers two to three acres of complex habitats where animals can shelter from predators and ocean currents. This is good news for fishermen and divers, since there can be 20 to 50 times more fish at rigs.
According to law, owners of oil and gas platforms in the Gulf have one year
to remove a rig once it is taken out of service. Removal is expensive, costing
several million dollars, and it evicts the rig's underwater residents. A Rigs-to-Reefs program turns this problem, quite literally, on its side. By moving and oppling rigs, retired platforms become permanent underwater habitats
that attract fish, fishermen and divers.
It doesn't take long for residents to move onto these new "reefs." A few fish
begin to gather within a week of a rig's arrival, and by the end of a month,
soft corals, mussels, barnacles, sponges, starfish and algae have moved to
the neighborhood. Then come shrimp and other crustaceans, followed by
gobies, red snapper, amberjack, red drum and triggerfish. Large pelagic
fish, like tuna, mackerel and sharks, also take advantage of these ocean
neighborhoods, for a quick meal or to rest.
Rig-reefs benefit everyone. Rig owners save millions in disposal costs,
marine animals get a home and fishermen get a top-notch fishing spot -
truly making rig-reefs neighborhoods for everyone.