SUMMARY OF THE 3^RD MEETING OF THE

DNR ARTIFICIAL REEF COMMITTEE (ARC)

TAWES STATE OFFICE BUILDING, C-1, ANNAPOLIS, MD

TUESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2007, 6 PM-9PM

Prepared by Erik R. Zlokovitz

Fisheries Biologist, MD DNR-Fisheries Service

START OF MEETING/LIST OF ATTENDEES:

Marty Gary of MDDNR convened the 3^rd meeting of the MDDNR Artificial Reef Committee (ARC) at 6:10 pm on 8/28/07 in the C-1 Conference room, Tawes State Office building, Annapolis, MD. Members of the ARC in attendance included:

-Marty Gary, MD DNR Liaison

-Erik Zlokovitz, MD DNR Liaison

-Bill Goldsborough, CBF and Chair of ARC

-Ed Liccione, CCA

-Dolden Moore, BPW

-Capt. Greg Madjeski, MCBA

-Capt. Marty Simounet, MCBA

-Gary Setzer, MDE

-Bill Huppert, MSSA

-Capt. Bruno Vasta, Solomons Charter Captain Association and CBARC

-Capt. Rick Younger, MD DNR Liaison/MGS

- Tom Humbles, MES

-Capt. Curtis Johns, Tangier Sound and Lower Eastern Shore Charter Boats

-Capt. Dicky Webster, Tangier Sound Charter Boats

-David Dansberger, SFAC

-Norm McCullough, MD Hydronauts

-David Sutherland, USFWS

Others in attendance included:

-Mike Baker, Environmental Manager, Woodrow Wilson Bridge Project

-Clint Waters, MSSA

-Bob Geisler, MSSA

-Capt. Thomas Hill, SCCA

-Steph McReynolds, CBF

INTRODUCTION/GREETINGS/ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Marty Gary started the meeting with greetings and announcements. He noted that after the initial announcements, Bill Goldsborough of CBF would lead the meeting, as he is the newly elected chair of the ARC.

Marty noted that two major Fisheries meetings/conferences will be taking place in early September. Several MD DNR staff will be attending the Annual Meeting of the American Fisheries Society (AFS) in San Francisco, CA. Marty will be attending the annual joint meeting of the Gulf and Atlantic Coast Artificial Reef Committees.

An article about the Maryland Reef Program in the New York Times is under development. Marty Gary is participating in a series of interviews with a NY Times writer. National Public Radio (NPR) has also expressed interest in doing a radio piece about a reef deployment on the Chesapeake Bay.

Marty announced that Erik Zlokovitz of MD DNR will be leaving MD DNR for a new job with the Federal National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)-Fisheries Statistics Division under supervision of Dr. Dave Van Voorhees. NMFS is a branch of NOAA under the U.S. Dept. of Commerce. Erik has been with the reef program since June of 2007, and has been with MD DNR-Fisheries Service since 1998, including 7 years with the Striped Bass Stock Assessment (SBSA) Project. Erik’s last day with DNR will be Friday, 9/14 and his first day with NMFS will be Monday, 9/17. After Friday, 9/14, Erik Zlokovitz can be contacted via home email at ezlokovitz@comcast.net.

Marty introduced Bill Goldsborough of CBF as the new chair of the ARC. Bill took the lead on the meeting and started off with the proceedings and agenda.

REEF MONITORING FUNDS SET ASIDE –Doldon Moore, BPW:

Doldon Moore of BPW announced the excellent news that $417,000 from mitigation issues has been acquired and will be set aside for funding of Artificial Reef Monitoring. (For more details on these funds from mitigation, please email Doldon Moore of BPW at dmoore@comp.state.md.us or Marty Gary of DNR at mlgary@dnr.state.md.us). Capt. Monty Hawkins of Ocean City asked if any of these funds would be available for monitoring of reefs off the Atlantic Coast of MD and outside the 3-mile state line. The general opinion from the ARC was that monitoring funds could be made available for these offshore reefs as long as they fall under the umbrella of the general Maryland Artificial Reef Plan.

NEW MARYLAND DNR ARTIFICIAL REEF WEBSITE IS UP AND RUNNING:

A new website for the ARC and the MD DNR Artificial Reef Program has been constructed by DNR-Fisheries webmaster Paul Genovese. This site can be accessed from the MD DNR-Fisheries Service homepage. A list of ARC members (with email contact info), meeting summaries, and other artificial reef info will be posted on this website. If any ARC members do not wish to have their contact info posted on the website, they should contact Marty Gary at  mlgary@dnr.state.md.us , Paul Genovese at pgenovese@dnr.state.md.us or Erik Zlokovitz at ezlokovitz@comcast.net .   

CCA GENERAL LEDGER FOR MARI FUNDS:

Ed Liccione of CCA presented a general ledger/spreadsheet for the CCA-managed MARI fund for the time period 12/1/06-8/31/07. For current information on available funds, please contact Ed via email at: eliccione@atlanticbb.net or Bill Curry at chairman@ccamd.org.

UPDATE ON WOODROW WILSON BRIDGE PROJECT-Mike Baker:

Mike Baker, environmental manager of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Project, gave a powerpoint presentation and update on the dismantling/demolition of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge and recent/current artificial reef construction activities. August of 2007 has been the most active month for reef construction in the history of artificial reefs in Maryland. The presentation is summarized in the following bullet points:

Recent WW Bridge-related activities:

· During the approximate one-month period from 7/24/07-8/28/08, 12 barges (averaging 2-4 barges per week) have deployed 17,500 tons of material at the Point No Point, Tangier Sound (lower Tangier near Fox Is.Buoy) and Cedar Pt. reef sites. A total of 22 barges were deployed during the period 8/04/06-8/28/07, with barge #23 set for 8/29/07.

· Payment has been received for bargeloads #2-8. Barge #1 was already paid for in full by MD DNR.

· On 8/23/07, a very successful press event/branding exercise was conducted with Honeywell Corp. at a Cedar Point reef deployment off the mouth of the Patuxent River. A shore based event was held on Solomons Island. The event was covered by the Washington Post, several local So. Maryland newspapers, and Baltimore CBS affiliate WJZ-TV news. The MGS/DNR research vessel  RV/Kerhin operated by Capt. Rick Younger participated in the event and demonstrated the use of side-scan sonar to monitor reef construction. The event was also supported by three Solomons area charter boats: Chessie (Capt. Larry Cox), Dotty Vee (Capt. Bruno Vasta), and the Stoney Kingfisher.

· The overall Woodrow Wilson Bridge reef project is about halfway done with a total of 30,000 tons of material placed. 

· Two contractors have been involved in the WW Bridge Reef Project: Potomac Constructors (“PC”) and American Bridge/Kramer (“AB/K”). AB/K completed clamshell operations to remove post-blast rubble off the Potomac River-bed in late August. This debris-removal operation was completed in about one month. PC operations will be intensifying during fall of 2007. 

· The AB/K contract agreement was to place a total of  22,000 tons of material. By 8/29/07 they will be projected to place a total of 24,000 tons of material. The additional 2,000 tons consisted of “materials of opportunity” such as the steel trunnion towers, that were not originally included in the agreement.  All AB/K rubble material was placed at Point No Point reef (PNP).

· On 7/30/07, a load of slabs and barriers weighing approx. 1100 tons was deployed at Tangier Sound Reef. This was the second load delivered to this site.

· On 8/15/07 the first load for construction of a reef base was delivered at Cedar Pt. reef. Slabs and barriers were deployed at the NW corner of the marked fish haven on hard bottom (also avoiding existing reef balls and other structures). This operation involved collaboration between DNR, MGS, and local Solomons-area charter boats for side-scan sonar operations, and bottom-type descriptions. DNR staff, including the shellfish/oyster program, also worked to confirm that reef deployments did not conflict with shell plantings or live oyster bottom. Finally, DNR staff worked with local commercial crabbers to resolve potential conflicts with crab-pot gear in or near the deployment area.

WW Bridge Project future projections and planning:

· Approximately 30,000 tons of reef material are remaining at the WW Bridge site. This includes large material such as concrete columns and post-blast rubble material from future demolition work.

· Large material, including concrete columns up to 5 feet in diameter, will be available through November of 2007.

· Smaller rubble material will be available from Fall of 2007 through February of 2008.

· On average, reef material will be deployed at a rate of 2 bargeloads per week through February.

· Approximately 25,000 tons of material have been placed at PNP. This site is about 75%-85% complete and hopefully will be completed by fall of 2007.

WW Bridge-Money, payments and outstanding balance issues:   

The overall projected outstanding balance for WW Bridge reef deployments, as of 8/28/07 was calculated as follows:

-Total Projected Cost for WWB material = $525,000 invoiced + (32,700 tons X $28 per ton) = (525,000+915,600) =  $1,440,600

-Then, subtract funds from Bond Bill and VDP = $750,000

-Therefore resulting balance = $1,440,600 – $750,000 = Projected outstanding balance for WWB material of $690,000.

(For further clarification on current balance please contact Mike Baker of the WW Bridge Project or Marty Gary of DNR.)

It was also noted that the cost to simply grind up bridge material for fill or landfilling is about $9-10 per ton, while the cost of handling and transporting material for artificial reef construction is about $30-50 per ton pending distance to the reef.   

Priorities for new reef sites and future deployments-

Group discussion:

Several new sites in addition to PNP, lower Tangier, and Cedar Pt. were discussed for deployments in the near future. The priority sites for reef deployments in the near future (Fall 07 and/or Winter/Spring 08?), in no particular order, are the proposed Gooses Site (Pending permit process with MDE), Choptank River Airplane Wreck, Taylor’s Island, and Northern Tangier Sound (near Deale Island). All these site will require proper permits and an Appendix A planning document from the MD Reef Plan.

REEF PERMIT ISSUES:

Marty Gary, Dolden Moore, Gary Setzer, and others discussed reef permit issues:

· Under ideal conditions and fast-tracking, the reef permit for the proposed Gooses site should be ready in about 6 weeks from 8/28/07. The permit paperwork was submitted to MDE by Marty Gary.

· Doldon Moore, Gary Setzer, Marty Gary and others have suggested that reef sites may be managed more efficiently if “blanket permits” are developed to cover several reefs in certain regions (i.e. Upper,Middle, or Lower Chesapeake Bay).

· There have been some suggestions from the upper Bay Charter Boat community (Rock Hall, etc.) to deactivate some unpopular or unproductive reef sites in the Upper Bay, north of the Bay Bridge. However, Dave Dansberger, Bill Huppert, and Monty Hawkins advised against de-activating any reef sites. Many upper bay anglers still have an interest in upper Bay reef sites.

· Gary Setzer advised that the ARC should prioritize developing permits for new site as opposed to de-activating any old sites. The ARC and DNR agreed that no efforts to deactivate old sites in the upper Bay would be pursued at this time.

SEPTEMBER 2007 REEF PLANNING AND OTHER ISSUES/UPDATES:

· 25,000 tons of material have been delivered to PNP reef as of 8/28/07. The reef still has some holes which need to be filled in, especially near the barge marking the western edge of the reef. This reef is about 75%-80% complete (rough estimate).

· Three more barges of large material are needed at the lower Tangier Sound reef site. This reef site is progressing well and is set on a hard bottom edge. A diversity of fish species, including porgies and tautog have been caught here.

· Cedar Point reef requires 4 more barges of large material.

· A total of 22 barges have been delivered as of 8/28/07, at an average cost of about $28,000 per barge.

·  10 barges of material will be needed for the new proposed Gooses site.

SUGGESTED SUB-GROUP STRUCTURE FOR ARC-ED LICCIONE:

Ed Liccionne proposed an ARC sub group structure (see below). The ARC supported the idea, with some revisions. See info below which is based on notes from Erik Zlokovitz.

REGIONAL SUB-GROUPS:

PURPOSE OF REGIONAL GROUPS - Identify all existing reef sites and evaluate the potential of these sites for future material placement.  Identify new reef sites and the impact of these sites on fisheries and their habitat restoration.  Coordinate the placements of reef materials and assist in monitoring sites.  Solicit information from their own areas in order to provide input from local citizens in their respective areas.

UPPER BAY - From the Susquehanna Flats down to the Bay Bridge (Standard DNR definition for upper Bay is all waters north of Bay Bridge).

-Chair, Upper Bay-David Dansberger.

-Other members-Bill Huppert, David Sutherland, Mark Galasso.

MIDDLE BAY - From the Bay Bridge down to Cove Pt.

-Chair, Middle Bay-Capt. Marty Simounet.

-Other Members-Tom Humbles, Capt. Brian Keehn, Capt. Ed O’Brien (?), and Mark Galasso.

LOWER BAY - From Cove Pt. to the Virginia line (Smith Pt.).

-Chair, Lower Bay-Capt. Bruno Vasta.

-Other members-Capt. Greg Madjeski, Capt. Curtis Johns.

ATLANTIC COAST - From Maryland’s border with Delaware to Virginia.

-Chair, At. Coast-Capt. Monty Hawkins.

-Other Members-C.D. Dollar, Gail Blazer, Rick Younger, Norman McCullough.

*Note-The regional groups will coordinate with other sub-groups listed below:

OTHER SUB-GROUPS:

FUNDING AND BUDGET COMMITTEE - Tasked with maintaining budget, forecast funding requirements and help in identifying new funding sources.  Membership to be from ARC and other interested parties within the state.

-Chair, Funding and Budgets-?

-Other Members- Ed Lichionne, Rich Takacs, MSSA, CCA.

MONITORING COMMITTEE - Design monitoring requirements for all reef sites, and provide an outline for monitoring of new areas for reef building. Capt. Rick Younger and the MGS vessel RV/Kerhin could be a huge asset to monitoring operations.

-Chair, Monitoring-(Suggestion by E. Zlokovitz that Kent Carlson and Capt. Monty Hawkins co-Chair the monitoring committee.)

-Other Members- Rich Takacs, Rick Younger, David Sutherland, Norman McCullough, Jeff Halka.

PUBLIC RELATIONS/MARKETING - coordination of public relations events, helps provide the marketing of artificial reefs to the general public as well as current and potential donors.

-Chair, PR/Marketing-C.D. Dollar

-Other members-David Dansberger and Capt. Bruno Vasta, others to be announced.

*Note: Members of the sub-groups should get together and meet before the next ARC meeting, which will be held on the last Tuesday in September. 

REEF DEPLOYMENT/CONSTRUCTION SCHEDULE FOR SEPTEMBER, 2007: 

There will be approximately 8 barges of large slab material available over a 4 week period in September, 2007 .The ARC decided on the following reef deployment/construction schedule for September, 2007:

·       3 Barges to Tangier Sound Reef.

·       4 Barges to Cedar Pt. Reef

·       1 Barge to Pt. No Point Reef.

*Note- Pt. no Point may also serve as a location to deploy material when poor weather/sea conditions do not allow deployment at Tangier Sound or Cedar Pt.

This schedule will be followed by e-mail confirmation by Erik Zlokovitz. Schedule is approved by the majority of the ARC.

OVERVIEW OF OCEAN CITY/MD ATLANTIC COAST ARTIFICIAL REEF PROGRAM-CAPT. MONTY HAWKINS: 

Capt. Monty Hawkins gave a presentation on historical background and recent activities of the Ocean City Artificial Reef program. The reef program off Ocean City dates back to the 1950’s and 1960’s. Old wooden vessels such as menhaden steamers were used to build some of the older reef sites such as Purnell’s reef in the 1960’s. In the 1970’s, tires became a popular material for building fish reefs. However, poor design of some tire reefs resulted in tires breaking off reefs during storms and washing up on public bathing beaches. This led to a lull in reef activities until the 1980’s and 1990’s. The Ocean City Reef Foundation currently manages the MD Atlantic coast reef program and regulates  types of materials and placement locations.

To put things in perspective, Capt. Monty noted that $60,000 in funding and donations would be a very good year for the OC reef program. Reef sites currently under development include Great Eastern, The Jack Spot, Isle of Wight, and The Bass Grounds/African Queen. The Bass Grounds/African Queen currently receive heaviest fishing pressure from the recreational fleet.

Capt. Monty emphasized the importance of marine growth and invertebrates on artificial reefs, in particular coral and mussels, which fish will graze on. Interstitial spacing and complexity is crucial to reef success. A mixture of wood and concrete structure with multiple holes is excellent for coral growth and fish habitat, but wood is no longer allowed as a material on new reef sites. Capt. Monty mentioned one case of an unplanned reef site where multiple clam cages were dumped in an offshore slough/trench. This was built out into a very productive reef site.

*NOTE-(For more info on the Reef program off Ocean City, please contact Capt. Monty Hawkins or the Ocean City Reef Foundation)

Proposed Subway Car Deployment off Ocean City-Capt. Monty Hawkins and Marty Gary

Capt. Monty and Marty Gary discusses the proposed deployment of 600 retired NY City subway cars off Ocean City. This operation has been delayed from Fall of 07 back to Spring of 08 due to transport logistics. Subway cars have proven to be outstanding fish habitat for fish such as black sea bass and summer flounder in the neighboring state of Delaware. All states received cars from the last shipment except for MD and NC. This will put MD at the top of the priority list for cars. The transport and deployment of these cars is being worked out in a cost share system with NYC Transit Authority and the east coast states. Transport costs will be relatively low since Maryland is the second-closest state (in relation to NY Harbor) slated for delivery. Delaware is the closest state to NY which has requested cars.

Marty will discuss the proposed subway car deployment and other highlights of the MD reef program at the joint ASMFC/Gulf Coast Reef Committee meeting in Panama City, FL-September 10-13, 2007. Marty noted the importance of the Ocean City reef program in adding to the diversity of Maryland’s reef activities.

Proposed Del-Jersey-Land offshore reef site:

Marty mentioned preliminary planning for a large offshore “super-reef” site located offshore and equi-distant from Cape May, NJ, Lewes/IndianRiver, DE, and Ocean City, MD. This would require the acquisition and sinking of a retired Navy destroyer in 2010. This would be the largest artificial reef structure on the Atlantic east coast, and is on a scale similar to the aircraft carrier deployed in the Gulf of Mexico.

DISCUSSION OF CO-CHAIR FOR ARC:

The election of a co-chair for the ARC to support the chair and run meetings in the chair’s absence was proposed by Chris Dollar and others. The majority of the ARC seems to be in favor of this plan, (there were no objections). An official list of candidates and vote will be delayed until next meeting. 

WRAP-UP AND SCHEDULING OF NEXT MEETING:

Bill Huppert suggests that official vote on co-chair for ARC be delayed until next meeting and that the meeting be adjourned. Next ARC meeting scheduled for last Tuesday in September-9/25/07. Meeting adjourned by Bill Goldsborough and Marty Gary at 9pm.