As a diver, I have to say, artificial reef isn’t quite what you think. We dive wrecks all the time that are 60-130’ down and have been there for 70-100 years an

As a diver, I have to say, artificial reef isn’t quite what you think. We dive wrecks all the time that are 60-130’ down and have been there for 70-100 years and barely have any coral, certainly not like the massive walls of coral elsewhere in the same islands. Some of it has to do with the depth: most life is in the 0-40’ zone. And the oxygen drops off quite a bit, which inhibits oxidation (rust). There’s another wreck we dive at 40’ that’s barely recognizable due to corrosion and life. There’s an area that has coke bottles from 1945 (the glass is date-stamped) and they barely have anything growing on them. If you dump fiberglass in shallow water, people are going to be pissed. If you dump fiberglass in deep water, it will likely not decompose for millennia. But it also won’t be a Mecca for perch and sharks like some make them out to be.