Marine restoration efforts off the Southern California coast have included the creation of a new rocky reef to encourage fish and other marine life populations to return to the Palos Verdes area, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration revealed in a recent report.
The project started with 70,000 tons of rock, which was added to the sea floor and carefully arranged into 18 mounds to create reefs. These areas provided habitat for fish, invertebrates, algae, and kelp.
The artificial reefs were necessary because of the history of degradation in the area. In the mid-20th century, landslides and sewage buried natural reefs and kelp beds in sediment, erasing the habitats of native species. Combined with DDT poisoning, this devastated the populations of kelp bass, barred sand bass, sheephead, and California spiny lobster, all of which are important for both commercial and recreational fishing.
Soft sediment does not provide a good anchor for kelp and algae, but hard rock does. When the plants move in after the foundation is in place, other species follow, using them for shelter and food. Soon, the artificial reefs become thriving ecosystems — and not only are they full of life, but "halo zones" extending for 30 meters around each site also host increased populations of the target species.
The project was so successful that it even uncovered an acre of natural reef nearby, adding even more to the healthy habitat restoration project, which was made possible only by the efforts of scientists and divers. There is now more than 11 times as much biomass as there was in the area, and despite concerns that invasive species would take advantage of the new habitat, that hasn't happened; instead, the desired native species are benefiting. All this took place in just four years, marking the project as an unreserved success.
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