Difference between revisions of "Artificial Surfing Reefs"

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ASRs entered the surfing consciousness in the early 1960s when essays by people like oceanographer/North Shore pioneer Ricky Grigg first speculated about their potential benefits for surfers, fishermen and divers alike. Pouring over surf publications from the subsequent decades yields countless "what if?" pieces, some of which thought sinking rusted cars, retired barges or cement blocks might be the answer. During that period, some new waves were accidentally created by Army Corps of Engineers or other coastal development or construction projects, but nothing memorable via an ASR. In 1989, Patagonia's Yvon Chouinard, along with the Surfrider Foundation, announced a study on the pros and cons of building a reef off Emma Wood Beach in Ventura County, but that project has never seen the light of day.
 
ASRs entered the surfing consciousness in the early 1960s when essays by people like oceanographer/North Shore pioneer Ricky Grigg first speculated about their potential benefits for surfers, fishermen and divers alike. Pouring over surf publications from the subsequent decades yields countless "what if?" pieces, some of which thought sinking rusted cars, retired barges or cement blocks might be the answer. During that period, some new waves were accidentally created by Army Corps of Engineers or other coastal development or construction projects, but nothing memorable via an ASR. In 1989, Patagonia's Yvon Chouinard, along with the Surfrider Foundation, announced a study on the pros and cons of building a reef off Emma Wood Beach in Ventura County, but that project has never seen the light of day.
 
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Several ASRs have now been built, in Australia (3), New Zealand (2), England (1) and in the United States (1), but the results, in general, have been [http://www.surfrider.org/jims-blog/entry/do-artificial-reefs-work-vol-4.-track-record very unimpressive].
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Several ASRs have now been built, in Australia (3), New Zealand (2), England (1) and in the United States (1), but the results, in general, have been very unimpressive.
 
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Surfider Foundation's Jim Moriarty has written [http://www.surfrider.org/jims-blog/c/artificial-reefs several blog posts] about various aspects of artificial surfing reefs, including [http://www.surfrider.org/jims-blog/entry/do-artificial-surfing-reefs-work-summary this summary].
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Surfider Foundation's former Executive Director Jim Moriarty has written several articles about various aspects of artificial surfing reefs, including [http://www.theinertia.com/environment/myth-artificial-reefs-work/ this article] for The Inertia.
 
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Also see [http://www.surfrider.org/coastal-blog/entry/can-artificial-surf-reefs-reduce-crowds Can artificial surf reefs reduce crowds?] by Surfrider's Chad Nelsen.
 
Also see [http://www.surfrider.org/coastal-blog/entry/can-artificial-surf-reefs-reduce-crowds Can artificial surf reefs reduce crowds?] by Surfrider's Chad Nelsen.

Revision as of 20:32, 27 April 2016

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As the name implies, an artificial surfing reef (ASR) is an underwater man-made structure intended to create quality surf where there's otherwise none. But the perpetual promise of a permanent structure that focuses and grooms swell has thus far proved largely empty, both because of the cost involved in designing, permitting and installing the ASR, and also due to the technical difficulty in trying the create a reef that consistently produces quality waves.

ASRs entered the surfing consciousness in the early 1960s when essays by people like oceanographer/North Shore pioneer Ricky Grigg first speculated about their potential benefits for surfers, fishermen and divers alike. Pouring over surf publications from the subsequent decades yields countless "what if?" pieces, some of which thought sinking rusted cars, retired barges or cement blocks might be the answer. During that period, some new waves were accidentally created by Army Corps of Engineers or other coastal development or construction projects, but nothing memorable via an ASR. In 1989, Patagonia's Yvon Chouinard, along with the Surfrider Foundation, announced a study on the pros and cons of building a reef off Emma Wood Beach in Ventura County, but that project has never seen the light of day.

Several ASRs have now been built, in Australia (3), New Zealand (2), England (1) and in the United States (1), but the results, in general, have been very unimpressive.

Surfider Foundation's former Executive Director Jim Moriarty has written several articles about various aspects of artificial surfing reefs, including this article for The Inertia.

Also see Can artificial surf reefs reduce crowds? by Surfrider's Chad Nelsen.

In 2000 the Surfrider Foundation constructed an artificial surfing reef (dubbed Pratte's Reef in honor of Surfrider co-founder Tom Pratte) in El Segundo, CA as mitigation for a lost surfing resource. Because it did not improve surf quality and had begun to deteriorate, plans were initiated to remove the reef in the fall of 2008. Phase I of the reef removal process took place during the Fall of 2008 and Phase II of the removal process took place during the Fall of 2010. You can learn more about this ASR in the documents below.


Surfrider Foundation has developed a Policy on Artificial Surfing Reefs.

For a couple of articles that are slightly more positive on ASRs, see: