Fire Island Reef: Expanded, Stronger After 55-Foot Steel Luxury Vessel Sank Purposefully

"Big Time," a retired boat built during the 1950s, was sunk intentionally, and it just got the Fire Island Reef stronger.

According to a Florida News Times report, the retired boat's death "aims to help sustain life as an artificial reef." The Big Time, built specifically in 1956, is described as a 55-foot steel luxury cruiser.

As it joins abandoned railroad cars and a part of the old Tappansy Bridge, it assembles a network of artificial reefs occupied by creatures including lobster and black sea bass. Reefs are helping in the increase and improvement of Marine biodiversity.

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'Big Time' Cruiser

A similar Newsday report said, in a statement, Basil Seggos, the Department of Environmental Conversation Commissioner said, deploying the luxury boat on the Fire Island Reef is further evidence of ongoing initiatives to expand the network of artificial reefs of the state, which benefit divers, anglers and marine life while offering an advantageous use for a great range of materials like this vessel.

Now a Fire Island Reef's part, this 55-foot steel boat expands local marine habitat and offers a new, "big time" site for divers and anglers to visit, augmenting opportunities for tourism off the coast of Long Island.

As earlier mentioned, this still cruiser built in the 1950s has joined decommissioned rail cars and areas of the old Tappan Zee Bridge in over reefs off Long Island which are human-made.

To date, the state manages nine artificial reefs in the Atlantic Ocean, two in the Great South Bay, and two in Long Island Sound.

Artificial Reefs

Officials said artificial reefs offer shelter for marine life and places for crustaceans and finfish to forage. They enhance marine biodiversity, as well, stimulate ecosystems and enhance environmental sustainability.

That's helping the marine economy of Long Island by providing more opportunities for both diving and fishing, added the officials.

According to DEC officials, over half a million anglers in the region will reap such benefits from this new effort, backing the region's growing economy, which accounts for roughly 9.7 percent of the total gross domestic product or GDP of Long Island.

The Fire Island reef comprises roughly 4,700 tons of jetty stone, more than 1,800 cubic yards of Tappan Zee Bridge materials, Erie Canal life bridges, trusses and pipe, state Department of Transportation steel bridge girders, tree steel bars from the state Canal Corporation, and the US Army Corps of Engineers research vessel called "M/V Hudson." The officials said contaminants had also been cleaned from the material before they got added to the reef.

Importance of Artificial Reefs

According to the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, while artificial reefs are generally enhancing local economies, they can lead to both positive and adverse impacts on ecosystems.

When an assembly is deliberately placed on the seafloor as an artificial reef, like the luxury cruise, it can develop a habitat for various marine life.

Because of this, artificial reefs are frequently famous destinations for snorkelers, divers, and fishers. In areas like the Florida Keys, heavy visitation, specifically by novice or uninformed snorkelers and divers, can take a toll, specifically on coral reefs.

The research proposed that artificial reefs may deter some pressure away from natural reefs in certain circumstances while still enabling visitors to enjoy a diversity of marine life.

Big Time sinking is shown on NYSDEC's YouTube video below: