“A Reef! A Reef! My Kingdom for a Reef!” – If Only Shakespeare’s King Richard III Could Scuba Dive!

It’s almost summer when my thoughts automatically turn to sand, surf, reefs and this year’s scuba diving venture in the Florida Keys. Yes, I am a “wreck trekker” at heart but I am also a reef enthusiast – both artificial and natural – and enjoy its many attractions for marine life and recreational fishing.

But perhaps most fascinating of all is the work that is being done in “building” and “restoring” reefs in the USA. Often called the “rainforests of the seas” and “the medicine cabinets of the 21st century”, coral reefs are now being grown in several “underwater nurseries” from Fort Lauderdale thru the Florida Keys to the U.S. Virgin Islands. And in New Jersey, a multi-talented artist/marine biologist/scuba instructor is making a 48-foot-long, 25,000-pound concrete sculpture of a horseshoe crab for use as an artificial reef off the New Jersey coast near Mantoloking. Let’s see then how well you know your reef-making trivia through the last twelve years.

1- Which state in America sponsors an artificial reef program that is the largest rigs-to-reef program in the world?
2- Which state in America is home to the “Ewa Deepwater Artificial Reef” sunk in 300-420 foot water which consists of two barges, two drydock caissons, 1073 tons of concrete pipes, a 43-foot cement structure, and 8000 tons of miscellaneous concrete pieces?
3- Which state in America is home to “Redbird Reef”, an artificial reef located in the Atlantic Ocean covering 1.3 square nautical miles of ocean floor made of 714-plus retired New York City subway cars, 86 retired tanks and armored personnel carriers, 8 tugboats and barges, and 3,000 tons of ballasted truck tires?
4- Which state is home to the largest artificial reef in the world made by the sinking of the aircraft carrier “USS Oriskany” on May 17, 2006 and now considered to be one of the top ten wreck diving sites in the world?
5- Which state is home to artificial reefs made mostly of quarry rock ideal for schools of rockfish, sand bass, and surfperches – and occasionally sunken light poles, pier pilings, concrete chimneys, and old streetcars?
6- What two endangered ‘deer-sounding’ coral species are being transplanted to degraded reefs in the waters off the coasts of Florida and the US Virgin Islands in what is the largest restoration project of its kind?
7- Can you name at least three causes of coral population decline due to either natural or man-made stresses?
8- There are three types of coral reefs around the world – atolls, barrier reefs, and fringing reefs. But how many types of coral are there in the world? A- Over 10,000 B-Over 100,000 C-Over 500,000 D-Over 1 Million
9- What combination of odd man-made objects have been sunk to create an artificial reef? A- Concrete Igloos & Cones B-Outdated Bridges & Docks C- Surplus Army Tanks & Navy Submarines D- Obsolete Airplanes & Helicopters E-All of the Above
10- Coral reefs are a source of food and shelter for a large variety of species including crabs, shrimp, oysters, clams, sponges, sea urchins, sea anemones, sea snakes, snails, jellyfish, and turtles. But what are corals? A) Plants B) Skeletons C) Minerals D) Colonial Animals with Limestone Homes

So whether its wrecks you wish to explore or the remarkable sea creatures hidden within brilliantly displayed coral reefs – you are guaranteed a dazzling show of aquatic magic like no other terrain in the world. If only Shakespeare’s King Richard III knew how to scuba dive—he might have thought differently about giving up his kingdom for a horse!

Answers: (1) Louisiana (2) Hawaii (3) Delaware (4) Florida (5) California (6) Staghorn and Elkhorn Corals (7) Hurricanes, Earthquakes, Disease, Pollution, Warmer Sea Temperatures, and Human Touch (8) C-Over 500,000 (9) E-All of the Above (10) D-Colonial Animals with Limestone Homes