Sneaky self made reef

[Meterplus]

Hi All,
So I think its time I stop procrastinating and get busy. I have put alot of thought into making a reef out of bits and pieces of scrap and whatever I can get my hands on. ( Edited ) ... Tubes will make good homes for small fish and the . These could be constructed into a pyramid shape so as they stick up off the mud and silt bottom, perhaps a bunch of pyramids joined together so they stick up around 2 meters. I have also found a bunch of old rope and a roll of stainless wire at our local dump which can be used to join it all together.
A couple of anchor points would be necessary such as a tube 150mm X 2000mm filled with rock and concrete.
I dont want to use a surface FAD as that could be dangerous to other boats. But it would be handy to have a messenger type line to continue sending more structures down over time.

I guess anything will work given time as long as it stays put and sticks up off the bottom. Any advice, has anyone successfully put something like this together ????
Cheers Meterplus

[marto78]

I've heard of people using bits of pvc connected together to form a christmas tree type thing with a bucket of concrete as a base. The plus side of this is it is easy to transport/make and your won't snag your hooks on it.

[sharkymark2]

I have heard of people using enviromentally prepared washing machine hulks and fridges not that thats a good thing to do............. but it would be very hard to get everything on the same spot. In close proximity yes .

[grinner2]

Sounds like a great idea until you get fined for dumping scrap metal / rubbish at sea .
With the laws the way they are in todays society I would be surprised if you are allowed to do this without 1st getting written permission from government bodies , which would probable involve a lot of red tape .
But Iam with you , would love to have my own personal reef some where that I had created & was able to provide a new home for fish & maybe even catch a few for a feed.

[Meterplus]

Yeah I hear ya Grinner2. I am also looking into how to go about the "legal" process. Some local recreational groups one of our very large business' and a couple of proactive people should hopefully be able to get a ball rolling.
I do like the PVC idea Marto78. As for fridge bodies I think they would stick out when launching at the boat ramp, I could just say I have fitted a beer fridge to my boat.

[tunaticer]

Very large fines if you are caught, plus possibly the cleanup costs will be worn by you as well........That being said though, there are a lot of "personal reefs" scattered about by those with the intention of creating habitat.
Besser Blocks or similar can be easily deployed in an area and they are readily encrusted with live materials.
Try and avoid metallics or painted surfaces especially if the paint could be lead based.

Select a place where people do not commonly use as a normal route or your creation will be come public knowledge quickly.

There is no need for a monsterous reef, loosely scattered reefs hold bait well, bait holds larger fish.

Some of the better reefs around do not show on sounders.

[Crunchy]

Got a load of blocks / whatever on board - "Making a reef? nah mate, just taking them to Straddie for a mate"

[sharkymark2]

Got to get caught to be fined. Rules are only guidelines anyway. Most of our scientific research once it is put under the microscope is based on guesswork and conjecture. Not very scientific or reliable at all. The authorities just seem to use it as a pacifier to get their way each time. Do they really care? Look at Raby Bay and all the other developments all the breeding grounds for future populations decimated; the airport and the Port development will result in huge areas decimated all in the name of big business and not the environment. Sorry guys the rant factor took over for a while. Under control now.

[Shark Poker]

..........

[outwide1]

I have a this mate :) and we i mean he bought 2 old half cabs.
Towed them out and sank them near McClay and Coochie, man do they fish well 3 years down the track.

[Lucky_Phill]

Guys, it is illegal to create your own Arti. :(

It is also well known that there are more " personal arti's " than legislated ones about.;)

I sit on the Qld Arti Reef committee / working group and have all the knowledge you need to access to do it legally and properly.

We are currently in the process of deploying 2 new arti reefs in SEQ and 2 in CQ, details are not for public knowledge just yet. These should be deployed by June 2015.:)

There is a mountain of red tape to get throught to start an arti and some items are :-

water depth
suitable substrate
adjacent natural reefs
navigation waterways
habitat and environment
traditional owners ( need permission to deploy )
QPWS
State and Federal ticks of approval
commercial fishing activities
tidal influences ( silting )

and importantly.... materials.

FYI. The ideal material is bare steel. Then concrete. Tyres are a no no....... ships, boats etc are ok, but will not see us using them due to cost of de-contamination and deployment readiness. Ships also are only good for small areas, as stated above, best to have spread out smaller reefs.

Some of our most succesful reefs are made of steel and are 6mtrs x 6mtrs x 6mtrs.. like a big pyrimad, open structure. We also use Reef Caves and Reef balls ( concrete ) and all of these are dedicated structures and manufactured to specific dimensions and materials.

Due to certain lobby groups and similar groups that the Government do not want to offend, we are restricted from using " materials of opportunity ", that is free stuff given to us by buisness's. This is seen as " dumping waste " and we can't have that now, can we ??? Hence we are forced to pay for new structures to be built.

If you want an arti in your area, I suggest you get together a group, be it business owners, fishers or club fishers and get some details from me or better still, your local State member of parliament, on what you need to do to apply for funding to build your reefs. There are funds available to do this under the LNP's Marine Infrastructure Fund.


cheers Phill

[JB sniper]

Milk crates cable tied up to any shape, size, structure you like with weights inside work a treat when making your own reef.

[Jsmfun]

4 house bricks -1 milk create - 4x 800mm section old anchor rope tie 1 brick to each cnr
use different sized ropes for a staggered reef plenty of building sites around and servo's for creates;D

[Crunchy]

Guys, it is illegal to create your own Arti. :(

It is also well known that there are more " personal arti's " than legislated ones about.;)

I sit on the Qld Arti Reef committee / working group and have all the knowledge you need to access to do it legally and properly.

We are currently in the process of deploying 2 new arti reefs in SEQ and 2 in CQ, details are not for public knowledge just yet. These should be deployed by June 2015.:)

There is a mountain of red tape to get throught to start an arti and some items are :-

water depth
suitable substrate
adjacent natural reefs
navigation waterways
habitat and environment
traditional owners ( need permission to deploy )
QPWS
State and Federal ticks of approval
commercial fishing activities
tidal influences ( silting )

and importantly.... materials.

FYI. The ideal material is bare steel. Then concrete. Tyres are a no no....... ships, boats etc are ok, but will not see us using them due to cost of de-contamination and deployment readiness. Ships also are only good for small areas, as stated above, best to have spread out smaller reefs.

Some of our most succesful reefs are made of steel and are 6mtrs x 6mtrs x 6mtrs.. like a big pyrimad, open structure. We also use Reef Caves and Reef balls ( concrete ) and all of these are dedicated structures and manufactured to specific dimensions and materials.

Due to certain lobby groups and similar groups that the Government do not want to offend, we are restricted from using " materials of opportunity ", that is free stuff given to us by buisness's. This is seen as " dumping waste " and we can't have that now, can we ??? Hence we are forced to pay for new structures to be built.

If you want an arti in your area, I suggest you get together a group, be it business owners, fishers or club fishers and get some details from me or better still, your local State member of parliament, on what you need to do to apply for funding to build your reefs. There are funds available to do this under the LNP's Marine Infrastructure Fund.


cheers Phill

Great to hear more arti's in the pipeline Phill, keep up the good work. No wonder though people take things into their own hands with the red tape that goes along with doing it by the book!

[sharkymark2]

if you want pollution this is real pollution and it is coming from Asia.102542

[sharkymark2]

I was at sea 300miles east of Cairns with a broken crankshaft back in 1975 and there was pollution floating around there in clumps. ice cream containers etc. Nothing like that photo though.

[zoot01]

What a brilliant idea. Everyone take what ever crap they have lying around and just go and dump it in the bay and call it an 'artificial reef'. Got an old boat or a few surplus milk crates - just go dump them in the bay and the fish will come. Does anyone really think this can end well? I fully support well designed and planned artificial reef structures which can support and grow fish populations in otherwise desolate areas of mud and silt. The destroyers of productive mangrove and estuaries should be the ones required to offset the losses with compensatory habitat. These ideas are getting traction but the pollies need pushing in the right direction. These ideas need to be built into the next marine park zoning plan for Moreton Bay and not just the simplistic' lock it all up' approach.

[sparkyice]

...would a large airliner work?
seriously, though, they make a product guys use ice fishing to attract fish. if it works under the ice i don't see why it wouldn't work anywhere else.

http://reelweeds.com/ReelWeeds/ReelWeedsRealFacts/tabid/168/Default.aspx

i've only ever heard about them and can't speak as to their effectivness.

[scottar]

...would a large airliner work?
.

Be just the shot. Let us know if you can find one.

[Matthias]

I rekon there are plenty of big lakes on the goldy that would love a little homemade reef plonked in the middle of em =) I wonder...

FYI
http://infohouse.p2ric.org/ref/37/36468.pdf

[Mike Delisser]

We are currently in the process of deploying 2 new arti reefs in SEQ and 2 in CQ, details are not for public knowledge just yet. These should be deployed by June 2015.:)

cheers Phill

Wow! that's a coincidence Phill? ;)
The next Qld State election has to be held by June 20 2015

[tunaticer]

I would like to see an artificial reef stetched along the edges of no trawl zones.......something like big concrete pilons or pipes laid single file along the boundaries. Will serve both as a trawling barrier and a fish highway.

[Meterplus]

would a large airliner work?

It has been done before. There are downscan pictures of a plane that was sunk on this site somewhere.

[ovakil]

I would like to see an artificial reef stetched along the edges of no trawl zones.......something like big concrete pilons or pipes laid single file along the boundaries. Will serve both as a trawling barrier and a fish highway.

Would be nice north of Tangalooma. So not every one crammed in there.