The N.C. Department of Transportation is partnering with the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries to enhance two artificial reefs off the Brunswick County coast. More than 1,000 tons of damaged concrete pipe was recently transported from the NCDOT’s maintenance yard in Columbus County to the Port of Wilmington where it will be temporarily stored. NCDOT said in a news release that last week, the Bladen County maintenance yard sent more than 100 tons of similarly damaged pipe to the port. This spring, a marine contractor will use a barge to transport and unload the pipes at artificial reefs offshore from Oak Island and Shallotte.
The release said the donated pipes will help create habitat for fish by creating three-dimensional structures that replicate the ecological functions of food and refuge fish and other marine life need to survive. Artificial reefs also provide spawning areas for many recreationally and commercially valuable fish species.
NCDOT said disposing of the damaged concrete pipes in a construction and demolition landfill would have cost $65,000 in tipping fees.
