Anglers who fish on North Carolina’s artificial reefs can still get the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries Artificial Reef Guide, published this past August.
Artificial reef guides are available for free on a first to come, first-served basis at the Division of Marine Fisheries’ Headquarters in Morehead City and at other division offices in Wilmington, Washington, Elizabeth City and Manteo.
Individuals may pick a book up in-person between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m from Monday through Friday (excluding holidays). The division limits distribution of the guide to one book per person.
The 131-page, full-color guide is printed on waterproof paper and provides detailed information about each of the state’s 62 reefs. It includes diagrams of each site showing all reef material, GPS coordinates, and material deployment dates.
As a supplement to the paper guide, the division has posted an online interactive reef guide. This web application offers all the features of the paper guide, with the addition of side-scan sonar imagery, which creates a picture of the ocean floor, for each reef. The web guide also includes mapping tools for measuring distance, searching, and custom printing.
Artificial reefs are man-made underwater structures, built to promote marine life in areas with an otherwise featureless bottom. North Carolina builds reefs to support healthy fish populations, create accessible fishing and diving opportunities, and in some places, restore degraded habitat for oysters.
The reef guide and web application were funded by a $176,000 award from the North Carolina Coastal Recreational Fishing License Grant Program. For more information, contact Amy Comer at 252-808-8054 or Amy.Comer@ncdenr.gov.