A Sustainable Resting Place That Creates Life After Life
The South Carolina Memorial Reef exists to forever memorialize those who share a love for the ocean and the great sportfishing resources of SC. Through innovative projects, important collaborations and the help of generous donors, the reef provides critical habitat for a variety of vulnerable deepwater species, while attracting pelagics such as billfish, tuna and wahoo to the area. It serves to enhance the outstanding offshore fishing opportunities off the state’s coast. We invite you to get involved.
If We Build It, They Will Come
The artificial reef site, called the “Charleston Deep Reef,” is a 4 by 6 mile area located approximately 52 nautical miles southeast of Charleston Harbor. Water depths range from about 300 to 450 feet. The Charleston Deep Reef is the state’s first Type II Marine Protected Area (MPA), a designation that prohibits bottom fishing for snapper or grouper but allows surface trolling for species such as billfish or dolphin.
In cooperation with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR), the South Carolina Memorial Reef is the first significant contribution to the Charleston Deep Reef project. Structures such as truck chassis, shipping containers, radio antennas and even the former Highway 41 steel swing bridge have been deployed below the water’s surface. The reef and its new residents are also attracting pelagic species, popular game for offshore sportfishermen and women. In an area that was previously a barren desert, the reef has now created a thriving ecosystem.
We have successfully built habitat for the following species of concern…
Snowy Grouper
Warsaw Grouper
Scamp Grouper
Red Snapper
Photography Credit: SCDNR MARMAP and SEAMAP-SA Reef Fish Survey
As a bonus, the South Carolina Memorial Reef is also attracting pelagic species to the area. Popular sportfish can be found like billfish, tuna, dolphin and wahoo.
Photography Credit: Cameron J. Rhodes/The Buckskin Billfish
Show Your Support for the South Carolina Memorial Reef
The M/V Coastal Venture is a 247-ft vessel deployed in the Charleston Deep Reef on June 1, 2022. The size and complexity of the vessel make it an ideal artificial reef structure. | Photography Credit: Stevens Towing
The South Carolina Memorial Reef is the only deep-water artificial reef on the US Atlantic coast with special management enforcement, making this reef the first of its kind. The Reef project, in conjunction with SCDNR’s Artificial Reef Program, is an effort largely supported by private donations for the building of the Charleston Deep Reef. Our most recent project, the M/V Coastal Venture, a 247-ft cargo ship, was recently deployed at the Deep Reef site off the coast of Charleston. We are still raising funds to cover the remaining cost of sinking the ship, as well as to begin acquiring new structures to deploy. In cooperation with SCDNR and the Harry Hampton Memorial Wildlife Fund, your tax-deductible donation will help to create a lasting memorial to those of the sportfishing community that have gone before us while enhancing the fishery they so loved.
"The sea, once it casts its spell, holds
one in its net of wonder forever."
-Jacques Cousteau
