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Mineral Resources Management Division - Rigs to Reefs Workshop

Tom Raftican

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United Anglers of Southern California is the largest association dedicated to restoring and enhancing California fisheries and marine resources.

Currently we work with the Department of Fish and Game or have a program helping raise and release white sea bass up and down the coast. We also work with them building and enhancing the artificial reefs up and down the coast.

Our organization was basically founded by people that realized that the Pacific Ocean was a finite resource and we have to act and make sure that we put fish back where fish used to be.

Tremendous change has come to California in the last 46 years since Belmont Island, which was the first offshore facility. We look at how that change has been dealt with on the land, and in the last 25 years, we have really done a very good job at dealing with the changes.

You look at the environmental laws that have come along. You look at urban planning. You know, we've really had a good facility working with the change that's come on the land in California.

We're realizing that these changes brought on by population and growth don't stop at our beaches. I think this workshop this morning is a very, very good indication of that.

You know, traditionally in the past, if something went on beneath the surface of the ocean, it was essentially out of sight, out of mind. And for way too long it was treated like that.

Rigs to reefs is an excellent opportunity to examine and do something about that out of sight out of mind attitude that we've had with the ocean.  I’d like to share some of the ideas that Dr. Dick Glen had. Dr. Glen is the president of the San Diego Oceans Foundation, which is an affiliate member of the United Anglers of Southern California.

"Dear Tom, I wish that you would relay the following brief comments to the workshop attendees. They concern the large quantities of sea life associated with Southern California’s oil rigs and their importance to the Marine ecosystem. I am basing my comments on a lifetime as a professional biologist, aquaculturist and environmental analyst.

Riparian Concept. Much like a water course in Southern California, an oil rig serves as a highly productive habitat in a virtual desert. It should be given at least as much legal status as riparian habitat on land.

Seed source. The eggs, spores and larvae, and the many plants and animals associated with a oil rig, move throughout the Southern California Bight  and sea areas far away. For some species this is undoubtedly an extremely important source for maintaining stable populations. 

Oasis concept. Just as a spring in the middle of the desert provides the basis for a biological community, an oil rig performs the same function in the ocean. There are numerous spineless animals attached to the rig which form the beginning of a food chain which passes through to fish and on to birds and seals. Each rig can easily support hundreds of tons of sea life at one time.  Over the course of the seasons, the total production could easily amount to millions of pounds.

Rainforest analogy. It is now widely accepted that the uniqueness of much of the reveered rainforest is due to vertical stratification. An oil rig is similar in that near the top, the plants and animals are involved in the primary production much as the canopy of a rain forest. The production falls to the levels below and eventually reaches the ocean floor. On the sea floor as a diverse biological community which depends on the continuing rain of sustenance from the top layers.

Spineless creatures need consideration too. It seems that only fish are deemed important when analyzing the biological significance of oil rigs. In fact the mussels, scallops, worms, anemones, starfish and many other invertebrates make up a mass of life much greater than the fish which is dependent on a oil rig. It is reasonable to expect at least 10 pounds of assorted sea life to be attached to each square foot of the legs and crosspieces down to a depth of 70 feet.

In summary, an unintended consequence of placing structures in southern California’s offshore waters is the creation of habitat which supports thousands of tons of sea life. Prior to seriously considering the removal of any oil rigs, society needs to know what and how much sea life will be destroyed. Furthermore, there will be biological consequences elsewhere, and that needs to be addressed.

Thanks for conveying my thoughts to the workshop attendees. Maybe some eyes will be open.

Sincerely Richard G. Glen, Ph.d."

In terms of the big picture, it's going to be very crowded in California.  We look at where we come from 1943 to the present. A recent estimate at 2020 our population will have a nearly 50 percent increase in California.

If you think our resources are strained right now, we talked before about endangered fish.  We have endangered invertebrates.  We have endangered mammals.  It is very necessary to enhance these resources in the future.  Rigs to reefs offers a tremendous opportunity to do that.   Thank you.