Select Board Signs Off On Artificial Reef In Cape Cod Bay

BREWSTER – Brewster is one step closer to being the home of a proposed artificial reef site.

After the success of the artificial reefs developed in Nantucket Sound, the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) is proposing two new sites off the coast of Brewster and Dennis in Cape Cod Bay. On May 12, the select board voted in favor of supporting the proposal and signing off on the permitting documents. 

The goal of the artificial reef is to provide habitat and fishing opportunities in the area, said Kimberley Crocker Pearson, chair of the natural resources advisory committee. Pearson was stepping in for department director Chris Miller at the meeting, who would act as the authorizer on any necessary documentation. 

With support from the Dennis and Brewster select boards, the DMF will be able to obtain the required municipal, state and federal permits with fee waivers. 

The proposed sites are within the three-mile jurisdictional boundaries of Brewster and Dennis in Cape Cod Bay. Pearson said they would create 10.3 acres of habitat using 35,000 cubic yards of natural materials and clean concrete. 

DMF has monitored the artificial reefs on the south side of the Cape for the last five years, noting that they have successfully provided enhanced ecosystems and promoted near-shore fishing. The proposed project will replicate those systems.

At the April 10 natural resources advisory committee meeting, Mark Rousseau, DMF habitat program lead, detailed the proposal. One question centered on the potential threat of invasive species colonizing the areas. Rousseau said it has not been a problem in the last five years at the other sites. 

Project stakeholders are committed to using waste granite or clean concrete as materials for building the reef. There will also be seasonal restrictions for construction based on right whale migratory patterns, which usually occur from Jan. 1 to June 15.   

 In defining the site map, the Massachusetts state archeologist was a critical component in the proposal. DMF had them take a look at the potential for any shipwrecks in the area before settling on the proposed sites. There was a series of dives and sonar scans of the area with no evidence of wrecks. 

A small plane was found in the area, which is now under further investigation but will not deter the project’s progress. 

The Dennis select board has voted in support of the project as well. 

Based on the Nantucket Sound project, Rousseau said permitting was the biggest bottleneck. Once that process is completed, the project will move into the material acquisition and storage phase.