Environment and Resource Management

Moreton Bay artificial reef program

Artificial reef materials on the way to deployment. Photo: DERM.

Artificial reef materials on the way to deployment. Photo: DERM.

The Queensland Government has established six artificial reefs in Moreton Bay Marine Park, at a cost of $2 million. The program has been delivered by the Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM). The artificial reefs provide recreational anglers with a range of exciting new fishing opportunities in the marine park.

The planning process...a team effort

The artificial reef program was announced in February 2008 and the last structures were placed at the final site on 17 August 2011. The planning process for the installation of the reefs was extensive and involved mapping and analysing all of the physical, environmental, social and economic constraints for areas within the marine park in order to identify suitable sites for the artificial reefs.

Extensive consultation was conducted with representatives from recreational and commercial fishing bodies, the bait and tackle industry, tourism industry, conservation groups, DERM and other government departments. A working group was established to provide advice on almost all aspects of the program, including potential locations for the reefs, materials to be used and management of the sites.

Artificial reef sites

Artificial Reef location map. Photo: DERM.

Artificial Reef location map. Photo: DERM.

The six artificial reef sites are:

Download a map of these locations (PDF, 1.5M)*.

The Tiwi Pearl was sunk to become part of the Harry Atkinson Artificial Reef. Photo: DERM.

The Tiwi Pearl was sunk to become part of the Harry Atkinson Artificial Reef. Photo: DERM.

Harry Atkinson Artificial Reef

The Harry Atkinson Arificial Reef covers an area of 92 ha and is located 7 km east-south-east of St Helena Island. The reef was originally created in 1975 from old car tyres and other materials. The enhancement of this site was undertaken as part of the artificial reef program and included the deployment of 150 m2 of quarried rock in December 2008, the sinking of the ex-trawler Tiwi Pearl in March 2010 and the deployment of 450 T of concrete pipes at four locations in August 2010.

Some activities are prohibited at this site without a permit. See the special activity notices and activity summary table for details.

Reef balls were deployed at West Peel Artificial Reef. Photo: DERM.

Reef balls were deployed at West Peel Artificial Reef. Photo: DERM.

West Peel Artificial Reef

West Peel Artificial Reef is located west of Peel Island and north-east of Cleveland Point. The reef was completed in December 2010 and consists of a total of 117 reef balls distributed over 11 clusters (each cluster has 10–11 reef balls). The reef ball heights range between 500 mm and 800 mm off the sea floor.

Some activities are prohibited at this site without a permit. See the special activity notices and activity summary table for details.

A reef ball is home for a grey carpet shark. Photo: DERM.

A reef ball is home for a grey carpet shark. Photo: DERM.

East Coochie Artificial Reef

This reef is located east of Coochiemudlo Island and consists of 78 reef balls distributed over seven clusters (each clsuter has 11–12 reef balls of varying sizes). The reef ball heights range between 500 mm and 800 mm off the sea floor.

Some activities are prohibited at this site without a permit. See the special activity notices and activity summary table for details.

Fish caves were deployed at Wild Banks Artificial Reef. Photo: DERM.

Fish caves were deployed at Wild Banks Artificial Reef. Photo: DERM.

Wild Banks Artificial Reef

Wild Banks Artificial Reef covers an area of 175 ha east of the Wild Banks, which are east of Bribie Island. Three purpose-built ‘fish caves’ have been deployed at an average depth of 35 m with the aim of attracting pelagic fish species like mackerel, dolphin fish and wahoo.

Some activities are prohibited at this site without a permit. See the special activity notices and activity summary table for details.

Fish boxes ready for deployment at North Moreton Artificial Reef. Photo: DERM.

Fish boxes ready for deployment at North Moreton Artificial Reef. Photo: DERM.

North Moreton Artificial Reef

This reef covers an area of 200 ha and is located north of Moreton Island. This site is designed to attract pelagic fish species at a shallower depth than the Wild Banks site. To create the artificial reef, 25 ‘fish boxes’ were deployed in groups at an average depth of 14 m.

Some activities are prohibited at this site without a permit. See the special activity notices and activity summary table for details.

Fish boxes were deployed at South Stradbroke Artificial Reef. Photo: DERM.

Fish boxes were deployed at South Stradbroke Artificial Reef. Photo: DERM.

South Stradbroke Artificial Reef

The South Stradbroke Artificial Reef covers an area of 208 ha and is located east of South Stradbroke Island, approximately 3 km north of the Gold Coast seaway. The aim of this reef is to attract both pelagic and reef fish species. Twenty ‘fish boxes’ were deployed in groups at an average depth of 24 m.

Some activities are prohibited at this site without a permit. See the special activity notices and activity summary table for details.

This site is complemented by six fish attraction devices (FADs) that were deployed at the site earlier this year. The FADs are removed each year during the whale migration season. These devices generally attract fast growing, short-lived pelagic species, such as Mahi Mahi.

Artificial reef use restrictions

The artificial reefs have been designed specifically for recreational fishing, many other activities are prohibited and/or restricted at the individual sites.

The table below gives a summary of the prohibited and restricted activities as published in the special activity notices for each site.

Special activity notices

Use restrictions summary table

Activity/Artificial reef site Harry Atkinson West Peel East Coochie Wild Banks North Moreton South Stradbroke
Recreational fishing Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Spearfishing No No No Yes1 Yes Yes
Charter fishing2 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Commercial fishing No No No No No No
Anchoring Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes
Snorkelling No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Scuba diving No No No No No No
Surface-supplied-air diving No No No No No No

1. To a maximum depth of 12 m.

2. A maximum of one visit per artificial reef site, per day, for a maximum of one hour. Marine park permit required.

Reef materials

Reef ball deployment. Photo: Joe Caloiero, DERM.

Reef ball deployment. Photo: Joe Caloiero, DERM.

Cardinal fish make this reef ball their home. Photo: DERM.

Cardinal fish make this reef ball their home. Photo: DERM.

Reefs balls

A reef ball is actually not a ball, rather a hemispherical hollow concrete unit invented over 15 years ago in the United States of America. Marine life can take advantage of the hollow interior, gaining access via holes in the structure. The size and number of holes can easily be varied depending upon the reef’s application.

Its design has evolved over many years of trials, fine tuning and input from engineers and scientists.

Key features

West Peel Artificial Reef

This reef consistis of 117 reef balls, including:

Reef balls of varying size were placed at 11 locations within the artificial reef site. The balls in each group (comprising 10 or 11 reef balls) are spaced a few metres apart. The spacing between each group is between 100 and 200 m. The balls were lowered into place with a crane and automatically released on the seabed by a ‘wanger’—a gravity hook that is released when the weight is taken off the hook as the ball touches the sea floor.

East Coochie Artificial Reef

East Coochie consists of 78 reef balls, including:

Balls of varying size were placed at seven locations within the artificial reef site, with each cluster comprising 11 or 12 reef balls.

Sizes of reef balls

Type of ball Width Height Weight
Pallet ball 1.22 m 0.88 m 682–800 kg
Bay ball 0.91 m 0.61 m 250–341 kg
Mini bay ball 0.76 m 0.53 m 120–180 kg
A 'fish cave' purpose-built for the Wild Banks site. Photo: DERM.

A 'fish cave' purpose-built for the Wild Banks site. Photo: DERM.

Fish caves

'Fish caves' are structures that were purpose-built to withstand the local conditions at the Wild Banks site. The are fabricated from steel and stand 11 m high, 11 m wide and weight 14.4 T.

The 'fish caves' were transported to the Wild Banks site by barge where they were lowered to the sea floor using a large crane. The was executed using a three point lift where each point was released using a floatation release system. A float was attached to the release hook exerting a vertical force on the hook. The weight of the 'fish cave' on the hook lept the hook closed until the 'fish cave' touched the sea floor. Once the 'fish cave' touched the bottom the hook was forced open by the greater vertical force from the floats.

A 'fish box'. Photo: DERM.

A 'fish box'. Photo: DERM.

Fish boxes

A 'fish box' is a hollow, 4m3, 17 T cube with a cross brace made from re-enforced concrete. The 'fish boxes' were created from moulds with the concrete requiring 28 days to reach full strength. Twenty-five 'fish boxes' were constructed to create the North Moreton Artificial Reef and another 20 were created for the South Stradbroke site. The 'fish boxes' were deployed using the same floatation release system used for the deployment of the 'fish caves'. 

More information

For more information on the artificial reef program, please contact the department.

Find out more

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Last updated 9 December 2011

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