Tire Reefs Have Bad Track Record
An apparently unauthorized tire reef in waters off Newport Beach (“Red Tape Threatening Reef,” June 25) raises two questions other than illegality for California coastal commissioners. Can these tires be dislodged? Are they environmentally correct?
In 1979 the California Department of Fish and Game came down hard against tire reefs following fiascoes along the Huntington Beach and Ventura County shorelines. In each case heavy seas tore tires loose and scattered them up and down the coast.
“It may be a convenient way to dispose of a waste product, but our experience is that tire reefs are something of a disaster,” said marine biologist John G. Carlisle, coordinator of the DFG’s artificial habitat program at that time.
Carlisle’s successor, Dennis Bedford, has further reservations about tire reefs. He points out that rocks and even concrete rubble, such as that used in a state-built reef off the Newport Pier, have proven their worth over a number of years in attracting and supporting a diverse reef community.
It is unwise, Bedford said, “to fill our valuable offshore waters with anything less than the best possible reef we know how to build.”
RALPH L. YOUNG
Newport Beach
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