Link: APP - Art as Reef project under way in Brielle
“It’s the nexus of art, science and conservation,” Chris Wojcik said.
Wojcik is the lead artist behind Art as Reef, the group building the 50 x 23˝-foot horseshoe crab sculpture to be sunk on the Axel Carlson Reef outside Manasquan Inlet. The sculpture will provide habitat for many marine species.
“The horseshoe crab is nice because there is a lot of habitat underneath. It’s also an iconic animal on the Mid-Atlantic coast and we’re dead center in their habitat,” Wojcik said.
As Wojcik hinted , horseshoe crabs have existed for up to 400 million years, predating flying insects, dinosaurs, and man. Their range extends along the Atlantic coast from northern Maine to the Yucatan Peninsula and the Gulf of Mexico but Delaware Bay supports the largest spawning population in the world, according to a species profile from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) which manages the population.
Part of Wojcik’s inspiration for the project comes from his respect for the ocean. He is a SCUBA instructor at Divers Two in Avon and has dove New Jersey’s reef along with many exotic places around the world including the Komodo Islands, Indonesia, and the Azores off the West African coast.
Wojcik has also done design and fabrication of natural living exhibits before at Jenkinson’s Aquarium in Point Pleasant Beach, Turtle Back Zoo in East Orange, San Diego Zoo, Maine State Aquarium and Oregon Coast Aquarium.
Working with Wojcik on the sculpture are artists Mark Giampietro, 50, Point Pleasant and Matt Lees, 20, of Point Pleasant Beach.
What is making the Art as Reef’s project even more interesting is it is happening at a time when the future of New Jersey’s artificial reefs is up in the air.
There are currently 15 artificial reef sites off the Jersey coast. The reef building project was begun by the state’s Department of Environmental Protection in 1984. Bill Figley was the DEP’s chief reef coordinator from 1984 to 2005, when he retired.
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“I first mentioned the idea to Bill Figley 12 or 13 years ago and he was all for it then,” Wojcik said.
However, because of conflicts between commercial fishermen and recreational fishermen over the use of the reefs, Dr. John Organ of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service cut off the federal funding for the New Jersey artificial reef system in April . The Art as Reef crew has had to secure funds from other sources.
“The NJ DEP will help us with the logistics of the reef site, but the funding has kind of been like ‘Field of Dreams,’ you know – build it and they will come,” Wojcik said.
The project has received significant support to this point. Bill Cleary, the owner of the Shipwreck Grill and the dock, donated the dock space and made financial contributions. Rich Kramer of R. Kramer and Sons in Brick donated the barge the sculpture sits on. Other significant contributors have been Reef Makers in Moorestown, Blue Ocean Institute, and Patagonia. Also helping with the project has been Cortland Coleman of Coleman’s Communications, who has been the publicist.
Wojcik said they are still looking for sponsors to help with the sinking of the sculpture, which is scheduled to take place after the first of January , weather permitting. They are having a fundraiser at Trinity & the Pope Restaurant in Asbury Park at 8:30 p.m. Nov. 26 and interested sponsors can also visit the website www.ArtAsReef.com.
The sculpture is being built to scale from the body of a real horseshoe crab. The scale translates to 4.445 feet for every inch of the model horseshoe crab to the sculpture. The sculpture will be made of cement that will be poured, smoothed and shaped around stainless steel mesh and rebar. They are using the same cement mixtures that are used in the construction of reef balls, which have an estimated life of 500 years on the sea floor.
A unique addition to the sculpture is glass eyeballs that were blown by artist Blake Hudson in Oregon, Wojcik said.
The crab will be 8˝-feet high and will be sunk in 100 feet of water on the Axel Carlson reef, which is a few miles southeast of the Manasquan Inlet.
“We have to allow for 60 feet of clearance, so we’re not taking any chances. That is also a good depth for lobsters,” Wojcik said.
Wojcik and the crew hope the horseshoe sculpture will be a destination for divers and fishermen once it is sunk. The sculpture should be completed by Thanksgiving.
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