BULLETIN OF MARINE SCIENCE, 37(1): 1-2, 1985

THIRD INTERNATIONAL ARTIFICIAL REEF CONFERENCE 3-5 NOVEMBER 1983, NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA FOREWORD Raymond Buckley, John Grant and John Stephens, Jr. The use of artificial structures to attract fish and/or enhance fisheries has long been practiced. Increasing impacts on nearshore fisheries from fishing pressure, habitat loss, and pollution have caused fisheries authorities in coastal areas of the world to review the potential for artificial reefs. In many of the coastal United States, particularly California, there is increased interest in these habitat enhancement structures as mitigation for losses to fisheries or other living marine resources. Artificial reef construction involves long-term, if not permanent, alteration of bottom habitat to enhance the abundance and availability of primarily demersal biota; the deployment offish aggregation devices, while physically less permanent, has equal potential to affect pelagic biota. The use of either of these technologies includes responsibility for understanding the resulting effects on target and ancillary organisms. Unfortunately, the surge of interest in artificial reefs and fish aggregation devices in recent years has resulted in a proliferation of implementation projects which have not been followed by an analysis of results. The Third International Artificial Reef Conference, of which this is the proceedings, evolved out of an attempt by Southern California Edison Company, a major utility, to develop artificial reefs as a mitigative tool for potential losses due to the operation of coastal power generating stations. In cooperative agreement with the California Department of Fish and Game, Southern California Edison Company funded both the construction of Pendleton Artificial Reef in the nearshore waters south of San Mateo Point, and the related studies of the reef's marine community development. The Third International Artificial Reef Conference was convened under the theme of highlighting this need to integrate definitive research and analysis into all future projects involving artificial reefs and fish aggregation, as well as the need to critically examine previous projects for results that relate to their original objectives. These technologies have a tremendous potential for improving fishery resources through thoughtful, rational use to provide specific enhancement. The conference theme urged widespread support for meeting these definitive research needs and enhancement criteria, and for an end to the use of artificial reef construction to justify solid waste disposal in the aquatic environment. It had been over nine years since the First International Artificial Reef Conference, held in Texas in 1974, provided an international forum for the exchange of information on enhancement and utilization of aquatic resources through artificial reef construction. The Second International Artificial Reef Conference, held in Brisbane, Australia in 1977, was unfortunately monetarily inaccessible to the majority of researchers in the continental United States. During the intervening years, technological advances in artificial reef design, siting and construction, and the evolution offish aggregation devices, exceeded capabilities for timely, effective communication on national and international levels. This resulted in part from a lack of coordination and current information exchange between the various United States programs, and in part because the most significant investments,

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BULLETIN OF MARINE SCIENCE, VOl. 37, NO. I, 1985

advances and results had occurred in programs in other countries. For example, Japan is engaged in a l2-year program (1976-1987) for coastal fisheries enhancement which provides $750 million for development of artificial fishing reefs. The results of this mammoth effort are only now becoming available to English speaking researchers through translations of scientific literature. The Third International Artificial Reef Conference brought together many of the major researchers concerned with recreational and commercial fishery applications of artificial reef enhancement and fish aggregation in the United States, Japan, the Republic of China, Australia, the Philippines, Israel and Kuwait. This conference provided a forum to expedite the exchange of valuable information through papers covering in detail the engineering, biological, and fishery management aspects of these technologies, and established many personal contacts which encouraged continued exchanges of information on methodologies and preliminary results from current research. In Summary Session, the conference also emphasized the need to establish coordination between current and future artificial reef enhancement and fish aggregation research efforts throughout the United States and other countries.

Credit for the success of this conference must be shared by the Steering Committee and supporting staff, the presenters of many excellent formal and poster session papers, the Conference Co-sponsors, and the Conference Exhibitors. While all of these individuals and organizations made significant contributions, two stand out as major efforts worthy of special recognition: the co-sponsorship by the Southern California Edison Company which provided the major funding for the conference, as well as pre- and post-conference activities, and travel and accommodations for many national and international attendees; and, the excellent and informative presentations by the Japanese researchers, Dr. Makoto Nakamura and Dr. Osamu Sato, and the Japanese reef module exhibitors from the "Large Reef Association" (Ohgata Gyosho Kyokai) and the "Steel Productions Association" (Kozai Club). At a post-conference workshop held in Los Angeles, California on January 1718, 1984, the following recommendations were developed to guide future artificial reef and fish aggregation research in the United States: (a) Quantification of resource and fishery "production" aspects of the enhancement; (b) Establishment of construction design criteria for specific species, fisheries and physical stability; (c) Identify and secure sources of research funds; (d) Development of regional planning and siting criteria; (e) Coordination and communication of research and development activities within and between regions; and (f) Research on biological aspects of reef biota and their impacts on natural ecosystems. Although the workshop attendees did not want to prioritize these recommendations, it is clear that there is an overriding need for further research on artificial reefs and fish aggregation devices to establish their value in resource management and enhancement programs, and that this research will require funding. The potential benefits of this research go far beyond creating better tools for resource managers; there is also the possibility of an important common interest between nations with mutual fishery problems. (R.B.) Washington State Department of Fisheries, Marine Fish Program, Room 115, General Administration Building, Olympia, Washington 98504; (J.G.) California Department of Fish and Game, Marine Resources Region, 245 West Broadway, Long Beach, California 90802; (J.S.) Occidental College, Department of Biology, 1600 Campus Road, Los Angeles, California 90041. ADDRESSES: