Saving Seafood

Retiring of Calcasieu Pass brings opportunity for a menhaden bait fisherman

August 31, 2026 — The recent sinking of the Calcasieu Pass in Delaware waters in the Atlantic Ocean to make a reef perhaps speaks more to the changing times of Virginia’s menhaden fishery than to an end of life grave for an old fishing vessel.

The former 180’ menhaden carry-away boat Calcasieu Pass was donated by Ocean Harvesters of Reedville, Va., to Coleen Marine for the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC).

The boat was sunk in August on Delaware’s Del-Jersey-Land reef about 26 miles off Indian River Inlet in the ocean. The vessel will provide new habitat for reef-associated fish and marine life while creating opportunities for anglers and divers.

Ocean Harvesters’ fleet is composed of six large menhaden steamers and four carry-away boats. A carry-away boat is a dedicated transport vessel used to carry menhaden back to the processing plant, allowing fishing vessels to continue to fish longer in active fishing zones.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

DELAWARE: Retired fishing vessel sunk as artificial reef off Delaware

August 24, 2026 — Delaware has sunk a retired 180-foot menhaden vessel on its flagship offshore artificial reef, the state Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control announced Aug. 18.

The Calcasieu Pass, a former offshore oilfield supply boat that went on to spend more than 30 years in the Atlantic menhaden reduction fleet out of Reedville, Va., was placed on Reef Site 13, better known as the Del-Jersey-Land Reef. DNREC said the vessel went down after environmental remediation and approval by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Coast Guard for environmental cleanliness and safety.

Ocean Harvesters, which operated the vessel, said in a separate announcement that the sinking took place Wednesday, Aug. 12, at a site roughly 26 miles off Indian River Inlet.

The boat measures 180 feet with a 40-foot beam. Built in 1982, it supported offshore oilfield work until 1989, when it was converted to an Atlantic menhaden fishing and processing vessel. Its name comes from Calcasieu Pass, a bend in the Calcasieu Ship Channel near Lake Charles, La., an area DNREC noted for liquefied natural gas production.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

DELAWARE: DNREC sinks old oilfield supply ship to expand Delaware artificial reef

August 18, 2026 — The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control has expanded the state’s artificial reef system by sinking the 180-foot Calcasieu Pass at Reef Site 13, creating new marine habitat and recreational opportunities for anglers and divers.

Reef Site 13, also known as the Del-Jersey-Land Reef, is located offshore at a point roughly equidistant from ports in Delaware, New Jersey and Maryland, due east of Bethany Beach. DNREC describes the site as the centerpiece of Delaware’s artificial reef system.

Read the full article at CoastTV

DELAWARE: DNREC Sinks Ex-Military Freighter for Artificial Reef

August 17, 2020 — The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control has another vessel in its artificial reef.

On Thursday, the agency sunk the Reedville, originally a World War II and Korean Conflict-era coastal freighter. The supply ship is part of DNREC’s artificial reef 16 miles offshore and 87 feet deep. The reef also includes decommissioned ferries and the “Perfect Storm” ship, the Zuni-Tamaroa. DNREC says the artificial reef helps the local fish habitat and has become a popular angling destination.

“We continue to enhance the angling and recreational diving experience in Delaware by expanding our reef system, which includes 14 separate reef sites in the Delaware Bay and along the Atlantic Coast,” said DNREC Secretary Shawn Garvin. “When we sank Twin Capes two years ago as a centerpiece of the system, it was unmatched as an artificial reef for both providing fish habitat and a spectacular dive with its five decks for underwater exploration. Now with the Reedville, we’ve got four reefed vessels of the same class and we are putting it in a place that will be accessible, attract the most fish and where divers will want to explore, too.”

Read the full story at WBOC

New Delware Natural Resources video reveals strong glass eel count

March 9, 2016 — DOVER — The American eel would seem one of the slipperiest species on which to get a population handle, but a new DNREC YouTube Channel video shows otherwise — with Division of Fish & Wildlife biologists conducting a survey of young “glass eels” tallied thousands at a time by “enumerating them volumetrically” with a device known as a splitter box.

On a single splitter capture, as DNREC’s YouTube Channel documented the effort, more than 7,000 eels were counted — which fisheries biologist Jordan Zimmerman said indicated a good abundance of American eels in the Delaware Estuary (a survey day earlier this year turned up 65,000 glass eels, while another day’s count in a recent year reached almost 100,000).

The glass eel count program was established as a fisheries management plan tool for monitoring reproduction in the American eel. “Glass eels” are another stage of the American eel’s life cycle, first stage being the egg, which hatches into larvae drifting on the Gulf Stream and eventually metamorphosing to the glass eel stage and swimming toward shore and the estuaries.

Read the full story at Delaware State News