SCDNR sinks boat along coast after nearly 3 years of planning

MYRTLE BEACH, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - A shrimp boat is being used as an artificial reef about ten miles off the South Carolina coast. The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources is collaborating with boat owners, scuba divers, and conservation groups to sink a steel-hulled shrimp boat on Monday.The purpose is to create an artificial reef that benefits marine wildlife, divers, and fishermen. This process took approximately three years.Kevin Spanik of SCDNR said, “There’s a lot of planning before this. Even to pick just the right spot, working and collaborate with Coastal Scuba to fill in an area that was a little void between other features that are out there. This is where we make things really nice for the diving industry there.”Lance Corporal Joel Chanaca of SCDNR says it is an investment because they are recycling the boat instead of taking it to a landfill. A lot of abandoned boats are destroyed and taken to landfills because they are made of fiberglass that will decompose over ti