Environmentalists believe that putting subway cars in the ocean despite their comparatively short life expectancy could eventually blur the line between reef building and the mere disposal of metal junk in the ocean. "We support biologically defensible artificial reef materials that mimic natural ecosystems and provide a long-term biological community of substance," Zipf says.

One question that was largely overlooked in the entire controversy was whether artificial reefs should be created at all. Many fishing groups supported the reef-building efforts, arguing that more reefs and therefore more habitat would lead to more reef fish, but that may not be the case. "It's obviously beneficial to the person who has a boat that makes money renting space on the boat to catch fish. And it's of benefit to the person that has a private boat and wants to catch fish," Bennett says. "The question is whether it's good for the fish, and I don't think we know the answer."

THE TAUTOG, a reef fish found commonly along the Mid-Atlantic coast, is very popular with recreational fishermen.

"There's a difference between what we call FADs¿fish-attracting devices¿and pure artificial reefs, where you build a population of organisms on the reef," Muir explains. Small, insular reefs tend to function as FADs, making it easier for fishermen to find and catch the fish. Although more reefs probably won't add more fish, Muir says they may still help to protect the animals from overfishing to some extent. "I don't believe the artificial reefs are going to dramatically increase the adult population. What it's going to do is spread it out a little bit," he says. "It will just be harder to catch them all. You're not increasing the population of fish because it's not targeting the juvenile or the nursery habitat."

To really enhance the population would require far greater effort. "You'd have to come up with better nursery habitats, cut down dredging, probably put up more different types of reefs and wetlands protection in the small estuaries all along the Mid-Atlantic and cut down on the commercial fishing," Muir says. "Those are two hard sells."

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