Artificial Reef

The USS Spiegel Grove was sunk in 2002 to make an artificial reef. In the United States, in particular, demanding coastal permit requirements and environmental opposition present major obstacles to building surfing reefs. As of February 2006, the only reef built in the U.S. specifically for surfing is southern California's "Pratte's Reef", which failed to create waves. Reefs built to enhance marine habitat face far less environmental opposition, in part because they are in much deeper water and further offshore. A number of such man-made reefs exist near Florida and Hawaii.
Europe's first artificial reef was approved in 2008. Construction began 30 August 2008 in Boscombe, Bournemouth, UK, and opened in November 2009. The multi-purpose reef reef is expected to create waves up to 30% larger and double the number of surfing days annually. Construction on this reef began in June 2008, and was completed in August 2009. Boscombe Reef was built from large sand-filled geotextile containers, totaling 13,000 cubic meters.