DNREC sinks ex-Army fast-supply ship to expand Delaware’s artificialreef system and create more fish habitat and angling opportunities
Per DNREC … (Jan 22, 2021) … About the newest addition to Delaware’s reef system: The John S. Dempster Jr. joins three other decommissioned World War II-era fast-supply (FS) ships that DNREC has turned into prime fish habitat and excellent angling opportunities on the Del-Jersey-Land Inshore Reef. The reef’s name is derived from its lying roughly equidistant (26 nautical miles) from ports of departure in each of the three states its name entails: Lewes, Del., Cape May, N.J. and Ocean City, Md.
The mainstay of the reef is the destroyer ex-USS Arthur W. Radford, sunk in 2011 and still the longest ship (at 568 feet) reefed on the East Coast – Dempster and the other former fast-supply ships on the Del-Jersey-Land Reef all check in at 180 feet. You can find out more about Delaware’s artificial reef system at https://dnrec.alpha.delaware.gov/outdoor-delaware/artificial-reefs/