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Scuba instructor and marine biologist Chris Wojcik stands atop a concrete horseshoe crab he created that will be installed as an artificial reef on July 25, 2012. Photo courtesy of NJ Division of Fish & Wildlife

Concrete horseshoe crab sculpture to be NJ’s new reef

Catherine Saunders-Watson
Catherine Saunders-Watson
Scuba instructor and marine biologist Chris Wojcik stands atop a concrete horseshoe crab he created that will be installed as an artificial reef on July 25, 2012. Photo courtesy of NJ Division of Fish & Wildlife
Scuba instructor and marine biologist Chris Wojcik stands atop a concrete horseshoe crab he created that will be installed as an artificial reef on July 25, 2012. Photo courtesy of NJ Division of Fish & Wildlife

MANTOLOKING, N.J. (AP) – Officials hope a 47-foot-long, 25,000-pound concrete sculpture of a horseshoe crab can attract fish off New Jersey’s shore.

The sculpture will become part of an artificial reef two miles off the Mantoloking coast when it’s put into place on Wednesday. The reef will provide habitat for more than 150 species of marine life and serve as a fishing ground for anglers and a unique area for scuba divers to explore.

The immense structure, once deployed, will also be recognized by Guinness World Records as the largest underwater sculpture in the world.

The horseshoe crab was created by Christopher Wojcik. The Point Pleasant, N.J., resident tells The Press of Atlantic City that he raised the $96,000 that it cost to build the sculpture.

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Information from: The Press of Atlantic City. Auction Central News also contributed to this report.

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Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

Scuba instructor and marine biologist Chris Wojcik stands atop a concrete horseshoe crab he created that will be installed as an artificial reef on July 25, 2012. Photo courtesy of NJ Division of Fish & Wildlife
Scuba instructor and marine biologist Chris Wojcik stands atop a concrete horseshoe crab he created that will be installed as an artificial reef on July 25, 2012. Photo courtesy of NJ Division of Fish & Wildlife