Artificial Reef Society of British Columbia

The Artificial Reef Society of British Columbia (ARSBC) is a registered non-profit society based in Vancouver, British Columbia (BC), and has been a registered tax-deductible charity in Canada since 1992.[1]

Vancouver Maritime Museum
ARSBC Headquarters - Vancouver Maritime Museum

Its aim is to create environmentally and economically sustainable artificial reefs (ARs) in British Columbia and around the world for the protection and enhancement of sensitive marine habitats, while also providing interesting destinations for the enjoyment of scuba divers.

The Society operates without any paid employees. Instead, it is driven by a dedicated volunteer Board of Directors alongside hundreds of volunteers hailing from British Columbia, Alberta, and the northwest United States, all actively involved in its projects, and is based out of the Vancouver Maritime Museum.

Since its founding in 1991, eight ships and one Boeing 737 have been sunk off the west coast of BC.[2] These wreckages act as a safe starting point for creating additional biodiversity, similar to ship graveyards, and other man-made structures that became ARs without the toxic leaching hazardous materials such as paints and heavy metals.[3]

The Artificial Reef Society of BC claims to also be a member of the Association of British Columbia Marine Industries, however, they are not currently listed as one of the members on the ABCMI member directory.[4]

  1. ^ "T3010 Registered Charity Information Return". Government of Canada. 2023-04-30. Retrieved 2024-02-11.
  2. ^ "ARTIFICIAL REEF SOCIETY OF BC". Artificial Reefs ARSBC. Archived from the original on 2024-05-15. Retrieved 2024-02-12.
  3. ^ Bracho-Villavicencio, Carolina; Matthews-Cascon, Helena; Rossi, Sergio (July 2023). "Artificial Reefs around the World: A Review of the State of the Art and a Meta-Analysis of Its Effectiveness for the Restoration of Marine Ecosystems". Environments. 10 (7): 121. doi:10.3390/environments10070121. ISSN 2076-3298.
  4. ^ "Association of British Columbia Marine Industries | Company Search Result". www.abcmi.ca. Archived from the original on 2024-05-15. Retrieved 2024-02-12.