In 1968, the 440-foot Amaryllis became an artificial reef off Palm Beach County in roughly 82 feet of water; reef divers later recorded 136 fish species in 15 surveys

Roughly 80 feet off the coast of Palm Beach County lies the wreck of the Amaryllis, a 440-foot freighter that now hosts more than 136 recorded fish species. The ship’s story illustrates how artificial reefs, structures humans sink on purpose, can shape local marine ecosystems. A 2020 review titled “Meta-Analysis Reveals Artificial Reefs Can Be Effective Tools for Fish Community Enhancement but Are Not One-Size-Fits-All,” published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science, by a team that includes NOAA researchers, found that artificial reefs, a category that includes shipwrecks, provided comparable fish density, biomass, species richness, and diversity to natural reef systems, though those factors varied by location and materials used. The Amaryllis is an interesting story, but it's just one data point.

From beach attraction to artificial reef

The Amaryllis wasn't always a reef. According to Palm Beach Illustrated, the ship ran aground on Singer Island in 1964, providing a popular local attraction until it completely sank and became an artificial reef in 1968, as per the accounts via the Historical Society of Palm Beach County. The wreck produced perfect waves in the area where surfing was otherwise forbidden, creating a local surf scene. The final act was sinking the 440-foot freighter in roughly 82 feet of water. So the ship went from being a beach spectacle to a surf spot and then to an underwater apartment complex and never needed to update its resume.


What the divers actually recorded

According to the REEF survey database, divers have seen 136 fish species in 15 surveys around the wreck. A 2003 study titled “Conservation and Management Applications of the Reef Volunteer Fish Monitoring Program,” published in the journal Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, describes the REEF volunteer monitoring program, in which divers log sightings annually using standardized visual identification methods, feeding a publicly available database.

Fifteen surveys are a small sample size, and the data only captures the number of different fish species seen, not the number of fish. Each survey was conducted by a different set of volunteers, who may have had varying levels of expertise. It's a good sign that REEF divers saw so many species, but the 136 species only represent a cross-section of the possible fish life in the area.

Why one wreck can't settle the debate

The Amaryllis wreck may be a good sign for the future of artificial reef building, but it's just one piece of a much larger body of research. According to the Frontiers in Marine Science article, it's still debated whether artificial reefs can function like comparable natural reefs, and that the best approach was to consider them strategically based on factors like location and resources.

What the wreck of the Amaryllis isn't capturing is how that compares to a natural reef in the same area. The research done around the wreck is impressive, but it can't speak to whether the fish community supports a greater variety of wildlife than a similar natural reef would have. The research record around the Amaryllis has shown potential for shipwrecks to support meaningful marine life. The REEF surveys have demonstrated how volunteer divers can contribute usable data to the broader study of artificial reefs: survey by survey, year by year, since the site was first logged.