AI REPRESENTATION: Discarded vehicle tyres rest on the seafloor of Puget Sound, where they were once used to create artificial reefs for recreational fishing | ChatGPT
Discarded vehicle tires, among other materials, were bundled together and lowered into the water at 20 reef sites during the 1970s. A 2025 article from the University of Washington’s School of Marine and Environmental Affairs describes the tire reefs as one of Puget Sound’s clearest examples of how artificial habitat can produce unintended problems. The tires were tied together with polypropylene rope, and thousands were placed at each of the 20 sites. DNR began prioritizing removal work in 2019 and has worked with the Washington Department of Ecology, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission and Washington Scuba Alliance to locate and survey the old reefs. DNR’s survey work between 2019 and 2021 examined 20 locations using multibeam sonar and underwater video. Tires were found at 14 of those sites, with major differences between locations in the number of tires and the size of the affected areas.
Because not all tire placements are mapped, a harbor seal along the coast of the Puget Sound | Wikimedia Commons More than 100,000 tires are still being dealt with A March 2025 KING 5 report estimated that more than 100,000 tires remained in Puget Sound from the old reef program, while noting that the exact number is uncertain.
AI REPRESENTATION: Discarded vehicle tyres rest on the seafloor of Puget Sound, where they were once used to create artificial reefs for recreational fishing | ChatGPT The reefs were built for bottom fishing The University of Washington account says new federal laws and court decisions in the 1970s and 1980s tightened restrictions on salmon fishing, which prompted recreational anglers to put more attention on bottom fishing for species such as rockfish and lingcod. A reef material became a cleanup problem The Washington Department of Natural Resources now considers the old tire structures an environmental problem rather than a successful fish habitat, and its Tire Pile Removal Program says thousands of surplus automotive tires were placed on the bottom of Puget Sound during the 1970s and 1980s to attract native reef fish and improve recreational fishing. The agency says the artificial structures have since been judged unsuccessful and has begun planning and carrying out their removal. The University of Washington report says that the material has weathered and fragmented, while chemical compounds associated with degraded tires can enter the surrounding environment.
Washington’s experiment with artificial reefs in Puget Sound began with the practical goal of creating more structure on the seafloor for rockfish, lingcod and other bottom-dwelling fish while expanding recreational fishing opportunities. Washington’s Department of Fish and Wildlife worked with recreational fishing groups as artificial reef construction expanded. Tires were only one of several materials used, while other reefs incorporated concrete, natural rock, plastics, PVC, vessels, barges and even train cars. The basic idea was to add vertical relief and structural complexity to parts of the seabed that provided relatively little cover. Natural rocky reefs provide crevices and surfaces where algae and invertebrates can live, while smaller fish can use the structure for shelter from predators and currents. The polypropylene rope deteriorated, which allowed individual tires and sections of the artificial structures to move away from their original locations. The tires became loose objects on the seafloor and, in some locations, eventually reached shorelines, instead of remaining as stable reef units. It also notes that tire surfaces did not provide the same biological communities found on more suitable artificial reef materials. DNR has identified multiple priority sites, and its work involves locating tire piles, recovering them from the water and sending the damaged material for appropriate disposal. The original reefs were intended to solve a fisheries problem by adding structure to the seabed, and decades later, the same structures have become objects that marine managers are trying to remove. The contrast has also shaped how newer artificial reefs in Puget Sound are designed, with greater attention to durable materials, site selection and long-term maintenance. Catch the latest World News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.
