just checked the artificial reef society website for the info on the 767 ~~ this is what i got for the latest news (march 14th)
The ARSBC announced today that the planned placement of a Boeing 737 airframe as an artificial reef in Howe Sound would not take place.
Tex Enemark, President of the ARSBC, expressed disappointment at this turn of events, since the ARSBC had invested a great deal of effort in the project, which enjoys enormous support in the recreational diving community.
"We have been working for over a year to bring an artificial reef to the Vancouver area. That we were unable to agree with dive industry members on the terms to finance the project has been most unfortunate.
"However, said Enemark, we are going to canvass the dive operators and tourism officials in other communities for support before we give up entirely on placing it somewhere. Failing that, we have no choice but to scrap it."
"It seems to be agreed that that the overall economics of the project are clearly very positive that, for instance, the net benefit to the local dive industry could be recovered within a year of the reef's placement. This project could reasonably be expected to add several hundred thousand dollars to the Lower Mainland dive tourism industry annually."
"However, the dive industry is small, and there simply are no mechanisms available to cause those dive operators and others who will benefit from the project to help pay for it. The cost of the project--less than $60,000--was not something the ARSBC could afford to undertake on its own," he concluded.
Other artificial reefs placed by the ARSBC in BC coastal communities have significantly increased the dive tourism industry, and brought long overdue world-wide attention to BC's diving opportunities. For example, Nanaimo's artificial reefs hare estimated to add several millioin dollars to the local economy, and have made Nanaimo an international destination for scuba divers and the subject of numerous articles in leading international scuba diving magazines.
guess there won't be a 767 after all ;-0 ~~ sad ~~~
