Delaware’s artificial reefs are just one of the many things to discover during a visit to America’s first state.

An innovative state program has created 14 artificial reef sites in the Delaware Bay and along the Atlantic Coast.

Beginning in 1995, Delaware aggressively collected anything old and afloat that would sink after cleaning and recycled it as reef material on the ocean floor.

Artificial reef construction is especially important in the Middle Atlantic region, where — unlike New England’s rocky outcrops or the Southeast’s natural coral reefs — the near-shore bottom is usually featureless sand or mud.

Durable, stable, nontoxic reef materials support an invertebrate community that is hundreds of times richer than that of the adjacent bottom, providing food and physical protection for reef fish such as tautog, sea bass, scup, spadefish and triggerfish, as well as game fish like bluefish, striped bass and weakfish.

The state’s reef program is one part of a comprehensive fisheries management effort designed to enhance fisheries habitat, benefit structure-oriented fish, provide fishing opportunities for anglers, and help save depleted or endangered fisheries.

Find out more about Delaware at DiscoverAmerica.com.