Do Reefbacks despawn and respawn?

[RetroACE135]

I was curious because I knocked off some barnicles for copper, and was wondering if it would "technically" be renewable resourced by Reefbacks spawning or despawning.

[HuskyDynamics]

Not unless you count being "unloaded" when the player gets far enough away (which doesn't reset either them or their barnacles, so it isn't helpful for your method). Each leviathan-class lifeform (including Reefbacks and Sea Treaders) has a particular number of specimens that all have their own generally defined areas. None of them despawn naturally aside from when they are out of render distance (in which case they reappear when the player gets close enough again) and if killed, they stay dead and no replacement will appear.

In short, the barnacles are indeed also nonrenewable.