Fishing Charters Wiki

Artificial reefs

From the Fishing Charters Wiki, published by Magnetize ME

An artificial reef is a human-made structure placed on the seafloor that may mimic some characteristics of a natural reef. Shipwrecks are the most common type, and modern reefs are built mainly from limestone, steel and concrete.[1] Artificial reefs provide habitat and attract fish to known locations, drawing anglers and divers and supporting local economies.[1]

Materials

Reefs were historically built from rocks, cinder blocks, wood and old tires, but long-lasting reefs now use limestone, steel and concrete.[1] In Florida, permitted materials include concrete, limestone boulders and heavy-gauge steel, while tires, fiberglass boats, plastic, cars and appliances are prohibited; ship sinkings must follow EPA and Maritime Administration guidance.[2]

Florida's reef program

Florida has placed artificial reefs since the 1940s and has more than 4,548 planned public reefs in state and federal waters. The FWC's Artificial Reef Program provides funding and technical help to local governments, nonprofits and state universities, and has distributed more than $26.5 million for reef work; the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issues the permits.[2] The FWC publishes reef coordinates as maps and downloadable files, but warns that reef material can shift, break down or be buried.[4]

The largest artificial reef deliberately sunk in U.S. coastal waters is the aircraft carrier USS Oriskany, 911 feet long, sunk on May 17, 2006, about 22.5 nautical miles southeast of Pensacola Pass in about 212 feet of water.[3]

Private reefs

Private reef building is generally not allowed in Florida: the Army Corps does not issue reef permits to private citizens, fishing clubs or nonprofits, and placing material outside a permitted area may constitute illegal ocean dumping. Escambia, Bay and Okaloosa are the only Florida counties where private individuals can apply to place material inside an existing county-permitted reef area.[2]

Bay County

Bay County's reef deployments take place under a large-area artificial reef site permit held by the county. Applicants have their materials inspected and tagged, accept financial responsibility, pay a fee per vessel load, deploy within 30 days in daylight, and report GPS coordinates within 48 hours.[5] The county has two large reef sites open to public permitting, and charter captains help deploy materials; UF/IFAS cites a study estimating $138 in economic benefit for every $1 spent on artificial reefs in the Florida Panhandle.[6]

In 2025 Bay County and UF/IFAS Extension placed ten pyramid-shaped concrete reef modules, funded with money from the 2010 BP oil spill recovery and designed so sea turtles can pass through.[7] In November 2025 the "Black Pearl," a 97-foot steel pirate ship built as a film prop, was sunk as a reef in about 75 feet of water southwest of St. Andrews Pass for Visit Panama City Beach.[8]

Attraction or production

Scientists have long debated whether artificial reefs produce new fish or mainly attract fish from elsewhere. A 1989 review by J. Bohnsack found the evidence for added production mostly anecdotal, and predicted that attraction is more likely where natural reef is plentiful, fishing pressure is high and species are mobile, while production is more likely on isolated reefs and for reef-bound species; it concluded that artificial reefs alone are unlikely to help overfished stocks.[9]

References

  1. ^ ^ ^ "What is an artificial reef?". NOAA National Ocean Service, updated September 23, 2026. oceanservice.noaa.gov
  2. ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ "Artificial Reefs". Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. myfwc.com
  3. ^ ^ "Oriskany Reef". Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. myfwc.com
  4. ^ "Download Reef Locations". Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. myfwc.com
  5. ^ "Steps to Deploying Artificial Reefs in Bay County". UF/IFAS Extension Bay County. blogs.ifas.ufl.edu
  6. ^ "Getting to Know Artificial Reefs". UF/IFAS Extension Bay County. blogs.ifas.ufl.edu
  7. ^ "10 new artificial reefs come to Bay County". WJHG, March 19, 2025. wjhg.com
  8. ^ "The famous Black Pearl becomes local sunken treasure". WJHG, November 20, 2025. wjhg.com
  9. ^ Bohnsack, J. (1989). "Are High Densities of Fishes at Artificial Reefs the Result of Habitat Limitation or Behavioral Preference?". Bulletin of Marine Science 44(2):631–645 (via Tethys, PNNL). tethys.pnnl.gov
Categories: Artificial reefs · Fishing in Florida · Marine conservation