Artificial Reefs

Introduction

The FWC's Division of Marine Fisheries Management administers a state artificial reef program created by the Florida legislature in 1982 under Florida Statute s. 370.25. The program was transferred to the Commission from the Department of Environmental Protection on July 1, 1999.

The program provides financial and technical assistance to coastal local governments, nonprofit corporations and state universities to develop artificial reefs and to monitor and evaluate these reefs.

Under the program, reefs have been constructed with one or more of the following intended goals: 1) enhance private recreational and charter fishing opportunities and diving opportunities; 2) provide a socio-economic benefit to local coastal communities; 3) increase reef fish habitat; 4) reduce user conflicts; 5) facilitate reef related research; and, 6) while accomplishing objectives 1-5, do no harm to fishery resources, Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) or human health.

Other reef building objectives undertaken in Florida but outside this agency include mitigation or restoration reefs to replace hard bottom habitat lost through such activities as beach re-nourishment, repair of reef system damage caused by vessel groundings and provide substrate for the regeneration of oyster reefs and protection of re-planted vegetated shorelines vulnerable to erosion from wave activity.

Florida has one of the most active artificial reef programs among the 14 Gulf and Atlantic states involved in this activity. The Florida artificial reef program is the only state program besides Maryland that is not exclusively run at a state agency level where the state holds all the reef area permits. Because of the extent of coastline and statewide involvement in reef activities, the FWC program continues as a cooperative partnership started 25 years ago with local coastal county governments.

Today, some local coastal cities, universities and qualified nonprofit corporations also work directly with the FWC in artificial reef development and monitoring activities.

Thirty-four of 35 Florida coastal counties spread along 8,426 miles of tidal coastline (1,200 miles fronting the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean) have been involved in artificial reef development.  Dating back to 1920, as of August 2007, more than 2,400 documented public artificial reefs have been placed in state and federal waters off these counties. Most of the reef development has taken place in the last 20 years. Local coastal governments hold all but one of the more than 300 active artificial reef permits off both Florida coasts. About half of these sites are in federal waters. Fishing clubs, nonprofit corporations and interested private individuals work through the local governments as the liable permit holders to provide input into public reef building activity.