In federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico, approximately 16 nautical miles northeast of Key West, the Monroe County Artificial Reefs Department installed 10 of 45 electricity poles in a new reef region on November 12. Two sources, including the Florida Keys Electric Co-op’s Sea Oats Beach project near Islamorada, provided the electricity poles.
When the weather permits, the remaining poles will be installed to two more different patch reefs in the same region. Coordinates will be made public once the deployment is finished. In the future, more structures will be erected to the site to give marine life more area and a more complicated habitat. All of the program’s funding comes from a Florida state grant.
In preparation for this initial deployment, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has been collaborating with Artificial Reefs Director Hanna Koch. In addition to giving villagers and tourists additional fishing possibilities, it will create structural habitat where none would otherwise exist to support marine life.
According to Koch, this deployment is the first of several initiatives being developed to deliver various environmental and economic-related services. This is only the first step; we intend to build networks of structures on the Atlantic and Gulf sides that span shallow to deep waters and offer a range of high-quality habitat types to different marine animals.
The state gave Monroe County $10 million in August 2023 to begin an artificial reefs initiative in the Keys. The program received an additional $5 million from the state in June 2024. Local natural reefs may be less stressed than artificial reefs.
Koch is working with FWC and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary to create the framework for the Keys’ artificial reefs program’s future. In order to direct the development of projects, she has also been holding lengthy meetings with scientists and local stakeholders. According to Koch, community participation and input are essential to a program’s success.
Monroe County recently joined the 37 coastal counties that already have an artificial reef program, adding to Florida’s more than 4,000 artificial reefs. Between 1982 and 1989, 62 artificial reefs, including wrecks, were primarily constructed in the Keys. The Vandenberg, which was constructed off Key West in 2009, was the most recent artificial reef to be installed in Keys waters. In order to enhance material design, placement, and configuration, Koch intends to employ an adaptive management strategy and a science-based approach to the development, deployment, and assessment of artificial reef materials in the Florida Keys.
Go to www.monroecounty-fl.gov/reefs to learn more about the initiative.
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