Bay County wraps up NRDA artificial reef project
BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) – Bay County deployed the last set of artificial reefs on Wednesday.
30 more Bay County artificial reefs are now sitting on the bottom of the Gulf.
They were all part of a multi-part artificial reef program the county coordinated, using Restore Act money from the 2010 BP oil spill settlement.
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Crews deployed phase one on February 26th. Phase two was completed on March 12th. Crews set out bright and early Wednesday morning to deploy the last 10 structures.
They are hoping these reefs will help offset the damages the oil spill caused to the fishing industry.
'There was documentation to the recreational fishery that they just weren't able to get out and have the normal lifestyle that they're accustomed to by living here in Bay County in Northwest Florida. So it's our hope that this will provide opportunities that they didn't have before,' Florida Sea Grant Bay County Extension Representative Scott Jackson said.
But these aren't just any reefs. Everything from the material to the size of the windows is specifically designed to benefit the marine life long-term.
'The limestone that this vendor is using to manufacture these reefs kind of mimics what we see on the ocean floor as far as the limestone ledges that occur naturally. And so this gives it a jump start to the organisms that we see over time,' Jackson said.
'Often the sea turtles will get around these structures naturally… the hole at the top is plenty big enough for a turtle to go out. And then the windows at the bottom of them are larger. They're big enough for me to go in,' Sea Grant volunteer Bob Stapleton said.
The location where the reefs are placed is also chosen carefully to encourage more fishing spots.
'The more and more structure we put out, the more places there are for fish to be and more places for fishermen to spread themselves out over. So it relieves the pressure on, you know, a major pool of fish at one place,' Stapleton said.
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The county will go back out and add some additional reefs to current locations. They're also working on new artificial reefs, including a re-purposed tugboat.
If you'd like to see a list of where the reefs have been placed,
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