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Miami-Dade County Artificial Reef Program
In order to protect our natural reefs from the stress of excessive human interaction while encouraging recreational fishing and sport diving in coastal waters, "artificial" reefs are created out of a wide array of objects ranging from steel hulled ships, to army tanks, to commercial aircraft, to specially designed reef "modules."
Recent News
On March 29, 2010, the 10th Eternal Reefs array consisting of six memorial Reef Balls was deployed at the Golden Beach Artificial Reef Site. The Reef Balls were deployed in about 43 feet of water with 2 feet of relief approximately 1 nautical mile east of the town of Golden Beach. The Reef Balls are adjacent to other reef ball deployments and 3 boulder "patch" reefs.
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Name |
Description |
Date Deployed |
Depth |
Latitude |
Longitude |
|
Eternal Reefs #10 |
6 memorial reef balls |
March 29, 2010 |
43' |
25° 57.768'N |
80° 05.868' W |
Freighter is the newest artificial reef off Key Biscayne
The Miami-Dade County Artificial Reef Program, one of the largest and most popular artificial reef programs in the nation, expanded on Dec. 30, 2009 with the sinking of a 205-foot freighter off Key Biscayne. The "Ophelia Brian" freighter, previously named "Sea Taxi," is the largest artificial reef sinking off the coast of Miami-Dade since 2003, and will help enhance marine habitat in the area of Key Biscayne as well as help spark the local diving and fishing industries. The sinking of the "Ophelia Brian" was done in cooperation with the Brian and Lavinia Snyder Foundation and the Miami Dade Reef Guard Association. The Ophelia Brian now rests about 500' east northeast of the Proteus (deployed in 1985) in 110' with approximately 40' of relief.
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Name |
Description |
Date Deployed |
Depth |
Latitude |
Longitude |
|
Ophelia Brian (Sea Taxi) |
205-foot by 34-foot steel freighter |
December 30, 2009 |
110' |
25° 42.346'N |
80° 05.148'W |
A new DERM program surfaces to rescue coral reefs!
In mid-September, the Department of Environmental Resources Management (DERM) launched the pilot Mooring Buoy Program in partnership with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Coral Reef Conservation Program. The goal of the program is to help protect Miami-Dade County's coral reefs from damage caused by boat anchors. Twenty mooring buoys have been installed near six popular natural reef sites throughout the county.
The mooring buoys will allow boaters, divers and fisherman to tie their vessels to a buoy instead of dropping their anchors onto the fragile coral reefs. Potential future expansion of this program includes installation of an additional 17 mooring buoys at other natural and artificial reef sites.
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View the mooring buoy pamphlet
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View the Artificial Reef Locator
Help spot lionfish
During the summer of 2009, we have received two reported sightings of a lionfish on our artificial reefs - one at the Middle Tenneco on the Miami Dade-Broward County line, and one south at the Tarpoon wreck. The lionfish poses a serious a threat to native marine fisheries and reef habitats. Because of this, we would like to know if you have seen any lionfish while fishing or diving off Miami-Dade County. Please report sightings by calling 305-372-6859, or fill out the online form at the bottom of the Reef Species page.
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