In Artificial Fishing Reefs Summer time in Okaloosa County conjures up images of fun in the sun and for most locals and visitors alike, that fun revolves around diving and deep-sea fishing. Okaloosa County's Artificial Reef Program is enhancing those fishing opportunities and helping to ensure this time-honored tradition flourishes.

Okaloosa County, the City of Destin, and the City of Valparaiso have teamed up to develop the area's first "Sand Dollar Artificial Reef" complex. The "Sand Dollar" complex is comprised of six patch reefs placed approximately 788 feet apart in a hexagonal pattern around a single center point. The center point selected for this project is a 1941 tugboat named the Mohawk Chief.

The County, Destin, and Valparaiso each recently deployed two patch reefs within the Sand Dollar hexagonal reef complex. Both the County and the City of Destin's patch reefs are comprised of 30 pre-fabricated concrete fish havens each. The City of Valparaiso deployed 300 tons (150 at each of their two sites) of concrete culverts to complete the outer regions of the hexagonal complex. The design of these structures consists of one smaller region within a large region making an ideal habitat for both small and large fish. The smaller regions allow fish to develop as they provide protection against large predators that are too large to enter the havens and the larger region allows anglers the opportunity to really enjoy sport fishing.

The Okaloosa County site coordinates are: 
N30 08.845 W86 43.117
N30 08.851 W86 43.130

The City of Destin site coordinates are: 
N30 08.685 W86 42.943
N30 08.678 W86 42.880

The City of Valparaiso site coordinates are: 
N30 08.975 W86 43.010
N30 08.875 W86 42.875

Total construction cost for the outer fish haven portions of the "Sand Dollar" project is approximately $75,000 funded by grants from the Federal US Fish and Wildlife Service Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Program and from State saltwater fishing license revenues.

The 93-foot tugboat made its permanent home at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico off Destin Monday morning, June 23rd, completing the "Sand Dollar" project. The cost of the deployment was approximately $37,320 with the Tourist Development Council funding $19,500 and the remaining $17,820 being funded through the Okaloosa County Artificial Reef Program.

The Mohawk coordinates are: 30 08.797N 86 43.005W

"We are very excited about the patch reef which is unique concept to our area. Utilizing the patch reef concept will provide Okaloosa County the opportunity to scientifically compare the results of this design to previous deployments and should provide valuable information for future reef projects. In addition to the scientific aspect, the "Sand Dollar" complex also offers anglers seven reef site opportunities all in one area. It can be pretty frustrating to make plans and arrive at a reef only to find another boat got there first. The sand dollar design allows multiple boats to take advantage of this great fishing opportunity," says Cindy Halsey, Okaloosa County Environmental Services Manager. 

County officials recognize both the importance of the economic and environmental benefits having a strong artificial reef program brings to the area. According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, residents and visitors to Northwest Florida spend an estimated $415 million fishing on or near artificial reefs in a five-county area in the Florida Panhandle during a single year. These expenditures generate nearly $84 million in annual wages in the region, which support an estimated 8,163 jobs.

In addition to the economic impact of artificial reefs, the high profile (off the seafloor) of vessels attracts schooling baitfish, that in turn, attract larger reef fish species important to recreational and commercial fishermen. Artificial reefs can provide important aggregation, shelter, and residence sites for reef fish species that have been traditionally over fished such as Warsaw, Goliath grouper, red snapper, amberjack, and others; and the use of artificial reefs may reduce anchor damage and other physical damage by directing a proportion of the reef users away from nearby natural reefs.

The "Sand Dollar" project brings the number of artificial fishing reefs to approximately 150 in Okaloosa County. Reef sites and information are available on-line at www.co.okaloosa.fl.us/reefs.html 

In addition to the new "Sand Dollar Reef", Okaloosa County Artificial Reefs Program staff is currently trying to acquire a decommissioned aircraft carrier, the USS-Oriskany, as the newest and largest addition to its reefs program.   The US Navy is currently in the process of selecting a state to receive the vessel and if Florida is selected, Okaloosa County should be a top contender for the host site because the County has deployed other vessels at the minimum depth requirement of 215 feet needed for the carrier and our area waterways are unique with many inlets/outlets to the Gulf which would allow multiple counties/ports to utilize the site. The 820-foot multi-purpose aircraft carrier is currently docked in Beaumont, Texas and the US Navy is expected to make a selection by the end of September 2003.