LEE COUNTY, Fla. — A 1,000 tons of concrete will be added off the coast of Southwest Florida this summer, to create a habitat for marine life.
It's a part of Lee County's artificial reef program, which is made up of 21 sites off the coast of Charlotte Harbor extending 30 miles offshore. Tuesday, the county was awarded a contract to create a new one 14 nautical miles southwest of Redfish Pass.
“It’s amazing at how quickly life moves in, it’s amazing to see,” said Lesli Haynes, Environmental Specialist, Lee County. Haynes says the artificial reefs attract a variety of marina life and it provides recreation for both divers and fisherman.
“What we want to do is enhance those areas and look for areas of sand bottom where we can place these structures that just provide additional habitat for marine life,” said Haynes.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission granted the county $120,000 to create an artificial reef at Chris Koepher's ARC reef site. Haynes says this location was chosen, “to create this wildlife corridor, between two existing structures that have been out there for some time.”
The concrete for this project was donated by the city of Cape Coral and Coastal Precast of Florida.
The project is expected to be completed in July.
