by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
City Council member Lynette Self only has about two months left in office, but she has taken on a project that will likely take much longer to see to fruition.
March 23, 1995, Duval County was issued a permit by the State of Florida’s Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission to construct artificial offshore reefs. That permit expired March 9, 2005. However, according to Self, former Mayor John Delaney suspended the Jacksonville artificial reef program long before the permit’s expiration date due to a lack of funding.
Tuesday, Self met with representatives from Jacksonville University, the University of North Florida and Keith Mille, an environmental specialist in the State’s Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Division of Marine Fisheries Management Artificial Reef Program. The group’s aim is to convince Mayor John Peyton to restart the program, but there are issues that include funding and exactly who will oversee and manage the program on a local basis.
“This is a State program managed at the county level,” said Mille. “Each county in the program has a coordinator who gets grants from the State to stockpile material.”
Self, who is also chair of the Jacksonville Waterways Commission, is stepping down due to term limits and intends to run for State Rep. Stan Jordan’s seat. Bill Bishop was elected in February to take over Self’s district.
“I am hoping to hand this off to Bill Bishop, who’s taking my place. He’s interested in waterways, too,” said Self. “Right now, the (artificial reef) program is not active. We want to put it back into the category of being active.”
According to Mille, there are 96 artificial reef “deployments” off the coast of Jacksonville. Considering a majority of the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean off Jacksonville is sand bottom, the artificial reef program is responsible for making this area one of the best fishing locales in the state. Mille said the FWCC intends to reissue an artificial reef permit to Duval County within the next couple of weeks. However, there’s no money for the program and no one to administer it.
Self, along with Dr. Quinton White of Jacksonville University, intends to meet with Peyton about the program in the near future. Self would like to consider contracting with either JU or UNF to manage the program. Both schools have expressed some interest, but both would prefer to play a research role as opposed to an administrative role.
According to Mille, 35 coastal counties in Florida have an active artificial reef program and a majority of those are managed by the individual counties. The most active, he said, is Pinellas County where about 40 tons of concrete are deployed on average twice a week.
“Some of those barges hold 400 tons at a time,” he said. “In all cases, there is a fair amount of administrative oversight.”
Mille said effective oversight of the program is imperative to its success and to maintaining its legality. The proper material must be located. Mille said concrete from bridge demolitions, culverts and water mains all serve as excellent artificial reef material. Also, some concrete manufacturers will donate materials which are often concrete slabs and other products that may not have met certain engineering specifications. Artificial reef modules may also be purchased.
The other primary cost associated with the program is hiring a company to take the materials offshore and deploy it at a predetermined location. Mille said it takes about a year for a new artificial reef to hold marine life, but some high-profile reefs can start seeing activity within days of being placed. The typical artificial reef consists of about 400 tons of concrete or other suitable material and tends to be 90-100 feet in diameter by about 5-6 feet high.
Once deployed, nature takes care of the rest. Small marine life is attracted to the new bottom formation which, in turn, attracts larger marine life.
According to Mille, if the City will restart the program it can then apply for State grants to fill in the funding gaps. Self believes the program can be run effectively by one person for an average salary. That initial cost, all agreed, can be easily offset by the economic impact of a thriving fishing and diving industry. During peak times, the offshore waters hold everything from redfish to grouper to sailfish.
Mille said the key to a successful artificial reef program is getting local businesses with interests in the program involved. The better the program, and more established, the better chance local businesses — from concrete manufacturers to barge owners — are to donate money or their services to the program.
“You have to be proactive in working with local contractors,” he said. “You don’t have a large budget, so you have to take advantage of cash or in-kind donations. Those kinds of donations are usually only offered when you have a well-established, well-respected program. Jacksonville needs to get that.”
Three years ago St. Lucie County was in the same position Jacksonville is in today. At the urging of local fishing clubs and other volunteer efforts, Mille said St. Lucie County restarted its artificial reef program. The county hired one person and, according to Mille, within six months to a year that person had put together a solid grant application package.
“He acquired material regularly from a variety of sources and had 1,600 tons of material ready to go,” said Mille. “It was all possible because one person was tasked with the artificial reef program. It has significantly increased the number of fishing and diving locations in the Fort Pierce and Port St. Lucie area.”
White said JU has been involved in the artificial reef program in the past and he even has someone in mind for the job, should it be approved and funded. White’s prospect is currently in Iraq, but expects to be home soon.
“We need to see how much money the City is willing to put in, then after State grants,” said White, adding he’s sure his potential part-time candidate would attack the job with full-time energy.
Mille said once the program is re-established the most important factor is the location of the new artificial reefs.
“If you place the materials in the right location, you will provide a habitat for the targeted species,” he said. “The best programs are those that are diversified (in location). If there was one best way, it would be used nationwide.
“The program can be run for a small cost with a great long-term benefit. There is no doubt there’s an economic incentive. Based on the number of registered fishermen and the number of registered boats, Jacksonville ranks high in the state. Many smaller counties have well-established programs. Money spent on an artificial reef program in Jacksonville will be money well-spent.”