NATIONAL
ESTUARY
PROGRAM
CREATING AN ARTIFICIAL REEF
Since the 1950s, the Sarasota Bay system has lost about 4,500 acres of hard bottom habitat due to dredge and fill activities, adversely impacting the pro-
ductivity and biodiversity of Sarasota Bay's coastal lagoon system. Hard bottom habitat provides a substrate for soft corals, filtering bivalves, and crusta-
ceans, which in turn support a variety of life stages of game and non-game finfish as well as shellfish. Historically these hard bottom habitats supported a
thriving fishing industry along Florida's Gulf Coast and bay inlets.
THE NATIONAL ESTUARY PROGRAM IN ACTION
Sarasota Bay Estuary Program
The Sarasota Bay Estuary Pro-
gram (SBEP) helped to establish
an Artificial Reef Program in
1996 to replenish this vital habi-
tat type. Since its inception, the
SBEP and its partners have de-
ployed approximately 5,000 arti-
ficial reef modules and other
materials of opportunity (such as
concrete culverts) in the waters
in and near Sarasota Bay, target-
ing deeper areas and channel
markers.
The $674,000 project is a joint
effort funded by several groups,
including Manatee and Sarasota
counties, Sarasota Sportsmen's
Association, Mote Marine Labo-
ratory, Florida Fish and Wildlife
Commission, and Reef Innova-
tions, which manufactures reef
balls and offers monitoring as-
sistance. It also features a public
outreach component, with chil-
dren, parents, and teachers from
SBEP-supported groups such as
Bay Buddies and Reef Rakers
assisting in reef clean-up events
and artificial reef surveys. This
important project is providing
critical habitat for a variety of
marine organisms while giving
scientists an opportunity to do
valuable research on bay bottom
restoration. The reefs also pro-
vide more opportunities to fish in
small vessels.
During 2002, the SBEP conduct-
EFFECTIVE
EFFICIENT
ADAPTIVE
COLLABORATIVE
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ed two seasons of sampling on
several established artificial
reefs within Sarasota Bay, iden-
tifying more than 25 species, in-
cluding gray snapper, gag grou-
per, sheepshead, and stone crab.
The research indicated that a
variety of reef types would be
required to increase species di-
versity. The SBEP and its part-
ners placed many of the reef
modules in clusters of various
sizes to see what size grouping
of modules produces the opti-
mum habitat for the reef organ-
isms.
In 2006, Mote Marine Laboratory
began a two-year project moni-
toring five of the Sarasota Bay
artificial reef sites for the SBEP.
Preliminary results indicate that
different numbers of reef mod-
ules support different life stages
of marine organisms and a vari-
ety of species. By implementing
an innovative artificial reef strat-
egy—young fish are now living
near the new reefs—SBEP is
creating a new kind of habitat,
and is increasing the biodiversity
of Sarasota Bay.
Visit www.sarasotabay.org to
learn more about this and other
SBEP efforts.
EPA's National Estuary Program
(NEP) is a unique and successful
coastal watershed-based program
established in 1987 under the
Clean Water Act Amendments.
The NEP involves the public and
collaborates with partners to pro-
tect, restore, and maintain the wa-
ter quality and ecological integrity
of 28 estuaries of national signifi-
cance located in 18 coastal states
and Puerto Rico.
For more information about the
NEP go to www.epa.gov/owow/
estuaries.
The NEP: Implementing the Clean Water Act in ways that are Effective, Efficient, Adaptive, and Collaborative.
EPA-842F09001
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