In our sub-tropical environment, natural reef communities occur only where nature has provided a suitable hard substrate on the ocean bottom, usually in the form of limestone rock out-croppings, as a point of attachment and colonization for sponges, corals and a wide assortment of other invertebrates. Hard-bottom habitat is a very small percentage of the coastal ocean floor, and can be reduced further by activities such as beach re-nourishment.

In 1994, the Canaveral Port Authority received permitting from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to create two artificial-reef sites 30 miles offshore of Port Canaveral.

GPS coordinates:
Site #1 (center) 28deg 20.08min latitude; 80deg 12.23min longitude
Site #2 (center) 28deg 30.18min latitude; 80deg 13.18min longitude

In 2004, we acquired a new permit to expand the two sites from 9.3 acres to 51.7 acres each. The original materials used to build the reef structures include steel and concrete boats, concrete culvert pipe, a space shuttle booster mock-up, surplus Air Force tankers and a Titan rocket transporter from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. To expand the reefs, the Port Authority has received state grant funding and also partnered with fishing associations and local businesses. Among the materials added are three more Titan transporters and a demolished bridge.

A myriad of living organisms eventually colonize and inhabit almost every square inch of these man-made structures. Ongoing acoustic monitoring and research is being funded by the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission to ensure that the Canaveral sites are becoming viable habitats. When properly designed and constructed, a man-made reef can be as productive as a natural habitat, and can remain viable for the life-span of the materials used, perhaps 100 to 500 years.