A Boating and Angling Guide to Charlotte Harbor A Boating and Angling Guide to Charlotte Harbor
Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Logo Sport Fish Restoration Logo Charlotte County Logo West Coast Inland Navigation District Logo
Florida Sea Grant Logo UF IFAS Logo
About This Guide
Boating
Fishing
Catch and Release Information
Popular Sport Fish
Fishing Piers
Artificial Reefs
Maps
Natural Resources
Managed Areas
Resource Directory
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CONTACT US:
Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission

Fish and Wildlife
Research Institute
100 Eighth Avenue SE
St. Petersburg, Florida 33701
727-896-8626
http://MyFWC.com/
BoatingGuides
Boating_Guides@
MyFWC.com


Charlotte County
UF/IFAS Extension
Florida Sea Grant

25550 Harbor View Rd #3
Port Charlotte, Florida 33980
941-764-4340
http://charlotte.ifas.ufl.edu/
seagrant
info@flseagrant.org


Funding for this project was obtained through grants from the West Coast Inland Navigation District and Charlotte County.


Additional funding for this project was obtained through the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Fund.
Artificial Reefs Banner
Artificial reefs are man-made habitats that serve to increase reef fish habitat and enhance fishing and diving opportunities. These man-made habitats vary from reef to reef. Some reefs are composed of concrete reefballs of varying sizes, bridge rubble, old boats and retired military hardware (cleaned in accordance with Florida law). Once deployed, marine life starts colonizing the new habitat. As the reef ages and gets encrusted with algae, barnacles, and corals, small fish colonize the reef, thus attracting larger predatory fish such as grouper and amberjack.

Fish swimming around an artificial reef
Below is a list of artificial reefs found on the printed Boating and Angling Guide to Charlotte Harbor. The number identifying each reef is the same as the identifying number used printed guide.

There are many more artificial reefs in the offshore waters of Sarasota (PDF), Charlotte (PDF), and Lee counties that are not listed here or shown on the boating guide. A complete listing of artificial reefs in these areas, as well as for the rest of Florida is available from the Artificial Reef Program within the FWC's Division of Marine Fisheries Management.

No. Reef Name Description Depth (ft) Latitude
Longitude
1. Englewood Fish Haven Bridge Rubble 22 26° 54.700' N
82° 21.800' W
2. Tremblay Reef (2 reefs) 90' steel barge, concrete bridge rubble 42 26° 48.350' N
82° 22.700' W
3. Novak Reefs (8 reefs) Concrete culverts and concrete bridge sections 30 26° 48.570' N
82° 19.700' W
4. Mary's Reef (3 reefs) Concrete culverts 29-30 26° 46.235' N
82° 18.430' W
5. Gasparilla Mitigation Reef
(3 reefs)
Rock limestone 12 26° 45.325' N
82° 16.025' W
6. Power Pole Reef Old power poles, crane, and steel barge 45 26° 40.957' N
82° 22.470' W
7. Danger Reef 40' steel tug 12 26° 45.554' N
82° 11.167' W
8. Cape Haze Reef Concrete culverts, modular steel units 18 26° 45.761' N
82° 09.494' W
9. Bokeelia Reef Concrete culverts 10 26° 43.038' N
82° 09.642' W
10. Charlotte Harbor Site
(north coordinates)
Concrete culverts and reefballs 12 26° 51.502' N
82° 05.296' W
10. Charlotte Harbor Site
(south coordinates)
Concrete culverts and reefballs 12 26° 50.600' N
82° 05.317' W

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