CONTACT US: Florida Fish and Wildlife   Conservation Commission Fish and Wildlife   Research Institute 100 Eighth Avenue SE St. Petersburg, Florida 33701 727-896-8626 MyFWC.com/BoatingGuides Boating_Guides@ MyFWC.com Mote Marine Laboratory Tropical Research Laboratory 24244 Overseas Hwy. Summerland Key, FL 33042 305-745-2729 http://isurus.mote.org/Keys TRL-info@mote.org This project was funded in part by a grant awarded from Mote Marine Laboratory's Protect Our Reefs Grants Program, which is funded by proceeds from the sale of the Protect Our Reefs specialty license plate. Learn more at www.mote.org/4reef. Additional funding for this project was obtained through the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Fund.

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, and 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 algaes, barnacles, and corals, small fish colonize the reef, thus attracting larger predatory fish such as grouper and amberjack. Below is a list of artificial reefs found on the Boating and Angling Guides to the Lower Keys, Middle Keys, and Upper Keys. The number identifying each reef is the same as the identifying number used in the Boating and Angling Guides to the Upper, Middle, and Lower Keys. There are many more artificial reefs in the offshore waters of Monroe and Miami-Dade counties that are not listed here or shown on the boating guide. For a complete listing of artificial reefs in this areas, as well as the rest of Florida, visit FWC's Division of Marine Fisheries, Artificial Reef Program. No. Reef Name Description Depth (ft) Latitude Longitude * - Not shown on printed guides 1. Stargazer Reef Steel structures 13 24° 227.3' N 81° 52.0' W 2. Joe's Tug 90' Steel tug boat 65 24° 27.85' N 81° 44.27' W Cayman Salvage Master * 187' Steel ship 92 24° 27.21' N 81° 45.98' W Key West Tournament Reef * 100' Steel barge 184 24° 27.252' N 81° 46.25' W Key West Tournament Reef * 260' Steel ship 180 24° 27.25' N 81° 46.25' W Hoyt Vandenberg * 522' Steel ship 145 24° 27.597' N 81° 44.188' W 3. American Shoal Reef Bridge spans and concrete 42 24° 33.119' N 81° 28.018' W 4. Adolphus Busch Sr. 210' Steel ship 100 24° 31.841' N 81° 27.688' W 5. Bahia Honda Reef Bridge spans and concrete 32 24° 35.755' N 81° 17.442' W 6. Seven Mile Bridge Reef Bridge spans and concrete 90 24° 36.333' N 81° 10.0' W Big Pine Reef * Concrete A-frames 25 24° 33.056' N 81° 19.749' W Big Pine Key Site * Concrete A-frames 18 24° 33.016' N 81° 19.498' W Big Pine Key * Concrete A-frames 45 24° 32.692' N 81° 19.53' W 7. Seven Mile Bridge Reef Bridge spans, concrete 115 24° 34.975' N 81° 9.484' W 8. Thunderbolt 188' Steel barge 118 24° 39.48' N 80° 57.9' W 9. Marathon Reef Site Bridge rubble 100 24° 39.05' N 80° 57.787' W Marathon Reef * Bridge spans, Concrete 115 24° 32.917' N 80° 57.451' W 10. Long Key Reefs Bridge spans, Concrete 24 24° 43.905' N 80° 49.667' W 11. Long Key Reefs Bridge spans, Concrete 26 24° 43.613' N 80° 49.708' W Back to Top 12. Alexander Barge 120' Steel barge 95 24° 51.7' N 80° 34.1' W 13. Eagle 287' Steel ship 110 24° 52.18' N 80° 34.21' W 14. Duane 327' Steel ship 118 24° 59.38' N 80° 22.92' W 15. Bibb 327' Steel ship 130 24° 29.71' N 80° 22.77' W 16. Spiegel Grove 510' Steel ship 135 25° 4.0' N 80° 18.65' W Islamorada Reef * Bridge spans, concrete 115 24° 50.475' N 80° 33.084' W 17. Alva Chapman Reef Concrete boat hulls and dredge pipe 118 25° 17.667' N 80° 9.1' W 18. Doc de Milly 287' Steel ship 140 25° 22.063' N 80° 7.881' W 19. Berry Patch 155' Steel ship 150 25° 22.133' N 80° 7.813' W 20. Hugo's April Fool 115' Steel ship 145 25° 22.027' N 80° 7.823' W 21. Jet Fighters 3 F-4 Phantom jet fuselages 118 25° 22.05' N 80° 7.616' W 22. Scott Mason-Chaite 297' Steel ship 240 25° 23.086' N 80° 7.098' W 23. Santa Rita 200' Steel ship 245 25° 23.251' N 80° 5.54' W 24. Belcher Barge 85' Steel barge 120 25° 24.775' N 80° 7.146' W * - Not shown on printed guides Back to Top If you are out snorkeling, diving, fishing, paddling, or boating and see anything that may be unusual or out of the ordinary (including lionfish) in the waters around the Keys , please record the location, date, and time, and contact the Marine Ecosystem Event Response and Assessment (MEERA) project. They can be reached by phone (305-395-8730), e-mail, or online. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions about this Web site, please e-mail us at Boating_Guides@MyFWC.com. Would you like to receive notices of changes to this Web site and the Boating and Angling Guides to the Upper, Middle, or Lower Keys? If so, please e-mail us and include SUBSCRIBE-KEYS in the subject line.