New Artificial Reef Locations Florida manages one of the. The FWC Artificial Reef Program reports over 3,100 artificial. Miami-Dade:: Eternal Reef #22.

Articles by W. Lynn Seldon Jr. - Travel Writer & Photographer southern diver/skin diver TENNECO OIL RIGS: ANOTHER UNIQUE MIAMI 'WRECK' Miami is one of America's most unusual cities. From rollerbladers in thongs along Ocean Drive to the neon-hot nightlife throughout the trendy Art Deco District, South Beach and the rest of Miami sizzle with unusual people, buildings, and sightseeing.

Divers in search of something unusual just need to head past the colorful lifeguard stands and right off Miami Beach Cultures 2 German Download Laws. 's wide sands to some very unusual wreck diving. Thanks to an active artificial reef program, Miami Beach has been dubbed the 'Wreckreational Dive Capital of the Americas.'

In many ways, the Miami area was a natural to become an artificial reef mecca. The colorful city's weather and diving conditions made them a natural fit in the colorful underwater world, as the large structures quickly attracted a wide array of marine life. In 1981, when Dade County initiated the Artificial Reef Program, there was just one dive boat operating in the Greater Miami area.

Today, the program is recognized as one of the most successful artificial reef programs in the world. The number of dive boats has increased to more than a dozen, providing everything from shallow water snorkeling on natural reefs to diving on boats, tanks, towers, and much more. The 'founding father' of Miami diving has to be Ben Mostkoff.

As former coordinator of the active program, he was responsible for obtaining and coordinating the sinking of most of the wrecks. Without Ben, Miami probably wouldn't be the wreckreational dive mecca it has become. There are ten designated offshore artificial reef sites, with five lying between the Dade/Broward county line and Key Biscayne and another five situated between Key Biscayne and Monroe County. Most of the best diving is in less than 130 feet of water and less than two miles east of Sunny Isles, Miami Beach, and the Key Biscayne shoreline.

BLACK GOLD In keeping with unusual dives in the Miami area, the Tenneco Oil Rigs provide a unique and popular dive site. These old oil rigs are the only oil platform structures along the entire U.S. East coast and they have become one of South Florida's most popular dive destinations for good reason.

Though they are located off of Hallandale to the north, these former Gulf of Mexico oil platforms are very popular with Miami dive operators. They are situated just 1 1/2 miles offshore, near the Dade/Broward county line. Donated by Tenneco Oil Exploration and Production, five platform sections were sunk in 95-190 feet of water on October 3, 1985. The three within safe diving limits make lively and mature artificial reefs.

These former monuments to the search for black gold are now monuments to great Miami diving. The new reef was the second established by Tenneco Oil off the Florida coast. The first, also a complete platform, is 22 miles southeast of Pensacola. 'We have shown with our initial reef that these platforms not only concentrate existing fish, but attract additional species and increase the overall production of the marine ecosystem,' said Philip Oxley, president of Tenneco Oil Exploration and Production.

That was (and is) good news for divers. Oxley said that creation of the new reef was part of the company's program to convert retired production structures to reefs when it was economically feasible. 'We feel it is much more useful and environmentally desirable to give a platform a second life as an artificial reef, which benefits society in many ways, rather than removing it to the shore and scrapping it,' he added. The additional cost of relocating the platform, however, limits the number of these projects, he added. The reef consists of two complete production platforms previously situated 75 miles southwest of Morgan City, Louisiana, as well as the drilling deck of another platform located 90 miles southwest of the city.

Tenneco brought the towers 920 miles by barge around the Florida Keys at great expense (reportedly several million dollars), committing more than three million dollars to the entire project. The structures weigh more than 912 tons and have a total surface area of 100,000 square feet. The three sections that are visited by local dive shops lie at 95, 105, and 115 feet. They range in size from 25 to 40 feet and provide around 50 feet of relief.

Because the Tenneco Oil Rigs have had more than a decade to mature as a dive site, the abundant marine life and coral growth is evident as soon as you descend on the reef. This is a seriously mature and busy reef. Highlights of a Tenneco dive include: the sheer quantity of fish (especially underneath the platforms); large schools of different species of grunts; pelagics like cobia, barracudas, amberjacks; huge gorgonians and tube sponges; and lots of wrasses and colorful angelfish. It's also a great night dive, thanks to lots of marine life and bright orange cup coral. Bull sharks are consistently seen and especially during the winter.

OTHER MIAMI DIVES Besides diving the Tenneco Oil Rigs, the 120-foot Orion provides another perfect introduction to the vice of Miami artificial reef diving. Sunk in 1981, it was the first ship sunk by the Dade County Environmental Resources Management Artificial Reef Program and is still one of the best and most popular dives.

It's a mature wreck with lots of marine life and coral growth. Perhaps the most fanciful dive of all is the Spirit of Miami, a Boeing 727 jet aircraft. On the perfectly calm morning of September 8, 1993, before a live audience of NBC's Today Show, the jet was lowered intact to the bottom and anchored in place at a depth of about 85 feet.

The much more recently sunk Doc DeMilly has already become similarly popular with divers and fish. Situated just east of the Pacific Reef Lighthouse, the 287-foot steel freighter was built in 1949 as the Nuevo Rio. It was renamed to honor a legendary area veterinarian and pioneer. Another popular dive destination (especially for new divers) is a trio of sites just off Miami Beach that has been dubbed the 'Wreck Trek' by local operators and divers. An underwater trail connects the sites with steel stakes anchored to the sea bottom as markers. The trek includes the 85-foot tug Patricia; the 100-foot steel fishing vessel Miss Karline; the unusual Radio Antenna, old Radio Mambi antennas that were welded into 19 pyramids to make an unusual dive site; and several other smaller wrecks that make for many interesting dives.

In 1994, just two miles east of the Eden Roc Resort & Spa, two U.S. Army tanks (complete with their huge gun turrets) were sunk in just 50 feet of water. As you can guess, this created the ultimate Miami 'two tank dive.' The tanks can be included in a Wreck Trek dive.

Local dive shops are also fond of the Tarpoon, which was sunk in 1988 in memory of local diving pioneer Mike Kevorkian, the founder of Hialeah-based Tarpoon Dive Center (his daughter, Valerie, still runs the shop). The 175-foot grain carrier was seriously damaged by Hurricane Andrew, but it's still an interesting dive in 70 feet of water just south of Key Biscayne. Unreal Engine Marketplace - Kubold Rifle Animset Pro. Nearby, the 1995 sinking of the 180-foot freighter Tortuga (renamed Fair Game) brought the artificial reef program even more publicity.

Sunk as part of the Cindy Crawford/Billy Baldwin move by the same name, the huge ship is easily penetrated and has already attracted lots of barracuda and other marine inhabitants. Another interesting dive in relatively shallow water is the Rio Miami, sunk by Hugh Downs, an avid diver, during a 20/20 television segment on artificial reefs in 1989. The 105-foot tug is in just 80 feet of water. In addition, Artificial Reef Program personnel were responsible for placing more than 650 concrete and limestone structures in barren habitats offshore in 1996, with another 400 coming in 1997.

The specifically designed structures used in Miami are 6 feet wide, 9 feet long, and weigh about 17,000 pounds. They were designed by Mostkoff to be a cost-effective and functional replica of a small patch reef, with emphasis given to creating a habitat catering to the needs of post-larveal recruits and juvenile fish.

KEY MESSAGE: NOAA Fisheries announces a final rule implementing Amendment 26 to the Fishery Management Plan for Coastal Migratory Pelagics in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic regions (Amendment 26). Amendment 26 contains actions related to king mackerel in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Region following review of the most recent population assessment. FB17-021 Fishery Bulletin Issue Date: April 11, 2017 Contact: Karla Gore, 727-824-5305, WHEN RULE WILL TAKE EFFECT: The rule will take effect on May 11, 2017.

WHAT THIS RULE DOES: • Modifies the management boundary for the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic migratory groups of king mackerel to create a year-round boundary at the Miami-Dade/Monroe County line. The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will be responsible for management measures in the mixing zone, which includes federal waters off the Florida Keys. • Revises reference points, the acceptable biological catch, annual catch limits, commercial quotas, and recreational annual catch targets for Atlantic migratory group king mackerel. These updated annual catch limits and quotas are included below in Table 1.1. • Creates a limited incidental catch allowance for Atlantic migratory group king mackerel caught as bycatch in the shark gillnet fishery. This rule allows for the harvest and sale of three king mackerel per crew member per trip from the Northern Zone and two king mackerel per crew member per trip from the Southern Zone, caught incidentally on shark gillnet trips. • Establishes a commercial split season for Atlantic migratory group king mackerel in the Atlantic Southern Zone.

This split season allocates 60% of the quota to Season One (March 1 – September 30) and 40% to Season Two (October 1 – the end of February). • Establishes a commercial trip limit system for Atlantic migratory group king mackerel in the Atlantic Southern Zone. The commercial trip limit of 3,500 pounds remains in the area north of the Flagler/Volusia county line and remains in effect year-round when the fishery is open. South of the Flagler/Volusia county line, the trip limit is 50 fish from March 1 – March 31. After March 31, the trip limit increases to 75 fish for the remainder of Season One. For Season Two, the trip limit is 50 fish, except that beginning on February 1, if less than 70% of the Season Two quota has been landed, the trip limit will be 75 fish. • Increases the recreational bag limit for Gulf of Mexico migratory group king mackerel from two to three fish per person per day.

• Revises the annual catch limits and commercial zone quotas for Gulf of Mexico migratory group king mackerel. These updated annual catch limits and quotas are included below in Table 1.1.