By: Michelle Klug
Many Floridians and visiting tourists enjoy the crystal blue waters that provide sunny days of fishing, diving and leisure time. Researchers have found that popular boating destinations are the artificial reefs that have been built around Florida.
Artificial reefs attract locals and tourists alike, pulling in $253 million to six Florida counties in one year, as well as providing habitat for sealife. These infrastructures are built using man-made materials such as concrete blocks, tires, PVC piping, old sunken ships or sunken oil rigs. They provide a habitat for an array of algae, coral, fish and shellfish, as well as preventing erosion.
IFAS researcher Bob Swett and his team investigated the economic impact artificial reefs provide, as well as who is using the reefs and what components are generating economic profit for the counties studied.
“One of the purposes of artificial reefs is to generate economic benefits for local counties and the …