CCA Sandy Safley Tribute Reef West

Super Reef Module 15 feet tall and 18 tons in weight. This module and 6 Florida Limestone Reef Modules 8 feet tall and 3 tons each honoring R. Z. “Sandy”” Safley as a tribute to his work on behalf of CCA. CCA partnered with FWC in order to create these five patch reefs in the Carrabelle 10 Mile Reef system.”

Major Additions to Big Bend Gulf Artificial Reefs

Carrabelle, Florida, September 1, 2022-

This summer, over 397 tons of new marine habitat were added to the Big Bend Area. Ten new patch reefs consisting of 11 concrete and limestone “Super Reef” pyramids, each 15 feet tall and weighing 18 tons; 65 concrete and limestone “Florida Special” pyramids (FLARS), each 8 feet tall and weighing 3 tons; and two ecosystem reefs weighing 2 tons have been deployed in the Carrabelle 10 Mile permitted area. The CCA Dr. Bart Carey Memorial Reef and the R.Z. “Sandy” Safley Tribute Reef deployments occurred on July 25th and August 23rd ten miles south of Dog Island in 50 feet of water, and were constructed at a total cost of $274,675. These additions expand underwater habitat and biodiversity for the benefit of marine organisms, area anglers and divers, and the Big Bend marine economy.

While the numbers are impressive, even more notable is the team effort and partnerships that culminated in the timely deployment of these reefs. The Organization for Artificial Reefs (OAR), its partner organizations, and government agencies completed this, the largest project in OAR’s history, as the culmination of years of work. OAR’s specially trained divers researched suitable areas for reef construction, and combined with side scan sonar surveys, OAR sought and gained the required area permit from the US Army Corps of Engineers and received approval of specific patch reef sites from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). After selecting the sites, FWC provided $198,000 grant funding, which was augmented by funds raised by individuals and partner organizations. The City of Carrabelle also contributed funds and approved the contract to build and deploy the purpose-built reef materials.

Private contributors included the Coastal Conservation Association (CCA Florida), CCA’s Building Conservation Trust (BCT), and the family of the late Dr. Bart Carey. The Army Corps, FWC, and the City of Carrabelle were OAR’s and CCA’s agency partners. Walter Marine Services of Orange Beach, Alabama, designed and built the patented reef structures and deployed them under observation and monitoring by FWC, OAR, CCA, and interested families and individuals. As with the very popular OAR “Robby’s Reef” project, these reef modules are designed to mimic natural habitat for a wide variety of sea organisms, ranging from marine algae to bottom-dwelling fish, such as grouper and snapper.

The new reefs were deployed in the vicinity of existing memorial reefs dedicated to Robby Redding, Nicholas Cureton, and Billy Solberger (aka Billy’s Barge). The total array of reefs in the “10-mile” area now has a footprint of one-tenth mile east-west by one mile north-south. Since its founding in 1981, OAR has coordinated the deployment of over 30 artificial reefs in Big Bend Gulf waters. OAR is already planning significant future expansion of reefs in the 10-mile area and others off the coast of Franklin and Wakulla counties.

In addition to the $123,000 grant funding from FWC, CCA partnered with OAR using a significant cash donation made possible from the Carey family to fund the Carey Reef project. The grant funding from FWC was provided using federal funds from the US Fish and Wildlife Service Sportfish Restoration Program and Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment Phase III Early Restoration funds. There was also a required match of $15,000 from the City of Carrabelle, paid by CCA on behalf of the city. An additional Super Reef module was added by CCA, featuring a plaque and memorabilia that honored Dr. Carey.

The Safley reef was funded in similar manner, with $75,000 grant funding from FWC using US Fish and Wildlife Service Sportfish Restoration Program and Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment Phase II Early Restoration funds and $50,000 provided from CCA. The tribute reef for R.Z. “Sandy” Safley, who still serves CCA as a longtime supporter and marine advocate, also featured a Super Reef module containing embedded items of significance to Safley and his family. OAR donated the time required to permit the 10-mile area and to write the grants for both of these important additions to the marine environment.

The Organization for Artificial Reefs is a volunteer fishing and advocacy group dedicated to developing public artificial reefs within easy striking distance of local marinas and boat ramps. “Research continues to show the positive benefits of reef construction for both marine life and marine based economies throughout the world,” said Alan Richardson, OAR Coordinator.

OAR is proud and thankful to contribute to our local coastal economy and to the Big Bend marine environment. We encourage anyone interested in the locations or other information about these reefs or the work of OAR to visit http://oarreefs.org/ or email us at [email protected]. Press related inquiries can be directed to Alan Richardson at (850 545-2273 or [email protected].

More detailed information, including the coordinates of the new reefs, is available on OAR’s website.