Backup Documents 06/13/2017 Item # 7Athe Paradise Coast
Artificial Reef Project
a recreational ecosystem with economic impact growing forever
the ‘Paradise Reef’ project
•One of the largest Master Planned Artificial Reef
Projects in the Western Hemisphere… a ‘game
changer’ for the environment –and economy –in
Collier County
•Made possible through Partnerships… Economic
Recovery Task Force (ERTF), local governments,
Community Foundation and volunteers
the Plan was executed
•deployed 36 artificial reefs; each reef 500 tons
•deployed more than 100 artificial reef
modules
•funded the reefs with a mix of grant funds and
private donor funds-no taxpayer funds were
utilized
First deployment-January 9, 2015
Artificial reef module
the Previous Coastline
•The Gulf’s sandy bottom offered little food or
habitat for most species of marine life
•Local artificial reefs, prior to the project, had
poor water clarity and were in poor condition
•The vast majority of reefs that were deployed
years ago… no longer exist
the Science
•Artificial reefs can support a larger total fish
population than a natural reef
•Artificial reefs will increase the total food
production of the water column for hundreds
if not thousands of years
Source: Dr. Heyward Matthews
the Eco-Conclusion
•Within two hours following deployment, fish
surrounded the artificial reef structures
•Within the first six months of deployment,
marine species were seen on the reefs that
hadn’t been seen in decades…
the Economics
•Users of artificial reefs generated 2,600 jobs
and spent $253 million in the region annually
Source: 2011 Florida Sea Grant study of six SW Florida counties
•If sportfishing were a corporation, it would
rank 51 on the Fortune 500™ list.
Source: American Sportfishing Association
the Funding
*Received 1.3 million dollars in grant funds from a BP Gulf
Seafood and Tourism Promotional Fund
*Received more than $650,000. in donations
*All donations are tax-deductible through an Agreement with
the Community Foundation of Collier County
NO TAXPAYER FUNDS WERE UTILIZED
the Project… self perpetuating
•The United States Army Corp of Engineers (USACE) permits
are good for 10 years; expires December 2024
•The reef construction contract is a 3 year contract with 3
additional one year renewals; expires June 2020
•The Agreement with the Community Foundation, to
administer donations to the reef project has no expiration
date
•Current road and construction projects offer outstanding
‘free’ reef material
Reef Locations
GPS coordinates for the 36 reefs can be found at:
www.cfcollier.org
search-Paradise Reef
Wasmer Reef and Foote Family Reef
Wasmer Reef-10 N.M. from
Gordon Pass
Foote Family Reef-17.2 N.M.
from Gordon Pass
Rooney Reef and Haunschild Reef
Rooney Reef-26.6
N.M. from Marco
Pass
Haunschild Reef-
16.3 N.M from
Marco Pass
TOD SIROD Reef and Jackson’s Fish
Camp Memorial Reef
TOD SIROD Reef-13.5
N.M. from Gordon
Pass
Jackson’s Fish Camp
Memorial Reef-14.1
N.M. from Gordon
Pass
the Documentary Film
The film continues to air on PBS
stations nationally and has been
viewed online in more than 1200
cities and 42 countries.
The film was awarded a Suncoast
EMMY award and featured at the
2017 Ft. Myers film festival.
WATCH ONLINE ANYTIME
Paradise Reef (56:49)
www.video.wgcu.org
Paradise Reef
A Documentary Film
Paradise Reef
A Documentary Film
Coming June 27, 2017
‘Art Reef’
•Internationally acclaimed designer, Vito Di
Bari, has created an ‘Art Reef’.
Vito Di Bari is an innovation designer who is changing the world through his
cutting edge design solutions. He has been defined as one of the three most
important futurist in the world. He was named the Innovation Designer for the
Expo 2015 by the City of Milan and has been the Executive director at the
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in
Paris. The Financial Times defined him as the “New European Guru of
Innovation”.
Deployment of ‘Art Reef’
•The ‘Art Reef’ will be comprised of 34 artificial reef modules;
each module is an underwater habitat for marine life
•Six divers will individually place the modules to create a turtle
design
•Each module weighs 6,000 pounds; height of 8 feet and a
footprint of 10 feet
•the ‘Art Reef’ will be located 17 miles from Gordon Pass;
nestled in the middle of 4 existing reefs
Underwater Habitats create Art