A new artificial reef program has started off the coast of Palm Beach. This past Monday, November 16th, 55 artificial reefs were deployed off the coast as part of the new project called 1,000 Mermaids that works with the Ocean Rescue Alliance.
The new project is an artificial reef project that creates reef module to make more habitat on the bottom of the ocean for marine life. The artificial reefs arrived to the Port of Palm Beach on Friday of last week and the reefs were received and picked up to start the project. The non-profit, Ocean Rescue Alliance says that reef builders, and donations helped to make these artificial reef structures possible.
Each artificial reef weighs anywhere from 1,700 to 3,500 pounds and are placed 40 feet under the water. The reefs were dropped just a half mile out from the Port of Palm Beach. The reefs dropped were six to eight feet in diameter and some as tall as eight or nine feet. The reefs are important for habitat for marine life and the artificial reefs have the capability to put coral locks on them which will then allow for coral restoration.
The Ocean Rescue Alliance is planning on going county to county to try to install as many artificial reefs as they can, and the drop of the reefs this past Monday adds 50 tons of ocean friendly concrete to the seafloor for marine life.
