Artificial Reef Construction Project Award Update at the County Commission Meeting

BAY COUNTY, FL – The Bay County Commissioners hold their public meetings on the first and third Tuesdays of every month.  On October 1, 2024 the meeting was Called to Order by Commissioner Hamm at 9AM. After Roll Call the meeting began with an Invocation followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. Following this, they formally approved, after Additions and/or Deletions, their meeting agenda, made Presentations, then invited the public to comment on the agenda items. Finally, the items were presented for discussion.

The item which gained most time and attention in this meeting was the Artificial Reef Construction Project Award which went to Weeks Marine in the amount of $492,750.00.

These artificial reefs will be made of rock, concrete, or other suitable material, and will provide harborage for many species of fish and other aquatic animals. This will benefit both the recreational fishing and commercial seafood industries. These artificial reefs, some to be located as much as 120 nautical miles offshore, are too deep to interfere with shipping. They will also be a benefit to scuba divers. 

The reason for building them, according to University of Florida Coastal Research Coordinator, Ms. Chantille Weber, who I talked to after the meeting, is that the ocean floor shelf along most of the panhandle coast is like an underwater desert with nothing growing for an extended distance from shore before it drops into deeper waters. Of course, this is the phenomena which also produces the beautiful emerald color of the water and waves along much of the panhandle coast, which we are so fond of. There is an applicable quote from the movie, Silverado: “If the world doesn’t fit… make adjustments.” That is what these artificial reefs provide, an adjustment to benefit our fishing, diving, and recreational industries.

 There were numerous other items on the agenda. You may access the entire meeting video and the full agenda through the following link.