Florida Coastal Corridor Deploys First Reef Near Naples

Florida’s Coastal Corridor initiative has completed its first artificial-reef deployment, placing 43 purpose-built modules approximately 14 nautical miles west of Naples.

The Fish & Wildlife Foundation of Florida says the structures cover nearly 1.7 acres within Collier County’s established Jackson Fish Camp artificial-reef area. The new site is named the Lenny Reina Memorial Reef in recognition of a longtime Naples attorney whose gift supported the project.

The deployment is significant because it converts the Coastal Corridor from a statewide planning concept into a completed underwater habitat project. The foundation is developing the initiative with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to connect and strengthen coastal habitats, including artificial reefs, oyster beds, seagrass and mangroves along both Florida coasts.

The concrete modules add vertical relief, cavities and hard surfaces to a part of the Gulf seabed where natural structure is limited. These features can provide shelter and attachment area for fish, invertebrates and sessile organisms, but the ecological outcome should be measured over time rather than assumed from deployment alone. Baseline surveys and repeated monitoring will be important for determining colonization, species use and any changes in the surrounding seabed.

For divers, the reef could eventually become another offshore site in the Naples area and a useful location for documenting early succession on newly placed structures. It should not yet be treated as a fully documented dive site, however. The public announcement does not provide verified coordinates, module clearances, seabed depth, mooring arrangements or current access guidance.

Naturally Buoyant Media should track the reef as a completed deployment within the wider Coastal Corridor program and revisit it when Collier County or FWC publishes survey results and navigation information. Divers considering a future visit should obtain coordinates and site conditions from the responsible public agency or an experienced local operator.