Last year’s extended red tide seriously depleted fish stocks and marine vegetation in our bays and waterways. A non-profit organization called Ocean Habitats builds a product designed to help marine life recover and to improve water quality. Their “mini-reefs” are designed to serve as a habitat for creatures like mussels, sea squirts and oysters and to provide shelter for small fish and marine creatures. The idea is to create an environment with small nooks and crannies that mimics mangrove roots.
Mini-reef from Ocean Habitats, Inc.
Mini-reefs look a bit like a mini parking structure with multiple horizontal layers separated by short posts and ropes. Each mini-reef module is approximately 2’ high by 2’ deep by 3’ across. The primary material used is stabilized plastic that has been proven not to break down in the marine environment. To date, the organization has installed over 3000 mini-reefs.
Mini-reefs are designed to be placed under docks in salt water environments and to float in the water column. David Wolff, Ocean Habitats executive director, reports that a single fully populated mini-reef can filter 30,000 gallons of water per day and that many people enjoy observing the increased fish activity and marine life around their docks.
You can learn more by visiting the Ocean Habitats Facebook page or on their website at www.OceanHabitatsInc.com. The standard price for a mini-reef is $250.00, which includes installation.
Fish near a mini-reef
Special Purchase Discount Opportunity thru November 18, 2019:
Ocean Habitats is offering LBC constituents a group discount on the purchase price if we find 10 or more people or groups interested in installing mini-reefs. The discount will be 10% if we identify 10 or more unit buyers, with the possibility of larger discounts if we find 25 or more unit purchasers.
If you have a suitable dock location to install a mini-reef and you’d like to purchase one or more units, please contact the LBC office by phone (941-830-8922) or by email at lbconservancy@comcast.net. Let us know your name, phone number, address, and email address.
We’ll collect interested buyer information until Monday, November 18th. After that date, we’ll be back in touch to let you know if we have enough interest to qualify for discounted pricing and to provide details for your order placement with Ocean Habitats.
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Note: Any purchases made as part of this discount offer will be made through Ocean Habitats, Inc. Funds will not be handled by Lemon Bay Conservancy and we will not receive any payment for products purchased. Our LBC role is to help interested people and groups learn about mini-reefs and their water quality benefits.