Manatee County Government
Partial Sunshine Skyway Fishing Pier demo to benefit Manatee’s Three Mile North Reef
Local officials urge boaters, fishermen to avoid the area during the project
MANATEE COUNTY, FL (July 14, 2011) – Crews working to demolish portions of the Sunshine Skyway Fishing Pier will deliver and submerge 70,000 tons of artificial reef material off the Anna Maria Island coast early as Monday, July 18. Boaters and fishermen are advised to avoid the Three Mile North Reef area during construction which could last until February.
The project will significantly upgrade the Three Mile North Reef, a 26-acre artificial reef located three miles west of the northern shores of Anna Maria Island. The work is being done at no cost to the County in conjunction with the Florida Department of Transportation’s $2.2 million project to demolish portions of the Sunshine Skyway Fishing Pier.
Manatee County Natural Resources officials who helped negotiate the transfer of the materials, said expanding the reef could have significant economic and recreational benefits, in addition to improving the marine environment. A recent University of Florida study on artificial reefs showed that Manatee County's eight near-shore and five offshore artificial reefs return more than $23 million dollars annually to Manatee County in reef-related expenditures.
“Adding this much material to Three Mile North Reef will create a much larger and more productive fishing ground and recreational diving opportunity than previously provided at this site,” said Natural Resources Director Charlie Hunsicker. “This project is 70 times greater than any other artificial fishing reef building project that the County has ever undertaken.”
Alan Lai Hipp, Manatee County Marine Resources Coordinator, advised that boaters, fishermen and divers remain a safe distance from the project and should pay special attention to any type of buoy markers that they see around the barge or the tug boat which could indicate anchor lines or cables beneath the water surface.
Lai Hipp added that the reef was an ideal location for the materials, since it can accommodate nearly 90 percent of all suitable materials from the demolition project.
“It’s a pretty popular reef because it’s relatively close to shore and with gas being more expensive, people like to fish closer spots,” Lai Hipp said. “Anytime you put structure down you’ll attract fish and you’ll get organisms growing on the material that will result in better opportunities for fishing and diving. It’s going to be a major, major addition to that reef.”
Tampa-based Misener Marine will use a large barge, tug boat and crane to convey suitable materials from the pier and submerge them at Three Mile North Reef over a period of about eight weeks, depending on conditions. During that time, Lai Hipp said boaters, fishermen and divers should avoid the area for safety precautions.
To learn more about artificial reefs in Manatee County, call Alan Lai Hipp at (941) 748-4501, ext. 4614. For more information on the fishing pier demolition project, call Audrey Clarke, a spokeswoman for the Skyway project, at (941) 730-1481. For more information on Manatee County Government, visit online at www.mymanatee.org or call (941) 748-4501.