Two 200' by 200' zones have been permitted for future artificial reef material placement just south of the Interstate 95 bridge. The CCA is spearheading this project and the hope is two create two modest sized artificial reefs (one at each permitted location) in the relatively near future. In an effort to better understand the environmental parameters of each location the TISIRI team decided to send out a diving team to get a first hand look at the river bottom. Joe Kistel and Ed Kalakauskis were the investigation divers while Larry Davis was on board for equipment, imagery, and data collection support.
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North Florida Lionfish Rodeo Underwater Pictures
This past Saturday a Lionfish rodeo tournament took place offshore Jacksonville Florida. The goal of the event was to remove as many invasive lionfish as possible from the reefs offshore Jacksonville. TISIRI participated in the event and captured some photos of the marine life encountered at the reefs we are trying to protect. The Reefs visited were the Casablanca Reef and the BR Freighter. See a few of the marine life pictures captured during the dives below.
Read MoreFred Morrow Reef Placement Report
An artificial reef was created using over 700 tons of clean recycled concrete material off the Coast of Jacksonville Florida on August 2nd, 2013. The reef material was placed within the Floyds Folly permitted boundaries (Permit SAJ-2007-261) at an average depth of 73 feet.TISIRI located, surveyed, and mapped the reef material on 8-2-13 (less than one hour after the reef deployment). Divers that participated made general observations and swam prescribed radial headings sketching material layout along their path.Reef material was found dispersed in a random and sporadic fashion with both densely clustered congregations as well as isolated pieces. Some fish species were observed as well as a few mobile invertebrates. The reef was placed well within the permitted boundaries and the maximum vertical relief from the seafloor was below 50 feet from the surface. The reef deployment appears to meet regulatory requirements and should evolve into productive marine habitat.
Read More2013 Reef Creation Video Story and Pictures
Last Friday the Fred Morrow Reef was created offshore the coast of northeast Florida. The entire project was a significant amount of work but all very worthwhile. Please see the brief video story we created explaining the project from the start of acquiring the reef materials to the first underwater look of the reef. Pictures of the event are also included under the video. A big thanks to Larry Davis for capturing much of the footage featured within this video.
Read MoreJacksonville Fred Morrow Reef Created Offshore Ponte Vedra Florida
8-2-13Today,approximately 800 tons of recycled concrete material was placed offshore northeast Florida 12 miles East of Ponte Vedra Beach. Project contractor Salonen Marine had the fully loaded barge onsite and anchored by 9:30 am. In a little under three hours time the entire reef material contents...
Read MoreReef Material Loading Time Lapse
7-27-13Workers are busy this weekend loading the barge for the upcoming artificial reef deployment. Below is a time lapse segment of the barge loading. The camera was mounted on the roof of the crane and took pictures every one minute over a period of a few hours during...
Read MoreJacksonville 2013 Reef Pre-Deployment Survey Results
TISIRI identified and surveyed an area of seafloor within the boundaries of the Floyds Folly area (Permitted Area SAJ-2007-261) on 7-8-2013. The Floyds Folly area may also be referred to as “FF” in the remainder of this document. Results of the survey efforts suggest the area is adequate to place the anticipated concrete artificial reef materials. Divers that participated in dive survey and data collection efforts included Joe Kistel, Ed Kalakauskis, Nate Tucei, and Dane Shields.
Read MoreResearch Reef Created Offshore Northeast Florida
Several large concrete blocks were placed offshore the coast of Jacksonville and St. Augustine thanks to the efforts of TISIRI, the USCG Sector Jacksonville, and the City of Jacksonville. The blocks placed were actually former navigational aid anchors that outlived their service life. As opposed to discarding the large blocks a plan to create a research reef was devised. This post is continued below the news video story of the project featured below.
Read More"Species" broadcast on NBC and ABC Stations
Unfortunately Florida is also now home to many non-native species (aka invasive species). The list of nonnative plants and animals found in the state of Florida a long one. These invasive life forms tend negatively disrupt the ecology of the Florida habitats in which they are found, often causing significant problems.Of course, one of the invasive species causing havoc is the Lionfish. TISIRI's Joe Kistel discusses the issue and what is being done to combat it in the First Coast News segment featured.
Read MoreTISIRI Awarded Earth Day Vistakon Grant
Earth Day events for 2013 were held at the Jacksonville Landing and although the weather was cold and dreary there was a great turnout. TISIRI was invited to participate in the festivities and to receive a grant sponsored by Vistakon through Earth Day Jacksonville. The grant is to support TISIRI's children's book project currently in the works. The book follows the story of ship that becomes an artificial reef and we at TISIRI are very excited about it. It allows us to better reach out to children about the significance of marine habitats while telling a truly engaging and visual story. Keep an eye for the book in the fall.
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