In the summer of 2009 the retired United States Coast Guard Vessel Spike was sunk off the coast of Jacksonville to create marine habitat. This summer makes 5 years since the deployment. TISIRI divers made several visits over the summer months to observe the current condition of the reef. Today the vessel has already become a flourishing reef. The brief video story below shows the dramatic difference between when the vessel was underwater on day one and now.

The footage shows the abundance and diversity of marine life found at the new reef. Some of the more obvious fish species are Greater amberjack, Tomtate grunts, Black seabass, Vermilion snapper, and Atlantic spadefish, The vessel itself is covered in a variety of invertebrate organisms as well included corals, sponges, barnacles, algae, and muscles.

The Spike Reef project was a large effort with help from the City of Jacksonville, Florida Fish and Wildlife, Safe Harbor Maritime Academy, community groups, and private corporations. A list of participants too long to fit in a brief post such as this. The imagery in the video story above shows why all these participants went through such an effort to sink an old vessel.