Welcome to Red Snapper Season 2023! The season began June 1, 2023 at 12:01am for “For Hire” vessels fishing in federal waters and continues through August 25, 2023.
For Florida recreational anglers in state waters, the season started a few days later on June 16. While the summer season ends on July 31, 2023, fishing enthusiasts can look forward to 3-day fishing weekends in Florida State waters later in October and November 2023. This means there are still additional days of red snapper fishing opportunities in 2023, giving you ample time to plan exciting fishing adventures.
Here, we present Bay County’s recent artificial reefs, which serve as prime fishing locations for this year’s seasons. This select collection includes three distinct areas: east (State), south (Federal), and west (State). These sites have had the opportunity to grow and mature, with over 290 reef modules deployed between May 2019 and December 2020.
East Location – Sherman Site
Walter Marine deploys one of nine super reefs deployed in Bay County’s NRDA Phase I project located approximately 12 nautical miles southeast of the St. Andrew Pass. Each massive super reef weighs over 36,000 lbs and is 15 ft tall. Multiple modules deployed in tandem provides equivalent tonnage and structure similar to a medium to large sized scuttled vessel. Photo by Bob Cox, Mexico Beach Artificial Reef Association.
This project was completed in May 2019 in partnership with the Mexico Beach Artificial Reef Association, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The deployment site in the Sherman Artificial Reef Permit Area is approximately 12 nm southeast of St. Andrew Bay Pass at a depth of approximately 80 feet. A total of twenty-five modules were deployed, including nine 18-ton reefs and sixteen 3-ton reefs.
South Location – Large Area Artificial Reef Site (LAARS) A
Large 45,000 lbs. concrete modules staged for deployment. These were placed by HG Harders and Son in July of 2019.
This project was completed in July 2019 in partnership with the Bay County Artificial Reef Association and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission. The deployment site in LAARS A is approximately 12 nm south of the pass, with reef modules located around the center of the permitted area. The reefs are situated in about 105 feet of water. There are seventeen reef modules, including five 22-ton reefs with a height of 18 feet and twelve 2.5-ton reefs with a height of 5 feet.
West Location – SAARS E – L
This area has the largest number of reef modules and permit sites. It includes 154 small pyramids that are 8 ft tall and weigh about 10 tons. There are also 26 large pyramids that are 18 ft tall and weigh about 18 tons. Additionally, 25 concrete disk reefs, weighing about 3 tons each, were deployed nested inside select Super Reefs, adding to the complexity and diversity of the reefs. In total, approximately 980 tons of engineered concrete artificial reef material were placed in 8 permitted areas. These deployments were completed in December 2020 with the support of the Mexico Beach Artificial Reef Association.
Bay County’s NRDA Phase II deployment in Small Area Artificial Reef Sites (SAARS) E – L are located 11 – 15 nautical miles (nm) southwest of St Andrew Bay Pass in Florida state waters. (Source ArcGIS mapping software).
This monitoring dive was conducted by FWC in January 2021, shortly after the reefs were deployed. You can move the 360 deg video image to experience what the divers see and observe.
Below is an overview map of these three prime snapper sites!
Click on the image to visit a live interactive map and plan your visit!
On the map page, zoom into the “Map Pins” and click to see location and other info!
DOWNLOAD A CSV File FOR THE FEATURED REEFS
DOWNLOAD A Single WEB File FOR THE FEATURED REEFS (Print or View)
Our office is here to help. Contact us at 850-784-6105
Learn more about Bay County’s other Artificial Reefs
Wishing everyone great fishing days on the water with family and friends!
Chantille Weber, Coastal Resource Coordinator, UF/IFAS Extension Bay County
L. Scott Jackson, Bay County Extension Director, UF/IFAS Extension Bay County and Florida Sea Grant
An Equal Opportunity Institution. UF/IFAS Extension, University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Andra Johnson, Dean for UF/IFAS Extension. Single copies of UF/IFAS Extension publications (excluding 4-H and youth publications) are available free to Florida residents from county UF/IFAS Extension offices.
Florida Sea Grant Regional Specialized Agent (Artificial Reefs and Fisheries)
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