C&D Debris Enhances Fishing Habitats

Local fishermen will be glad to hear that a construction-demolition debris recycling program instituted by Collier County in 2003 will help bring more fish to Marco Island waters.

It also will make local construction firms happy. They can save the landfill fees for heavy debris if the material is reusable, said Doug Suitor, senior environmental specialist with the county's Environmental Services Department.

The county's Environmental Services and Solid Waste Management departments began a recycling program for heavy construction debris and demolition material with the hope of achieving two goals: to reduce the amount of debris being delivered to the county landfill and to use the debris to create artificial reefs that provide natural habitat for fish species, Suitor said.

The long barge that motorists have seen north of the Judge S.S. Jolley Bridge near the Collier Boulevard boat ramp has been loading up huge concrete debris trucked in from the landfill.

The barge, escorted by a tugboat, already has made one 12-hour journey to a point a few miles off Keewaydin Island to build an underwater reef. Some 400 tons of concrete rubble and pilings will be delivered this week to a point 12 miles off Marco Island to create a reef there, Suitor said.

"We planned to deliver debris for a reef at a point nine miles off Marco, but the weather didn't cooperate. We'll probably wait to do that one this summer," Suitor said.

Artificial reefs are well-known for providing fishing habitats where none existed. Suitor explained that most local fish species hatch larvae in nearby inland waterways, such as those in Rookery Bay and the Ten Thousand Islands. But once the larvae grow to the young fish stage, those fish need larger habitats to grow into catchable adults.

"The Gulf waters here mostly have sand-bottom habitats, which aren't conducive for supporting larger fish, so creating these reefs provides what's needed," Suitor said. "It works well. The reefs even draw in other species from the Gulf, like cobia, mackerel, permit and others. Grouper and snapper are being targeted at the reefs by fishermen."

Fishermen can find the exact locations of the reefs at the county's Web site: http://www.colliergov.net/natresources/reefs/.

Local fishermen have complained for years that red tide, pollution and overfishing depleted fish populations. But the "win-win" scenario created by the reef program could solve some of the problems, Suitor said.

"Those who deliver the debris to the landfill won't have to pay the fee if it's reusable materials," he said. "We can save space at the landfill and also promote fish habitats. This (Keewaydin/Marco project) is the third one we've done since the program started. We've built reefs at Wiggins Pass three miles out, and off Clam Pass three miles out. We'll be building these reefs along the county coastal areas with this material. It's an ongoing program that is driven by the amount of reusable debris taken to the landfill."

Suitor's office and Marco Island City Hall have received several calls from curious residents who've spotted the barge near the Jolley Bridge.

"They're not dredging up anything out of the water there," he said. "Some might think they got the big rocks from last summer's rebuilding of the boat ramp near there. But nothing has been brought up from the water. This stuff is being trucked in from the landfill.

What they see on the deck of the barge will soon be an underwater reef." - Marco Island (Florida) Eagle