Concrete culverts and pipes are part of a new artificial reef about 28 miles off the Mayport jetties, at what is called Harm’s Ledge. | Jacksonville Offshore Sport Fishing Club
Published on August 17, 2026 at 3:20 pm
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Fish have a new home about 28 miles off of the Mayport Jetties — an artificial reef on the Atlantic Ocean’s sandy bottom.
The reef is made of concrete culverts, pipes and other items once destined to go beneath automobiles, now beneath the waves as part of a program spearheaded by the Jacksonville Offshore Sport Fishing Club.
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The concrete structures were dropped in late June at Harm’s Ledge, an offshore artificial and natural fishing reef site named after early fishing club pioneer Gus Harms. The concrete reef is Jacksonville’s first major installation of its kind in several years and could help revitalize offshore reef development in Northeast Florida.
“What started as a grant application in 2025 became a shared commitment to improving our offshore waters,” fishing club Reef Development Director Paul Malone said in a news release. “This reef is only the beginning. We’re building the foundation for a long-term reef development program that will continue creating habitat, expanding recreational opportunities, and benefiting Northeast Florida for generations.”
The fishing club joined others including “Think It, Sink It, Reef It,” a nonprofit group that plans reef concepts with recycled material, to develop the initial concept in early 2025 to build an artificial reef with donated concrete. They submitted a grant application to secure funding, then the fishing club worked with local, state and federal agencies, private industry and community partners to design the reef project.
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Placed underwater, the concrete culverts and other piping pieces will provide critical habitat for marine life. Almost 200 pieces were loaded onto a barge with a forklift, then towed out to the reef site and dropped to the bottom about 90 feet down.
As coral and other growth occurs on the artificial reef, it will also enhance recreational opportunities for anglers, divers and outdoor enthusiasts, developers said.
The project was made possible through collaboration by the city’s Waterways Commission, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Mobro Marine, the fishing club and others who donated the concrete reef materials.
This is not the only artificial reef in waters off of Jacksonville and Ponte Vedra Beach.
In 2000 and 2001, dome-shaped Reef Balls were placed on the ocean bottom to form the Charles H. Kirbo Memorial Reef between St. Augustine and Jacksonville. Volunteers, including students from Mandarin High School, helped funnel concrete slurry into molds to make the artificial reef pieces. Five hundred were dropped off the coast.
