Contact Us
Robert K. Turpin
Manager of Marine Resources
1190 West Leonard Street
Pensacola, FL 32501
Ph:(850) 595-4395
Fax: (850) 595-3495
Marine Programs
Escambia County's Newest Artificial Reef
Lane Gilchrist Reef
In a collaborative project between Escambia County and the city of Gulf Breeze, Escambia County Marine Resources is using the materials being removed on the Gulf Breeze side of the old Three Mile Bridge Fishing Pier to construct a new artificial reef to provide additional habitat for marine life. The old pier was damaged beyond repair by Hurricane Ivan in 2004. The County has obtained a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to deploy the concrete materials at a 60 acre site located at N30° 17.467’, W087° 13.773’, in an average depth of 50 feet.
“Economists have measured the economic benefits of artificial reefs to many Florida counties,” said Escambia County Marine Resources Manager Robert Turpin. “An economic assessment of artificial reefs in 1998 measured annual expenditures of nearly $120 million and 2,457 jobs generated in Santa Rosa and Escambia counties. Now that we have the world’s largest artificial reef, the decommissioned aircraft carrier USS Oriskany, and the other materials we’ve deployed since then, those annual benefits are probably much greater.”
