Ever since this summer’s sinking of the Voici Bernadette to create a new artificial reef, St. Lucie County has been working to further increase the number of underwater habitats off the coast.
To that end, the county is gearing up to deploy a new reef consisting of 300 concrete column footers stripped from the Port of Fort Pierce’s warehouse, which is undergoing demolition.
Jaquin & Sons has donated $5,000 to the artificial reef program to underwrite the expense of deploying the concrete. The footers will be added to an existing reef that was deployed in 2018 and funded through a grant from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The reef is located near the CCA-Curtis Bostick reef – formerly known as the Voici Bernadette.
Jim Oppenborn, the county’s coastal resources coordinator, said the plan is to name the new reef in honor of Paul Jaquin’s father, who helped build the port between 1936 and 1938. Jaquin & Sons is involved in the demolition of the warehouse and prepared the concrete footers specifically for the reef program.
“These are high-quality artificial reef materials,” Oppenborn told fellow reef enthusiasts in an email about the project.
The Jaquin reef is one of two the county plans to deploy before the end of the year. The second is another 1,500 tons of concrete sourced from various construction and demolition projects. It will be sunk adjacent to the CCA-Curtis Bostick Reef.
Oppenborn said the county has been told a $15,000 donation is forthcoming from a local Realtors group. If that donation comes through, Oppenborn told St. Lucie Voice the reef would likely be named in the group’s honor.
Still, nothing has yet been finalized as contracts for deployment must go before the Board of County Commissioners. Oppenborn said those contracts are due for review and vote at the Oct. 22 board meeting.
So long as the contracts are approved, the concrete for both reefs could be sunk at sea before year’s end. “It’s all dependent on the weather,” Oppenborn said.
While the primary goal of the artificial reef program is to provide such reefs along the county’s coast, it’s not the only task before the county.
Oppenborn said they are working with an organization to provide a mooring buoy near the CCA-Curtis Bostick Reef, which will allow boaters to moor safely. Without the buoy, anchors are dropped near the sunken freighter and could eventually cause damage to the reef. He’s also been busy scouting out new vessels to convert into reefs following the successful deployment of the Voici Bernadette.
The county is negotiating for one such ship now, but that could fall through, he cautioned.
St. Lucie County’s budget is enough to cover the cost of environmental cleanup of a vessel and its deployment. But there’s no money to outright purchase a ship.
“I’ve never paid for reef materials in my life,” Oppenborn said, adding that he doesn’t intend to start now. Instead, the county is looking for decommissioned ships – at least 65 feet in length and not fiberglass – to be donated to the cause.
Anyone interested in either donating funds to the artificial reef program or inquiring about the possible donation of a vessel are encouraged to call Oppenborn at 772-462-1713 or email him at oppenbornj@stlucieco.org.
