ECOSYSTEM ON PILING
FLORIDA LIMESTONE PYRAMID
of the pyramids are identical in construction,
determining their original position is impossible.
Memorial Reefs, however, are another story.
These reefs, with embedded plaques and custom
features, are easily identifiable and, therefore,
trackable. The Billy Gillen Memorial Reef, for
example, was re-located 956 feet NNW of its
original position. That’s a 6,000 pound piece
of limestone and concrete moved the length
of 3 football fields.
“It has certainly changed the fishing and diving
experience at Bell Shoals,” said MBARA President
Bob Cox. “Tightly clustered patches made for
dense forage areas, but now things are very
spread out. The additional complexity could
be a good thing.” For better or worse, the world
has never seen a storm-stirred artificial reef
installation like the MBARA’s at Bell Shoals.
Meanwhile, the organizations work continues!
Additional assessments of Michael’s impact on
MBARA reefs are labor-intensive and ongoing,
but the all-volunteer organization does not shy
from a challenge. In fact, the MBARA has even
added a new mission to their charter – to assist
the community with recovery after disaster.
/www.mbara.org