Florida Artificial Reefs: History, Coordinates & How to Find Them

Florida has been building reefs on purpose for the better part of a century, and the result is one of the largest artificial reef systems anywhere. For a lobster diver, angler, or spearo, that's thousands of pieces of structure dropped onto otherwise barren bottom, each one a magnet for marine life. Here's how the program came to be, what's actually down there, the one rule that trips people up, and how to find the right reef for what you're after.

A short history of Florida's artificial reef program

People have been sinking things off Florida to attract fish for a long time. As far back as the late 1950s, local clubs and businesses were dropping materials, often old bridge rubble, into the Gulf to build up fishing spots. It worked well enough that in 1982 the state formalized it, creating the Artificial Reef Program to help local governments build reefs the right way, under permits and with proper materials.

Decades later, the scale is remarkable. More than 4,000 public artificial reefs have been placed in state and federal waters off Florida since the 1940s, and the state runs one of the most active artificial reef programs in the United States (FWC Artificial Reefs). Counties do most of the deploying, with FWC grants and permits coordinating the effort.

What's actually down there

A modern artificial reef is rarely just a pile of junk. Materials are chosen and permitted to last and to mimic natural habitat:

• Steel vessels: decommissioned ships and barges, cleaned and sunk, which become the marquee dive sites.
• Prefabricated concrete modules: purpose-built reef structures, including 3D-printed designs, dropped in patterned fields.
• Secondary-use concrete: culverts, pilings, and bridge rubble repurposed as habitat.

They sit everywhere from a few hundred yards off the beach to many miles offshore, in depths from a dozen feet to well over a hundred. Shallow nearshore reefs are easy snorkel-and-lobster targets; the deeper wrecks are the domain of scuba divers and offshore anglers.

One reef, three ways to use it

The appeal of a reef is that it concentrates life where there was none, so the same structure can serve very different trips:

• Lobster: spiny lobster shelter in and around reef structure, especially the edges, ledges, and crevices of concrete modules and rubble.
• Fishing: snapper, grouper, and baitfish stack up on reefs, which is exactly why they were built.
• Diving: the steel wrecks are destinations in their own right, full of fish and easy to navigate.

Pick by depth and conditions: shallow, calm reefs for lobster and snorkeling, deeper structure when you've got the experience and the weather.

Can you actually lobster on them?

This is the rule that catches people, so get it right. You can harvest lobster on permitted public artificial reefs, the ones permitted by the Florida DEP or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, as long as you're outside a no-take zone. The 4,500+ public reefs in Lobsterly are permitted reefs.

What's illegal is harvesting from unpermitted artificial habitat, the so-called "casitas" that people drop to attract lobster. You can't take lobster from or within at least 10 yards of one. When in doubt, stick to the published public reefs and check the lobstering rules and your no-take zones.

Finding the right reef in Lobsterly

The frustrating part of reef fishing has always been that the coordinates live in a dozen different county and state lists. Lobsterly pulls 4,500+ Florida public artificial reefs into one place, and the whole reef database is free. You can:

• Search and filter by county and depth to find the right reef for the day, whether that's a shallow lobster spot or a deep wreck.
• Save and favorite the reefs you like, and view the details on each one.
• Navigate to any of them offline with live distance, bearing, and ETA.
• Count on it staying current, the database is updated to track recent deployments as new reefs go in.

Recent and ongoing deployments

The program isn't a museum piece; new reefs go in every year, and a few recent projects are worth knowing about:

• Monroe County (the Keys): in 2025 the county completed the first reef of a $10 million state-funded network, with up to ten sites planned roughly 5 to 15 miles offshore in 40 to 60 feet of water. That's brand-new structure right in lobster country.
• Bay County: deployed the second NRDA-funded phase in federal Gulf waters off St. Andrew Pass in March 2025.
• Okaloosa County: the storied ocean liner SS United States is slated to be sunk as a reef in early 2026, southwest of Destin.
• Santa Rosa County: more reef construction is on the books for 2026.

Because deployments happen on a rolling basis, the reefs you can dive this season may not have existed last one, which is exactly why an up-to-date list beats a static file.

Frequently asked questions

How many artificial reefs are in Florida?

Thousands. More than 4,000 public artificial reefs have been placed in state and federal waters since the 1940s, one of the most active programs in the country. Lobsterly maps 4,500+ of them, filterable by county and depth.

Can you lobster on artificial reefs in Florida?

Yes, on permitted public reefs (permitted by Florida DEP or the Army Corps), outside any no-take zone. It's illegal to harvest from unpermitted "casitas," where you can't take lobster from or within at least 10 yards. The public reefs in Lobsterly are permitted reefs.

Where can I find Florida artificial reef coordinates?

County and state agencies publish them, but they're scattered. Lobsterly pulls 4,500+ public reefs into one searchable place, by county and depth, with details and offline navigation, updated as new reefs deploy.

Regulations change. Always confirm current rules and no-take zones on the FWC spiny lobster page and the FWC artificial reefs page before you dive. Last updated June 2026.