The project involves lowering 1,500 tons of heavy concrete pipes into the Gulf of Mexico near Destin-Fort Walton Beach. Each of the three planned reef sites will receive around 500 tons of material. The work is expected to continue through November 2026, according to information released by the Fish and Wildlife Foundation of Florida.
A major marine construction project is underway off the coast of Okaloosa County, where workers have started placing three million pounds of recycled concrete drainage pipes on the seabed to create three artificial reefs. The pipes will be arranged in large groups to provide shelter and feeding areas for local marine life.
The first project under the initiative took place off the coast of Naples on 2 September 2026.
“Three million pounds of reef material makes this a big deployment, but what excites us most is what it represents,” said Nick Wiley, Executive Director of the Fish and Wildlife Foundation of Florida, in an official statement. The project near Destin-Fort Walton Beach is the second official reef placement under Florida’s Coastal Corridor initiative. The statewide programme is jointly managed by the Fish and Wildlife Foundation of Florida and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). By adding the Okaloosa County location, project managers are extending the conservation network into northwest Florida. The wider plan aims to connect marine habitats along both the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic coasts. These include natural coral reefs, artificial reefs, seagrass beds and coastal mangrove forests. “We are beginning to turn the Coastal Corridor from a statewide vision into real habitat in Florida waters. Okaloosa County has been an outstanding partner, and this is exactly the kind of collaboration that will allow the initiative to grow from one community to the next.”