Tod Sirod Reef, formerly known as Collier 1 Reef is an artificial reef in the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Collier County, Florida. It is part of a network of artificial reefs off the coast of the county.

Tod Sirod Reef
Tod Sirod Reef is located in Florida
Tod Sirod Reef
Tod Sirod Reef is located in Caribbean
Tod Sirod Reef
Tod Sirod Reef (Caribbean)
Location
LocationGulf of Mexico
Coordinates26°7.771′N 82°2.290′W / 26.129517°N 82.038167°W / 26.129517; -82.038167
Country United States
Geology
Typeartificial reef

History

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Construction of the reef was done by a public-private partnership in 2015.[1] In total 36 artificial reefs off the Collier County coastline has been created in six new reef areas.[2]

New reef areas
Reef Name Location GPS
Wasmer Reef 10 nautical miles from Gordon Pass 26°01.973'N 81°58.557'W
Foote Family Reef 17 nautical miles from Gordon Pass 26°01.205'N 82°06.586'W
Collier #1 aka Tod Sirod Reef 10 nautical miles from Gordon Pass 26°07.771'N 82°02.290'W
Collier #2 14 nautical miles from Gordon Pass 26°03.731'N 82°03.316'W
Marco #1 16 nautical miles from Marco Pass 25°41.700'N 81°46.880'W
Rooney Reef 26.6 nautical miles from Marco Pass 25°54.244'N 82°14.258'W

Structure

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The reef is composed of pyramid-shaped limestone reef modules and old concrete benches.[2]

Marine life

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Since their installation, the reef structure has been colonized by many forms of marine life including giant anemones and symbiotic cleaner shrimp, wing-oysters, tunicates, soft coral, algae, variegated and rock-boring urchins, and sea cucumbers. Fish observed at the reef include mangrove and lane snappers, sheepshead, spadefish, jack-knifefish, butterfly fish, grouper, angelfish, wrasse, and grunts.[3]

References

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  1. ^ Paradise Coast Artificial Reef Project
  2. ^ a b Staats, Eric (19 October 2015). "First phase of artificial reef construction completed in Gulf of Mexico off Naples, Marco Island". www.naplesnews.com. Naples Daily News. Archived from the original on 11 February 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  3. ^ Desai, Jigsha (16 April 2016). "Sheepshead, JackKnife-fish flourish in artificial reefs off the coast of Naples". www.naplesnews.com. Naples Daily News. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2016.