LONGBOAT KEY, Fla. — Some homeowners are installing mini artificial reefs under their docks to try to create cleaner water and help the wildlife.
The nonprofit Ocean Habitats has been installing these reefs made of polypropylene for decades.
“It's constructed to mimic what should be in the water but might have been destroyed when mangroves were removed. The structure becomes a home for filter-feeding animals like sea squirts, oysters, mussels, that kind of thing,” President of Ocean Habitats David Wolff said.
The reefs provide a place for fish and crabs like little tiny babies that are just born to have safety and grow up.
Wolff told 10News, “Their food source is all the green stuff in the water we have too much of so they’re filtering out 30,000 gallons a day once the reef is fully developed in about a year.”
About 300 fish and 200 crabs will call the mini reef habitat home annually.
Marine Scientist Garrett Stuart, also known as "Captain Planet," installs the mini reefs. He frequently shares messages about the environment on Instagram.
The reefs have been installed in 23 states and homeowners in other countries have purchased them as well. Recently, some were sent to the Abaco Islands in the northern Bahamas.
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