When the Louisiana Artificial Reef Program was first established, all reef sites were located solely in the offshore federal waters between the 100-ft contour and the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) boundary located 200 nautical miles from shore. Areas compatible with offshore reef development are generally found between 30 to 70 miles off of Louisiana’s gently sloping continental shelf, making them accessible to anglers with offshore vessels. Presently there are 66 offshore reefs comprised of over 350 structures.
Offshore artificial reefs were originally located in specially selected zones that minimized conflicts with other users groups, called Planning Areas. The Planning Areas include over 19,000 acres located in nine sites spread across the Louisiana coastline, where approved materials can be towed and added to a larger reef complex. The Planning Areas have a total of 48 individual reefs throughout the nine Planning Areas: West Cameron, East Cameron, South Marsh Island 76, South Marsh Island 146, Eugene Island, South Timbalier, West Delta, Main Pass, and Ship Shoal.
Sometimes, unique circumstances allow for structures to be reefed in place as Special Artificial Reefs which are evaluated on a case by case basis. These offshore reefs take advantage of special opportunities that exist in areas of high interest or favorite fishing spots. There are currently 18 Special Area Reef sites.
Example Projects
Check back for example projects
Videos
Footage showing the abundance of life from various offshore artificial reefs across our coast.
On June 8th, 2002 the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries deployed a 132 foot ocean-going tug, Hercules, as an artificial reef in Ship Shoal Block 230. The tug, built in 1977, was donated by Sun Towing of Houma, LA.
Scalloped hammerhead sharks occur worldwide, primarily inshore, on continental shelves or in adjacent deepwater. Although populations in the Gulf of Mexico are not threatened, scalloped hammerheads were recently listed as “endangered” globally, thus drawing much public attention to the conservation of the species. In 2012, LDWF initiated an electronic tagging program in order to learn about their habitat preferences and movement patterns of the see sharks and other Highly Migratory Species in the region.
