Florida Atlantic Coast
Our home base. We focus on nearshore reef systems off Brevard County, Indian River Lagoon habitat, and barrier island reef complexes from the Space Coast south toward the Keys.
- Space Coast nearshore reefs
- Indian River Lagoon
About the Foundation
We started with a simple idea: fish need homes, and we can build them. From Florida's Space Coast to Alaskan inlets, we are doing exactly that.
Our Story
The Artificial Reef Foundation was born on Florida's Space Coast - the stretch of Atlantic shoreline that runs through Brevard County, home to Kennedy Space Center, sea turtle nesting beaches, and some of the most ecologically rich nearshore waters in the Southeast.
Our founders, avid divers and anglers, watched firsthand as local reef systems degraded over the years - natural limestone ledges silted over, inshore grass flats thinned by runoff, and fish populations declined in areas that once teemed with life. The culprits were familiar: storms, warming waters, nutrient pollution, and legacy bottom disturbance.
The insight was straightforward - if natural substrate has been destroyed or degraded, you can replace it with engineered structures that serve the same ecological function. We designed our first reef module prototype and began identifying optimal deployment zones.
Today, the Artificial Reef Foundation is working across four major U.S. coastal regions to plan and execute reef deployments where they're needed most.
Our Mission
To restore and expand marine biodiversity by designing, constructing, and deploying artificial reef systems in areas where natural reef habitat has been damaged or destroyed - funded entirely by charitable donations and operated in close partnership with scientific and regulatory experts.
Where We Work
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf presents unique opportunities in shallow bay systems, estuaries, and offshore reef deserts. We work from Pensacola Bay east through the Big Bend and into Tampa Bay approaches.
- Pensacola Bay restoration
- Apalachicola oyster reefs
- Storm recovery projects
Pacific Northwest
Puget Sound and the waters around the San Juan Islands have seen bottom habitat degradation from decades of trawling and anchor scour. We are working to bring back rocky reef complexity to key areas.
- Puget Sound rocky reef
- San Juan Islands
Alaskan Inlets
Some of the most pristine and most threatened habitat in the country. Warming waters have destabilized kelp forests in Kodiak Island inlets. We are developing anchor reef systems to support kelp holdfast recovery.
- Kodiak Island kelp forest
- Rocky substrate restoration
How We Are Funded
The Artificial Reef Foundation is intended to operate as a nonprofit, donation-funded organization. Nonprofit registration is not yet finalized. We do not intend to accept funding from commercial fishing interests or industries that may have conflicts of interest with habitat protection.
We offer two types of giving:
- Project-Specific Donations - Direct your donation to a specific reef project. You will receive updates as we hit funding milestones, begin construction, and complete deployment.
- General Mission Fund - Support the overall foundation. General fund dollars go toward wherever the need is greatest - survey costs, permitting, equipment, and operational capacity to tackle more projects.
We are currently in an active funding phase - the more we raise now, the sooner we can start dropping reefs and seeing marine life recovery.
Join Our Mission
Whether you donate $25 or $2,500, you are directly helping us build habitat and restore ocean ecosystems for generations of marine life to come.