Lee County, Florida is a special, sunny place that sits along the sparkling waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Just beyond our white-sand beaches, a network of artificial reefs provide diving, boating and fishing opportunities for residents and visitors of Southwest Florida.
Lee County has had an active artificial reef program since the early 1990's. Grants from federal, state, and private sources helped create a range of recreational opportunities from inshore to the deep water of the Gulf of Mexico.
Artificial Reefs in Lee County provide a variety of destinations and opportunities. You can get a copy of the Artificial Reef Guidebook by contacting the Natural Resources Division by email or calling 239-533-8109.
Chris Koepfer’s ARC
‘The Mount’ is located at 26° 24.721’N -82° 24.747’W and consists of more than 1,000 tons of concrete structures that were stacked to achieve relief of approximately 17’. The reef was funded by The Sport Fish Restoration Program and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission utilizing funds that come from purchasing a saltwater fishing license. Materials were generously donated by The City of Cape Coral, Haskins Inc., and Coastal Precast of Florida.
Lee County has created 3 other artificial reefs recently. Two at
Dean Hicks;
East Patch (26° 22.045’N -82° 17.121’W) and
West Patch (26° 22.043’N -82° 17.464’W) and our newest site,
Phoenix has its first deployment (26° 45.582’N -82° 28.443’W) thanks to the
Coastal Conservation Association.
Coordinates N26 33.075’ , W82 43.481’
The USCGC Mohawk WPG-78, launched in 1934, retired to its final resting place in the Gulf of Mexico on Monday July 2, 2012.
The ship, which had been docked in Fort Myers Beach for preparation, was towed some 30 miles off of Sanibel Island before being scuttled in 90 feet of water by six strategically placed charges meant to allow it to rest upright.
The 165-foot vessel played a part in World War II combat operations, serving U.S. Naval forces in the North Atlantic; during the war the ship was named the USS Mohawk CGC.
In order to ensure no negative environmental impacts from its aging equipment, experts cleaned and prepared the ship prior to sending it on its last voyage. The USS Mohawk CGC Veterans Memorial Reef is the first military ship artificial reef to be a dedicated memorial to all U.S. veterans.
For the latest Mohawk information:
You can find GPS coordinates to Lee County and other Florida artificial reef sites at
myfwc.com.
If you have a compatible GPS, you can download the reef waypoint file in GPX format for your use. Note this is in decimal degrees format.
Download GPX File