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Miami Beach
Diving on Art-official
Reefs
by Ken English
 Below
the surface of the Atlantic Ocean, less than five miles from
Miami Beach, lie a collection of artificial reefs - manmade objects placed in a lifeless
stretch of sandy, ocean bottom to provide
shelter for homeless fish. Done properly, this marine
habitat enables life to thrive - from coral to shark. I'm
gathering scuba video clips to showcase scuba diving in
Miami and Miami Beach.
Artificial reefs provide marine habitat,
transforming a
stretch of sand into a meeting place for fish and recreational
scuba divers.
In 1981, the
Dade Sportfishing Council convinced the County
Manager at the time, Merrit Steirheim, to instruct
Tony Clemente, the director of the Department of
Environmental Resources Management (DERM) to
initiate the Dade County Artificial Reef Program (D'CARP).
After 8 months of public workshops and interviewing
prospective candidates, Ben Mostkoff was hired to
develop and coordinate the program in conjunction
with interested members of the public.
I met Ben in
1985, when he was trying to raise some money to
acquire and sink a WWII submarine called the Turbot.
Although that project never materialized, Ben did
mange to sink material of opportunity that included
dozens of ships, a pair of army tanks, sections of
an oil platform, the Miami Beach water tower and a Boeing 727 jet fuselage,
complete with wings and tail. The jet was eventually
destroyed by the ocean. Ben went on to become a
marine construction consultant, while I went on to
lead the effort to create the world's ONLY
shallow-water, near-shore artificial reef in the
shape of a margarita bar.
Without Ben Mostkoff's
persistence and determination, Miami would not have
an underwater theme park. Unfortunately, the County
has withdrawn from the aggressive days of artificial
reef development, and the scuba diving industry has
suffered as a result.
In 60's,
Miami Beach became a vacation destination. In the
80's, Miami Beach became an international vacation
location, with economic and cultural ties around the
world. In the 90s, lead by the president of the
Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce, Bruce Singer, Miami
Beach began a program to position the area as an
urban dive destination. In 2003, the Dive Equipment
Marketing Association (DEMA) held it's annual
convention at the Miami Beach Convention Center.
Under the direction of Brian Flynn, the artificial
reef program coordinator at the time, we acquired an
obsolete freighter, renamed it the DEMA Trader, and
sunk it in the Key Biscayne Special Management Zone.
Recently, I've seen
environmental artist turn a bland,
marine habitat into
'art-official' reefs, whereby the form of the reef is more
important than its function.
Simon Morris, a
Canadian diver and sculptor, convinced skeptics in the
Cayman Islands that a bronze mermaid would be good for
tourism. Jason
Taylor, a UK diver and environmental artist convinced
the government of Grenada to allow him to build an
underwater sculpture garden with 41 concrete figures in 20
feet of water.
When there is 'art' in an
'artificial reef,' the 'attraction field' includes recreational scuba
divers and snorkelers, when the reefs are in shallow water, along with the homeless fish. By
injecting 'art' into the design of an artificial reef, a
tourism destination can attract divers, while enhancing
their coastal
environment.
Establishing a near-shore,
shallow-water art-official reef adds a new element
to a community's tourism product, while reducing demand on
natural reefs. It is, in fact, a
saltwater aquarium without glass walls. Underwater art has a
gallery.
Neptune: Roman God
of the Ocean or a 'patron saint' of the underwater artist?
The most innovative concept in artificial reef design is
emerging from haze in 50-feet of water, approximately 5
miles southeast of Miami Beach. Wrapped in the silence of
the ocean, an eternal story is evolving.
 Neptune Reef,
16-acres of barren sandy bottom in the Key Biscayne Special
Management Zone, is peacefully emerging from behind the
surrounding curtain of water. The first phase of the project
consists of 2000
tons of concrete, in the shape of columns, domes and arches.
There's a
12-foot metal gate and a pair of bronze lions. The gates are open to the public.
Divers have been discovering this unique dive site since the
summer of 2007. Fish swim where there once wa nothing but
sand.
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Conceived
by Gary Levine (left), a businessman with a knack for
spotting trends, designed by his life-long friend Kim Brandell
(right), a
noted sculptor with an environmental
orientation and rendered by the master digital-artist Joey
Burns, Neptune Reef is an
'art-official' wonder of the underwater world.
It took three years to go from concept to
construction, with more than a dozen regulatory
agencies involved. Then, it
had to be built. |
Pre-construction
computer art by
Joey Burns helped people visualize the end
result, click to enlarge. |
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In January 2007, the
first barge load of material left the staging area on the
Miami River. Then, the Neptune Society, the world's largest
'afterlife' service provider officially recognized the
potential of the project, and became the majority partner. There are, they
must have reasoned, people who have decided on cremation who
would prefer to spend eternity as part of a living
eco-system, rather than scattered on the surface of the
ocean, or in a pretty jar on shelf.
So, get ready for some
scuba!
The first underwater theme park
near Miami Beach is open. The Dive
Store/Dive Boat link on the opening page will introduce you to local
dive stores and dive boat operators. Sign up for my updates
and I'll keep you posted as to the progress of the underwater side of Miami Beach.
And remember, Liquid Lounge is an internet radio program
with a focus on the waterside, above and below the surface:
www.blogtalkradio.com/kenenglish.
There's More
In addition to the Neptune project, there are
several ideas being discussed to enhance the underwater
experience of Miami Beach, including a proposal to create an underwater
art gallery for shallow-water diving and snorkeling at the
southern end of the beach, between 5th Street and the
seawall, near the underwater bar, in an attempt to
reestablish a reef system recently covered by sand.
Check out the Gallery
of the Ocean Realm.
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