Artificial Reef ‘Fish Pyramids’ Planned for Gulf Coast

By THC Staff | June 18, 2016

 

Imagine the Gulf of Mexico as your own big fishbowl where you could set down a toy reef and pyramid for your fish to play and live in. Well, there are plans in the works for something a bit similar with the development of Texas’s largest artificial reef and “fish pyramids.”

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and Coastal Conservation Association Texas have invested $1 million into the “Keeping It Wild Reef” project. About 500 pyramids will be included in this plan with round holes and triangle cutouts for fish and turtle traffic, and rough surfaces for barnacles and clams to grab ahold.

The 381-acre artificial reef will be installed in 2017, though they are still waiting on a few permits to come through. Its location will be six miles from the Port O’Connor jetties (between Corpus Christi and Galveston) where deteriorating petroleum platforms are currently located. “Fish pyramids” will help this part of the Gulf to belong to the inhabitants of the ocean once again.