Encompassing 34 of 35 different coastal counties spread along 1,357 miles of ocean fronting coastline, Florida manages one of the most diverse, and most active artificial reef programs in the United States. As of March 2018, the FWC Artificial Reef Program reports over 3,300 artificial reef deployment locations state-wide. Artificial Reefs are about evenly divided between state and federal waters and range from 4 feet in depth to 414 feet (average depth 65 feet). Each point in this GIS data set represents a single deployment event (either a uniquely located artificial reef or deployments of the same reef on different days). Division of Marine Fisheries Management maintains and updates the source database. This data set represents deployments through March 1, 2018.
This data set is for display purposes only. Do not use it for navigation. Each point location is intended to represent a single deployment event, defined as either different location coordinates or the same coordinates but on different days. It is important to note that DMF has not independently confirmed most of the reef locations and this data had been supplied form various sources without verification.
Please note that reef materials can move, degrade, or become buried over time. This is especially true for metal materials with thicknesses less than 1/4 or lightweight materials. Additionally, many reef locations in the database are based on historical data with inherent potential location inaccuracies that may not have been ground truth since their deployment. If you have updated information regarding the condition or location of an artificial reef please contact the FWC Artificial Reef Database Administrator via email at bradley.ennis@myfwc.com Prior to July 1, 2004, the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI) was known as the Florida Marine Research Institute (FMRI). The institute name has not been changed in historical data sets or references to work completed by the Florida Marine Research Institute. The institute name has been changed in references to ongoing research, new research, and contact information. These data are also known as "Florida Artificial Reef Deployment Database." Note: if these data are converted to shapefile, null values in number fields will be converted to zero. This will hide any true zero values.
publication date
Acknowledgement of the FWC-FWRI (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission-Fish and Wildlife Research Institute) as the data source, and the originator FWC Division of Marine Fisheries, would be appreciated in any products developed from these data, and such acknowledgment as is standard for citation and legal practices for data source is expected by users of this data. Please cite the original metadata when using portions of the record to create a similar record of slightly altered data, such as reprojection. If any data are modified or adjusted, please share the edited information with FWC. Users should be aware that comparison with other data sets for the same area from other time periods may be inaccurate due to inconsistencies resulting from changes in mapping conventions, data collection, and computer processes over time. FWC shall not be liable for improper or incorrect use of this data. These data are not legal documents and are not to be used as such. This is not a survey data set and should not be utilized as such. These data are not to be used for navigation.
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FWC Division of Marine Fisheries Management
GeoPlan relied on the integrity of the attribute information within the original data.
FWC-DMF has not independently confirmed most of the reef locations, and this data had been supplied from various sources without verification.
The data appear to be complete, as of the delivery date from DMFM to FWRI (3/1/2018).
Original coordinates were in decimal minutes with 1/1000 minute precision (xx.xxx minutes), but data have not been verified or field checked by DMF or FWRI. Please note that reef materials can move, degrade, or become buried over time. This is especially true for metal materials with thicknesses less than 1/4 or lightweight materials. Additionally, many reef locations in the database are based on historical data with inherent potential location inaccuracies that may not have been ground-truth since their deployment. If you have updated information regarding the condition or location of an artificial reef please contact the FWC Artificial Reef Database Administrator via email at bradley.ennis@myfwc.com
The vertical accuracy is accurate as of the time of deployment.
Spatial and Attribute Information
DMF provided the data to FWRI as a feature class projected in WGS84. FWRI reprojected the data into NAD83_(2011)_FGDL_Albers (meters) and wrote metadata for the dataset and imported the data into the SDE databases.
Fish and Wildlife Research Institute 100 Eighth Avenue Southeast
This dataset was received via email by on 7/24/2018 from Christi Santi (Christi.Santi@MyFWC.com). The data was received as a geodatabase and was in the following projection: NAD_1983_2011_Florida_GDL_Albers. The data was projected to NAD83 HARN using the NAD_1983_HARN_To_NAD_1983_2011 transformation. This is the first time we've received this dataset as a geodatabase and first time it has been in the NAD_1983_2011_Florida_GDL_Albers projection. Previously it came as shapefile in the WGS84 projection and before that it came in a custom PCS Albers projection. Projecting from WGS84 to NAD83 HARN has introduced a shift of approximately 1 meter. - Added the field DESCRIPT based on NAME. - Added the field FGDLAQDATE based on date downloaded from source. - Upcased all text in the attribute table. - Data set was renamed artref_mar18 from ArtificialReef_fl_point. Field changes notes: DDate2 is now DDate Deployment is now Name Primary_Ma is now MatDescrip Tons is now Tonnage Lat__DM_ is now Lat_DM Long__DM_ is now Long_DM Lat__DD_ is now Lat_DD Long__DD_ is now Long_DD Location_A is now LocAccurac Material_C is now MatCat Fields Removed: Date_Accur RuleID
Internal feature number.
ESRI
Feature geometry.
ESRI
A unique six digit alphanumeric identifier for each deployment record, assigned by FWC.
FWC
The Florida County nearest to the artificial reef project
FWC
The date of deployment (MM/DD/YYYY). Double zeros indicate estimates based on the best available historic information.
FWC
The data of deployment (YYYYMMDD).
FWC
The common name for the deployment site.
FWC
Brief text description of artificial reef.
FWC
The type of reef material that makes up the majority of the deployment. Pre-fabricated reef modules and marine vessels are labelled as MODULE or VESSEL regardless of material composition. All marine vessels have a metal hull unless otherwise noted in this field. The quantity of materials from the original deployment is indicated in parenthesis if known.
FWC
Dry weight of the reef material. Use this field to judge the approximate overall size of the reef.
FWC
Height (in feet) of the reef materials off the bottom.
FWC
Level of government jurisdiction over the waters where the artificial reef is located.
FWC
Reef is in federal waters
Reef is in state waters
Coast where the reef is located.
FWC
Atlantic ocean coast
Gulf of Mexico coast
Latitude in degrees decimal minutes (DD MM.mmm).
FWC
Longitude in degrees decimal minutes (DD MM.mmm).
FWC
Latitude in decimal degrees (DD.ddddd).
FWC
Longitude in decimal degrees (DD.ddddd).
FWC
A value of High, Medium, or Low assigned based on the method of how the deployment coordinates were acquired. The FWC Artificial Reef Program continuously strives to improve coordinate information about each deployment location. If you have updated information regarding the condition or location of an artificial reef please contact the FWC Artificial Reef Database Administrator via email at bradley.ennis@myfwc.com
FWC
High. Location accuracy represent deployment locations that were acquired using modern GPS systems such as WAAS or DGPS.
Medium. Location accuracy represent deployments that were identified using GPS systems with lower accuracy compared to modern units; these locations have also not been verified.
Low. Location accuracy represent historical deployments recorded with LORAN coordinates and later converted using computer algorithms to degrees decimal minutes and not yet verified using a modern GPS system. These deployments may have a large range of spatial error depending on the LORAN conversion.
Type of reef material that makes up the majority of the deployment, defined into six general categories. (CONCRETE, METAL, MODULE, OTHER, ROCK, and VESSEL)
FWC
Depth (in feet) to the bottom at the time of deployment.
FWC
FGDL added field based on field DEPLOYMENT.
GeoPlan
FGDL added field based on date received from source.
GeoPlan
Unique ID added by GeoPlan
GeoPlan
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The Florida Geographic Data Library is a collection of Geospatial Data compiled by the University of Florida GeoPlan Center with support from the Florida Department of Transportation. GIS data available in FGDL is collected from various state, federal, and other agencies (data sources) who are data stewards, producers, or publishers. The data available in FGDL may not be the most current version of the data offered by the data source. University of Florida GeoPlan Center makes no guarantees about the currentness of the data and suggests that data users check with the data source to see if more recent versions of the data exist. Furthermore, the GIS data available in the FGDL are provided 'as is'. The University of Florida GeoPlan Center makes no warranties, guaranties or representations as to the truth, accuracy or completeness of the data provided by the data sources. The University of Florida GeoPlan Center makes no representations or warranties about the quality or suitability of the materials, either expressly or implied, including but not limited to any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. The University of Florida GeoPlan Center shall not be liable for any damages suffered as a result of using, modifying, contributing or distributing the materials. A note about data scale: Scale is an important factor in data usage. Certain scale datasets are not suitable for some project, analysis, or modeling purposes. Please be sure you are using the best available data. 1:24000 scale datasets are recommended for projects that are at the county level. 1:24000 data should NOT be used for high accuracy base mapping such as property parcel boundaries. 1:100000 scale datasets are recommended for projects that are at the multi-county or regional level. 1:125000 scale datasets are recommended for projects that are at the regional or state level or larger. Vector datasets with no defined scale or accuracy should be considered suspect. Make sure you are familiar with your data before using it for projects or analysis. Every effort has been made to supply the user with data documentation. For additional information, see the References section and the Data Source Contact section of this documentation. For more information regarding scale and accuracy, see our webpage at: http://geoplan.ufl.edu/education.html
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