GULF SHORES, Ala. — The countdown is on for the highly anticipated new fishing pier at Gulf State Park that will replace the previous pier destroyed by Hurricane Ivan in 2004. A grand opening is scheduled for July 23.

Last week, the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources along with Reefmaker, a local business located in Orange Beach, deployed 12 “Florida Limestone” reefs, making it the only fishing pier on the Gulf Coast to have artificial reefs.

The eight-foot-tall reefs were placed in groups of four at three different locations surrounding the pier. Each reef, which has a 10-foot triangular base, is made of concrete and Florida limestone which is PH compatible with all marine life.

“These are the same type reefs that we placed in the artificial reef zone for the state,” said David Walter, owner of Reefmaker who has been building artificial reefs since 1986. “The reefs are located within casting distance from the pier.”

Walter said that Reefmaker, the largest deployer of artificial reefs in the United States, can produce six reefs a day, and it took them about an hour to deploy the reefs around the new pier.

“A lot of people think that the condominiums are the backbone of this area, but it is the fishing,” Walter said.

Walter has been involved with Alabama’s artificial reef program since it began. Unlike other reef programs, Alabama allows private individuals to build artificial reefs.

The system has been so successful that presently more than 40 percent of all the recreational Red Snapper in the Gulf of Mexico are caught yearly off of Alabama’s coastline.

Walter said it is proof that artificial reefs can create an entire fishery from nothing.

Those fishing off of the new pier can expect to reel in Red Snapper, Trigger Fish, Grouper, Sheephead and many other species of fish.

Buffer Zone

A new Marine Police regulation creating a 300-foot buffer zone around the pier has been drafted to ensure the safety of both boaters and pier users.

Under State Parks regulations, the 300-foot ban is currently in effect. Those regulations makes it illegal for any water related activities such as boating, wading, surfing, swimming and scuba diving to occur within 300-feet of the pier. The regulations take effect July 20.

“One of our highest priorities is to make sure that everyone using the park has a safe and enjoyable visit,” said M. Barnett Lawley, Commissioner of Conservation for the State of Alabama. “The 300-foot buffer zone around the new pier will help to ensure they do.”