CCA steps in to complete Bayou Cour Reef in Alabama

CCA steps in to complete Bayou Cour Reef in Alabama

Written by Ted Venker on 29 August 2011

Project will be largest inshore permitted reef in Alabama

MOBILE, AL – CCA Alabama and the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Marine Resources Division, have announced a partnership to complete the massive Bayou Cour Reef in Bon Secour Bay. The Bayou Cour Reef is a proposed 34-acre reef located about one mile north of the Intracoastal Waterway in the Bon Secour Bay arm of Mobile Bay.

The $163,000 project is being made possible with funds from the Marine Resources Division (MRD), a $55,000 donation from the CCA Building Conservation Habitat Program, and through donations from other
sources, including CCA Alabama’s license tag program. The initial phase of the project, a rip-rap circle to contain limestone and oyster shells in the main reef, was begun by MRD in June 2011. CCA’s donations will be used to complete the first phase of the project.

“We are thrilled to partner with MRD to build yet another inshore reef in Alabama waters,” CCA Alabama Chairman Edwin Lamberth said. “Projects like this allow recreational anglers to give something directly back to the resource. We expect that the reef will become a highly productive and popular destination for inshore anglers, and we certainly expect it to be a benefit to the economies of the surrounding communities.”

The reef will be the largest permitted inshore reef in Alabama waters to date. Nearby reefs include the Fish River Reef and the Shellbank Reef, which have provided excellent finfish habitat and sport
fishing opportunities. CCA Alabama has been a part of building numerous inshore reefs and enhancing fishing habitat in Alabama’s waters since the state chapter was founded in 1982.

Chris Blankenship, Director of the Marine Resources Division, and Chief Biologist Kevin Anson spearheaded the project on behalf of the state.

“We are always grateful to organizations like CCA that are committed to enhancing our marine resources here in Alabama. Donations like these make the completion of these projects possible, and we look forward to continuing our partnership with CCA, Shell and the Building Conservation Habitat Program,” said Blankenship.

“This project combines the grassroots strength of CCA with the resources of Shell and the Building Conservation program to allow our members to enhance Gulf resources in truly significant ways for both
today’s anglers and for generations of anglers to come,” said Pat Murray, president of CCA National.

In December of 2010, Shell Oil Company announced a $1.5 million contribution to the CCA Building Conservation Habitat Program. Since then, the CCA program has contributed almost $400,000 to habitat projects in Gulf Coast states that were impacted with the oil spill last summer.

For more information, contact CCA Alabama at 251-478-3474. A map of the reef and its location is pasted below and can alsobe found at www.outdooralabama.com/fishing/saltwater/where/ramps-reefs.pdf