An A-frame reef with limestone discs is lowered in the Gulf of Mexico on one of the R. Vernon Minton Artificial Reef Zones in state waters. The limestone discs will attract a wide variety of marine life, including sea turtles and juvenile red snapper.By David Rainer. Al. Dept. of Conservation & Nat. Resources. Alabama’s artificial reef program in the Gulf of Mexico is unparalleled. In fact, the program is such a success that Orange Beach is known as the “Red Snapper Capital of the World.”
Unfortunately, when the National Marine Fisheries Service declared red snapper “overfished,” it caused the red snapper seasons to become shorter and shorter. The recent red snapper season was only 28 days long.
Searching for expanded opportunities for anglers along the Alabama coast, the Alabama Marine Resources Division started looking for ways to accommodate anglers with more near-shore reefs.
The near-shore reef program is named in honor of the late Vernon Minton, Marine Resources Director from 1990 until his death in 2010.
Chris Blankenship, who succeeded Minton as Marine Resources Director, said Minton’s legacy includes his ability to foster partnerships with local fishing organizations and contractors to maximize reef-building efforts, the expansion of the inshore reef and Reef-Ex projects, and the directing of funds to research reef fish associated with artificial reefs.