HABITAT ENHANCEMENT PROGRAMS
THE CREATION OF INSHORE REEFS
Like all animals, fish need healthy habitat, to survive, grow, and reproduce. The quality and quantity of fish habitat in a water body directly affects fish populations. RFRI habitat projects improve our understanding of the relationships between fish populations and their habitats.
Bottle to Beaches
🌊 Join the Movement – Turn Glass into Sand, and Sand into Sustainability!
Did you know your empty glass bottles can help protect Louisiana’s coastlines? RFRI’s Bottle to Beaches Initiative is turning recycled glass into sand to restore coastal habitats, control flooding, and support disaster relief efforts. Instead of ending up in landfills, your recycled glass becomes part of something bigger – a stronger, healthier environment for future generations.
🏖️ How You Can Get Involved:
🛠️ Recycle Glass: Drop off your glass at designated collection points and help us create eco-friendly sand.
🪣 Fill Sandbags: Join our community events to fill sandbags used for coastal restoration and flood prevention.
🚜 Deploy Sand: Get hands-on experience placing sand in critical areas to protect shorelines and build fish habitats.
🤝 Our Partnership with Lemon Tree Recycling: We’ve teamed up with Lemon Tree Recycling to give volunteers a unique, rewarding experience in environmental stewardship. Together, we’re transforming an everyday item into a powerful tool for conservation.
🌱 Why It Matters:
Protects against coastal erosion and flooding.
Restores natural fish habitats and supports marine life.
Brings the community together for a meaningful cause.
🎯 Be Part of the Change! Join us at one of our upcoming events and witness how recycled glass becomes a force for good. Whether you’re collecting bottles, filling sandbags, or deploying sand along the coast, your efforts will leave a lasting impact on Louisiana’s marine environment.
📲 Sign Up Today! Help turn glass into sand – and sand into a stronger future for our coastlines. Get Involved Now!
Christmas for the Coast
🎄 Join the Effort – Turn Christmas Trees into Fish Habitat!
What if your old Christmas tree could help restore Louisiana’s coastlines and create thriving fish habitats? RFRI’s Christmas for the Coast Initiative does just that! Since 2020, we’ve partnered with St. Tammany Parish to collect and repurpose discarded Christmas trees for coastal restoration and fish habitat enhancement.
🌊 How It Works: After the holiday season, instead of sending trees to landfills, we collect and submerge them in local waterways. These trees create underwater structures that provide essential shelter for fish, improving habitat quality and enhancing fishing opportunities.
🐟 Why Get Involved?
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🌱 Reduce Waste: Repurpose trees that would otherwise fill landfills.
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🐠 Boost Fish Populations: Help create habitats that attract and sustain various fish species.
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🌊 Protect Our Coast: Contribute to coastal erosion control and shoreline protection.
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🎣 Support Better Fishing: Fish start gathering around the tree structures within days, creating exciting angling spots.
🛠️ Ways You Can Help:
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🌲 Donate Your Tree: Drop off your tree at our collection sites after the holidays.
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🤝 Volunteer at Collection Events: Help collect, transport, and prepare trees for deployment.
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🚤 Assist with Deployment: Join us and our partners, like the Liars & Lunkers Bass Club, to place thousands of trees in strategic locations across the parish.
🎯 Why It Matters: Each submerged tree becomes part of a thriving underwater habitat, supporting fish populations and improving fishing opportunities. Plus, by keeping trees out of landfills, you’re contributing to a cleaner, healthier environment.
📲 Get Involved Today! Give your Christmas tree a second life and help restore our coastlines. Sign Up Here to participate in our next tree collection and deployment event!
Artificial Reef Program
🌊 The Pioneer Reef That Sparked a Statewide Movement
Inshore reefs play a vital role in coastal protection and marine habitat restoration. By reducing coastal erosion and reestablishing hard-bottom habitats, these reefs provide essential environments for fish populations to thrive.
The foundation of Louisiana’s inshore artificial reef program traces back to a groundbreaking effort by RFRI. In 2003, RFRI received a grant from the Shell Marine Habitat Program through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. With $49,900 in grant funding and $77,992 raised through community support, we established the 11-acre Bay Ronquille Habitat Restoration Project.
🎣 Why It Matters:
🌱 Restored critical fish habitats where natural hard bottom had been lost.
🌊 Reduced coastal erosion, protecting shorelines from further damage.
🐟 Created new, productive fishing spots for anglers to enjoy.
This pioneering reef was an overwhelming success. It became the blueprint for inshore reef development across the state, inspiring over 50 reefs deployed by CCA Louisiana. The success of the Bay Ronquille project laid the foundation for the Louisiana Inshore Artificial Reef Plan, published by LDWF in 2014.
📍 From One Reef to a Statewide Initiative: What started as a single, innovative project has evolved into a network of reefs along Louisiana’s coast. These reefs not only enhance fishing opportunities but also contribute to the long-term resilience of our coastal ecosystems.
📲 Get Involved! Be part of the next chapter of reef-building success. Learn more about our habitat enhancement efforts and how you can help restore Louisiana’s marine habitats.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO SUPPORT US?
ALL DONATIONS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE.
Managing the future of fishing in Louisiana is a monumental task and in order for the RFRI to tackle fisheries, habitat, and coastal restoration projects, funding is required. Your contributions will greatly protect, enhance and maintain the Gulf Coast Marine Fishery through science, education and public involvement.
