About the project
About the Project
The Eagle Reef is the Boy Scout eagle project for John Shell of Troop 147 in Mobile Alabama. The initial goal is to deploy 100 of the 2’x2’x3’ mini reefs across coastal Alabama. After six months, each reef is loaded with filter feeders (oysters, barnacles, etc.), and it will filter and clean 11,000,000 gallons of water per year and attracts fish to your wharf.
It will also provide habitat to grow 500 fish and crabs annually. Each reef comes preassembled and is tied between four pilings under a dock or wharf. It floats up and down with the tide. Deploying 100 reefs will filter just under 1.1 billion gallons of water and grow 50,000 fish and crabs annually.
Deploy a reef in someone's honor.
Don't have a place on the coast or you live in Chicago?
You can donate to have a reef deployed on the coast and filter 11 million gallons of water and grow 500 fish and crabs annually. Protect our resources from your couch!
Proposed Locations
Where will you find the Eagle Reef?
The reefs will be deployed across coastal Alabama. Including Dog River, Fowl River, Dauphin Island, Orange Beach and Perdido Bay. The reefs thrive anywhere south of Fairhope and will grow and nurture sea life. They are especially effective for filtering water in areas with limited tidal flow such as the canals of Ono Island, Dauphin Island and Orange Beach, but they grow and attract fish everywhere. The stars on the map are examples and not the only places that the reefs can go. The reefs can go under any wharf or dock.
Reef Installation
Reefs are tied under existing structure
Reefs are tied under existing structure
Reefs are tied under existing structure
The reefs tie between four pilings and float up and down with the tide.
Sea life begins to grow immediately
Reefs are tied under existing structure
Reefs are tied under existing structure
Each reef is like a nursery and supports 500 new fish and crabs annually.
Three ways that you can help. Forms Below
Sign up for a Reef
Volunteer to deliver or deploy
Volunteer to deliver or deploy
Donate, get a reef for yourself and sign up as a reef captain and recruit other locations
Volunteer to deliver or deploy
Volunteer to deliver or deploy
Volunteer to deliver or deploy
Help organize delivering and/or deploying/installing the Eagle Reefs
Donate to Deploy a Reef
Volunteer to deliver or deploy
Donate to Deploy a Reef
Don't have a place to put a reef but want to help. Donate and we'll take care of the rest!
About why I picked this project.
The Eagle Reef Explained
I have recently completed all the badges required by the Boy Scouts to become an Eagle Scout. The only thing left for me to complete is my eagle project. I have worked extremely hard over the last several years and am excited to be this close. I am asking you to help me achieve this goal.
I thought about many different things when evaluating what to do for my project. The main criteria that I set is that it needs to make a significant impact. Living in Mobile, I really love being on the water and fishing. We all can do a better job of taking care of our bay and rivers, and I wanted to do something that would help to both clean our water and improve the fish and crab population. Everyone wins if we achieve this goal. With all that in consideration, I decided to create a reef program for the Alabama coastal communities.
I researched and found a biologist in South Florida that developed a mini reef that floats and is tied under your wharf. It is simple to assemble and begins growing sea life immediately. Once the reef is loaded with oysters, barnacles, and other filter feeders (typically six months), it will filter an average of 30,000 gallons of water a day. This equates to 11 million gallons a year cleaned for just one reef. Additionally, each mini reef acts as a nursery and grows 200 fish and 300 crabs per year.
My goal is to raise $30,000 for this project. This will allow me to deploy 100 of these mini reefs across Mobile and Perdido Bays. Deploying 100 of these mini reefs will annually clean 1 billion gallons of water and grow 20,000 fish and 30,000 crabs. The goal is to not stop at 100. I plan to build a website where others can go to learn about the mini reefs and order one for their wharfs. Additionally, I plan to have “reef captains” located in various areas (Fowl River, Dog River, Point Clear, Dauphin Island, Ono Island, Orange Beach, etc.). Each of these captains will identify 10-20 wharfs and piers in their area to install the reefs. As fish begin congregating on the reefs at their wharfs, their neighbors will want one of their own.
This project has received the blessing of Chris Blankenship, Alabama’s Commissioner of Conservation, Colonel Scott Bannon, Director of Marine resources and Dr. Sean Powers, South Alabama’s Chair of Marine Resources and Chief of the Dauphin Island Sea Lab. Dr. Powers plans to put several reefs at the DI Sea Lab to study and report on their results. This will help to expand the program too.
I am really excited about this project and the opportunity to make a positive impact on the bays that we love so much. Filtering and cleaning 1 billion gallons per year is hard to imagine. By the time I graduate college, these 100 reefs will have cleaned 6 billion gallons and grow 300,000 fish and crabs. Imagine when the word catches on, and we have 1,000 of these deployed.
The reefs cost $437 retails and we are offering them at $300 each.
I thank you in advance for your support.
John Shell
