News Details (Posted: September 8, 2010):

Ten miles out, 50 feet down - Dunedin, Clearwater FL

Full Description:

Dr Mathews, a professor of Oceanography at St. Petersburg Collage, gets up close and personal with grouper, large schools of bait fish and a determined---and apparently determined Hogfish (pictured) foraging for food along the bottom. As Dr. Mathews points out, the large amount of growth found on the reef's structures is a clear indication that the quality of water is as pristine as ever---and according to the experts, that won’t be changing. In case you missed our update on Friday, a top NOAA official recently pinpointed the threat of any remaining oil reaching the St. Pete/Clearwater area at "essentially zero." Veteran’s Reef is one of 13 man-made sites, found three to 38 miles off the coast of the St. Pete/Clearwater area’s award-winning coastline. Each reef’s individual design has different sized openings, serving as the permanent and temporary home for a variety of flora and fauna. A detailed map of all offshore reefs and select individual reef maps are available online.  The underwater project is among the latest in VSPC’s efforts to deliver the message that the St. Pete/Clearwater area is wholly unaffected by the BP Oil Spill. To see the first two video updates from earlier this summer, visit our “Wide Open Beaches” landing page.   Veteran's Reef, made up of concrete structures, barges and natural limestone, is located just 10 miles off the coast of Clearwater Beach. A recent visit to the reef is reported on by professor of oceanography Dr. Heyward Mathews. Visitors and residents of Dunedin, Palm Harbor and Safety Harbor Fl will find this article and linked videos to be of great interest.   Sponsored by: Annette Lawrence ReMax Realtec Group 727.420.4041 all_Dunedin@yahoo.com