Leading the nation with more than 450 vessels acting as artificial reefs, each year Florida hosts thousands of visitors who scuba dive the artificial reef trail. This provides an economic boost to 272 Florida-based retail dive centers, additional local diving operators, surrounding hotels and restaurants and the local community.

According to one study, artificial reef sites based on sunken ships generate an average of $3.4 million each in gross revenues annually. The expenditures of divers visiting artificial reefs in Florida were more than $220 per person per day and a recent study estimates that the economic impact of the USS Vandenberg, scheduled to be sunk off the coast of Key West later this year, will generate between $56 and $168 million over the next ten years.

The sunken aircraft carrier USS Oriskany, the world’s largest artificial reef, is so popular amongst the diving community that some local dive operations have up to a three month waiting list for divers to get on a boat to access the historic vessel.

The creation of artificial reefs has been good for Florida’s tourism and scuba diving industries. The Diving Equipment and Marketing Association (DEMA) supports the new legislation to establish a program for the sinking of decommissioned military vessels as artificial reefs and strongly encourages Florida Governor Charlie Crist to sign the bill as soon as possible.

The author, Al Hornsby is the President of the Board of Directors of the Diving Equipment & Marketing Association, an international organization dedicated to the promotion and growth of the recreational scuba diving and snorkeling industry.