Location. Location. Location—this isn’t real estate; it’s red snapper. And red snapper anglers in the Panhandle are unsettled why more reef sites aren’t permitted in prime waters off their coast. The waters off Bay County are perfectly conducive for red snapper. Already, catches are exceptional for fishermen with access to envied private reef numbers.

Look no farther than our fishing neighbors in Alabama. They have a dynamic red snapper fishery in part because of a bevy of artificial reef sites—both public and private. The September 2007 issue of Florida Sportsman highlighted the Alabama red snapper fishery in depth.

According to the Emerald Coast Reef Association, the Mobile, Alabama District Army Corps of Engineers office has allotted 1,260 square miles of ocean to private artificial reefs. Considering the Alabama Coast is a fraction of Florida’s coast, it’s astounding only 465 square miles have been allotted to private reef deployment in the Panhandle by Jacksonville’s Army Corps office. The Jacksonville District controls reef permits in the Panhandle.

Bay County’s commissioners agreed by vote they want to work toward putting together a public reef within eight miles of the coast, but county leaders worry that Jacksonville’s Army Corps Office won’t be as receptive or timely as the Mobile (Alabama) office. “We are under the Jacksonville Office, which doesn’t seem to be too sensitive to time, or what the county prefers,” said Assistant County Manager Dan Shaw, to a Panama City news station. “But we’ll keep trying.”

Diagrams provided by the Emerald Coast Reef Association: