Artificial Reefs and Sunken Vessels Offer Prime Fishing Opportunities off Cape Canaveral

The waters off Cape Canaveral along Florida’s east-central coast contain a plethora of opportunities for bottom fishing. The Gulf Stream, which is a current of warm water, parallels the coast from south Florida before turning slightly to the northeast near the Space Coast region. This change creates calmer currents that contain 3 large ridges paralleling the coast.

Besides these ridges where species like grouper and kingfish like to hang out, the Oculina Bank is a natural reef system boasting an abundant amount of fish, coral and other marine life.

However, these natural ridges and reefs are not the only places anglers can find king fish, tuna, grouper, snapper and other species that prefer the deep waters of the open ocean.

Literally thousands of artificial reefs and sunken vessels lie off the coast of Florida and provide habitat to deep sea fish and other marine life. Since the majority of waters off Florida have a sandy bottom, artificial reefs and shipwrecks are an integral part of maintaining a healthy fish population for commercial and recreational anglers.

We invite you to continue reading for a brief rundown of artificial reefs and shipwrecks that provide prime fishing spots off Cape Canaveral



What is an artificial reef? An artificial reef can be defined as “…a human-made underwater structure, typically built to promote marine life in areas with generally featureless bottom, to control erosion, block ship passage, or improve surfing.”
An artificial reef can consist of many things – some simple, some complex. Examples include:

• Concrete blocks
• Construction debris (i.e. rebar, concrete, etc.)
• Sunken oil rigs
• Sunken tankers and ships
• Cremated human remains in concrete urns (burial grounds)
• Observation towers and structures from Cape Canaveral (Kennedy Space Center)

These artificial reef projects are often times spearheaded by local, state and federal agencies, but individuals will sometimes develop their own private reef that few know about.

Sunken ships provide the best habitat for trophy fishing off Cape Canaveral…
Florida’s history is inextricably linked to ships. Although Christopher Columbus is credited as the first European to land in the Americas, Spanish Galleons in the early 1500s were the first ships to sail, and sink, off Florida’s coast.

Fast forwarding to the 20th century, numerous ships were sunk off Florida’s coast as Nazi U-boats lurked along the U.S. east coast. It’s not too hard to find eyewitness accounts from 1942-43 of Floridians watching burning ships off the coast during this chaotic time. It’s believed that over 400 freighters and tankers were sunk off the U.S. east coast in the first eight months of 1942. Over 5000 seamen lost their lives, which is over twice the number of lives lost at Pearl Harbor.

After World War II, the space race began in earnest, with the “Space Coast” becoming the center of activity for America’s efforts to send a man into space and to the moon. Capsules, launch pads and other large structures that eventually became obsolete ended up being thrown offshore or simply landed there as part of a launch. This of course provides additional habitat for fish and other marine life.

Besides these general spots along the coast, there are a few notable wrecks off Cape Canaveral offering superb fishing for king fish, grouper, snapper and other deep sea fish. These include:

City of Vera Cruz

This 286 foot steamship sunk 17 miles off the coast during a violent storm in September of 1880. The wood hull, metal reinforced structure and large steam engine provides ideal habitat for many large fish. The wreck lies in 75 feet of water, so it’s also an ideal diving spot. The conning tower reaches over 30 feet above the sea floor.

Check out this video of the steamship from diver Mike Potter – notice the large, and endangered, Goliath groupers toward the end?

The Dutch Wreck (Laertes)

Located 13 nautical miles off Cape Canaveral, this freighter was sunk by German U-boats in May, 1942. The ship was enroute to Bombay with supplies like aircraft, trucks and tanks. This wreck lies in 70 feet of water and provides habitat for a wide array of large fish.

Pan Massachusetts

This vessel was a large tanker sunk by a German U-boat is February, 1942. It was a massive rig weighing in at over 8000 tons! The Pan Massachusetts was sunk in about 300 feet of water around 40 miles off the coast. The torpedo that sunk her split the vessel in two – the bow (front) section flipped, which is known by locals as the “copper wreck.” The stern section lies a few miles to the south.
Openings in the vessel allow many fish species, especially grouper, to call this vessel home. The hull also includes large sections of coral.

This of course is just a small sampling of wrecks off Cape Canaveral and Florida in general. Some vessels were sunk intentionally to make new habitat for fish and coral, while others sunk in a storm or during armed conflict.

Artificial reefs and wrecks off Cape Canaveral offer tremendous fishing opportunities for anglers of all levels. While many of these wrecks are widely known, others are not. An experienced fishing guide in Cape Canaveral will know the best spots for reeling in the best grouper, snapper, king fish, cobia and more.

To learn more or to schedule an offshore fishing trip in Cape Canaveral, contact OFishal Business Charters by calling (321) 223-FISH or book your trip through our online reservation system today at http://ofishalbusinesscharters.com/