'Alien-looking' structures near Fort Myers Beach identified

FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. —

Drivers noticed something unusual sitting next to Salty Sam’s Marina lately — rows and rows of giant concrete dome-like structures lined up behind a fence on San Carlos Island.

The strange gray formations have sparked plenty of curiosity from people passing by, with some guessing they were everything from underwater to “alien pods.” Others thought they looked like giant honeycombs or underwater habitats.

“It kind of looks like bunkers," said Nancy Grivas, visiting from Pennsylvania. "I would definitely want to know what these are and what they’re for."

After reaching out to Lee County and the Town of Fort Myers Beach, both agencies said the structures are not connected to any Lee County government project.

With few answers at first, we continued digging and eventually tracked down the company storing the structures on the property.

The concrete domes are actually “reef balls” from Reef Innovations, a Sarasota-based company specializing in artificial reef systems and shoreline restoration projects.

The hollow concrete structures are designed to create habitats for fish and marine life underwater by mimicking natural reef environments. According to the company, the reef balls currently stored near Salty Sam’s are expected to be used for a reef and shoreline restoration project offshore Naples.

“I’m a scuba diver, so any time they come across artificial habitats like that, there’s always a whole lot of fish, a lot of life there,” said Dru Hanni, who works at Marina Cantina Tin Tiki and passes the structures every day on his way into work.

A representative with Innovations says the reef balls should be deployed sometime in June.

DOWNLOAD the free Gulf Coast News app for your latest news and alerts on breaking news, weather, sports, entertainment, and more on your phone or tablet. And check out the Very Local Gulf Coast app to stream news, entertainment and original programming on your TV.