What if the ocean floor could be both a conservation tool and a gallery of breathtaking art? That’s exactly what’s happening off the coast of South Florida, where a growing collection of handcrafted mermaid sculptures quietly rests on the seafloor — drawing divers, inspiring scientists, and giving new life to one of the world’s most endangered ecosystems. The 1000 Mermaids Artificial Reef is a monumental public eco-art project in the form of an artificial reef that serves as an underwater destination for coral restoration, eco-tourism, and research. It’s part underwater museum, part marine sanctuary — and there’s genuinely nothing else like it.
The Hollywood artificial reef is the second site for Ocean Rescue Alliance International, bringing the total number of artificial reef structures deployed in the ocean off South Florida’s coast to 100 since the 1000 Mermaids project was launched in 2019. Since the start of the project, over 300 modules have been deployed in South Florida. This is a living, growing installation — and it’s only getting more spectacular with time.
What Makes This Reef Unlike Anything You’ve Seen
Mermaids have long been a symbol of humans’ connection to the ocean, and this artificial reef project is created by body casting and 3D scanning real people in the form of mermaids onto artistically crafted artificial reef modules that allow their likeness and legacy to live forever on the sea floor. The result is something deeply personal — real human forms, immortalized beneath the waves, slowly becoming home to marine life. It’s the kind of thing you have to see to believe.
The mermaids — some playful, others pensive — were handcrafted by Chris O’Hare with Reef Cells and placed in strategic locations off the Florida coastline. Each sculpture is equipped with “coral loks,” small devices that enable out-planting, a process that secures nursery-grown corals onto reef habitats where they can continue to grow. In addition to the mermaid sculptures, habitat structures and other characters — like a diver with a historic suit and headgear — were also lowered onto the seafloor to help promote coral growth. The variety of sculptures means there’s always something new and unexpected to discover on every dive.
The Science Behind the Art
The artificial reef sculptures come outfitted with the patented “Coral Lok” system allowing coral to be out-planted directly to the structures. The structures, built by Reef Cells in Boynton Beach, have biological bases specifically engineered to support fish habitat and provide coral restoration opportunities. This isn’t decorative architecture — every curve and crevice of these sculptures has been thoughtfully designed to function like a natural reef system.
These revolutionary reef sculptures were placed just a few miles southeast of the Port Everglades Inlet, in an area where thousands of corals are required to be transplanted as part of ongoing port expansion projects. Thanks to the Ocean Rescue Alliance’s contributions to coral restoration efforts in Southeast Florida, this site is designed to become a recipient site for transplanted corals, providing a variety of community-based, citizen science, and educational opportunities. In other words, every dive you take out here is a small act of support for something much bigger.
With current coral disease and bleaching events disrupting the Florida Reef Tract, the Ocean Rescue Alliance and Reef Cells developments come at a critical time as a promising innovation to saving South Florida’s reefs at a nominal cost compared to the real world value of coral reef eco-systems. The urgency behind this project is very real — and being part of its story as a visitor carries weight.
Citizen Science You Can Actually Participate In
The project provides opportunities for local communities including citizen science opportunities, enabling anyone from a middle school student to a veteran to help out-plant coral fragments while diving the reef. It’s a rare chance to do something genuinely meaningful while also having one of the most memorable dive experiences of your life. The citizen science program, called Coral Rangers, engages local communities in reef monitoring and coral restoration efforts.
The project partners with local dive operators and plans to connect the public to excursions where guests will be educated on reef preservation and also be presented the opportunity to help the cause. Whether you’re a seasoned diver or exploring guided excursions for the first time, there’s a meaningful way to engage with this reef beyond simply admiring it.
The Underwater Experience
The reef is located about 1 mile offshore in about 35-40 feet of water and is accessible to certified, skilled divers via vessel. The depth makes this a proper scuba experience, so it’s best suited for those with open-water certification or higher. When diving the reef, you can expect to see colorful parrotfish, angelfish, barracuda, nurse sharks, stingrays, delicate corals, turtles, and more — all weaving between and around the eerily beautiful mermaid forms below.
Of the 20 artificial reef structures deployed at the Hollywood site, five feature artistic sculptures such as mermaids, a swim-up selfie mermaid tail, and an industrial diver suit. That swim-up selfie mermaid tail has become something of a bucket-list photo op for divers — a naturally lit, impossibly cool underwater portrait location you won’t find anywhere else in the world.
Atmosphere & Setting
There are no walls, no admission gates, and no gift shops here — this is the open Atlantic Ocean, and that’s part of what makes it so special. The “atmosphere” is the South Florida sea itself: warm, luminous, and teeming with life. These submerged sculptures create a new habitat for marine life and an exciting diving experience that blends the surreal with the scientific in a way that’s hard to put into words until you’ve hovered weightlessly beside a stone mermaid draped in growing coral.
Art-themed reefs connect the local community history and culture while creating a lasting memory on the ocean floor that will help restore marine ecosystems. The result is an atmosphere unlike any dive site you’ve visited before — part sculpture garden, part marine lab, and entirely awe-inspiring. The sculptures take on a different character at depth, filtered through shifting South Florida light, making every dive feel like something out of a dream.
Other Considerations
Do I need a certification to visit? Yes — the reef is located about one mile offshore in about 35-40 feet of water and is accessible to certified, skilled divers via vessel. If you’re not yet certified, now is a great time to work toward your open-water certification so you can experience this one-of-a-kind site. Plans are also underway for a future reef installation that will be accessible to those snorkeling from shore, so there may soon be a way for non-divers to join in too.
Is there a cost to visit? Accessing the reef itself is free — it’s a public eco-art installation on the ocean floor. However, you’ll need to book a dive excursion through a local certified dive operator to reach it, which will carry its own costs for boat charter and equipment. The Ocean Rescue Alliance and its 1000 Mermaids Artificial Reef Project is an established 501(c)3 Florida not-for-profit corporation, and interested parties can support the project through donations to “adopt-a-coral.” Chipping in to adopt a coral is a wonderful way to give back and fund future reef deployments.
Can I get my own likeness cast as part of the reef? The artistically crafted reefs enable every individual the opportunity to create an eternal reef for their loved one or company. It’s one of the most unique legacy opportunities available anywhere — your form, resting on the seafloor forever, as living habitat for coral and fish.
Is this a good experience for underwater photography enthusiasts? Absolutely. The dramatic, otherworldly sculptures make for extraordinary wide-angle shots, and the natural light filtering down at 35–40 feet lends a luminous, almost cinematic quality to the images. Just be sure to follow responsible dive practices: do not touch, harass, or disturb marine life, and use reef-safe sunscreen before your boat trip out.
When is the best time to go? South Florida’s warm, clear waters make this a year-round destination. Visibility and sea conditions tend to be most favorable in the calmer summer and early fall months, though diving is generally accessible throughout the year. Always check conditions with your local dive operator before heading out.
1000 Mermaids Artificial Reef Project
📍 Off the coast of Hollywood Beach, Hollywood, FL 33019
Website: https://www.1000mermaids.com
