Abstract
This project developed a scientifically grounded survey framework to evaluate stakeholder awareness and perceptions of artificial reefs (ARs) near Hollywood, FL, with a focus on their perceived benefits to fisheries and marine-related industries. While most AR research to date has focused on their ecological function, including their role in habitat enhancement and fish community support, less attention has been given to how stakeholders understand, value, and use these systems. In collaboration with Ocean Rescue Alliance International (ORAI), a key gap was identified in the lack of structured data assessing stakeholder perceptions. Understanding these perceptions is important because stakeholder perceptions influence how artificial reefs are used, supported, and incorporated into future planning efforts. To address this gap, a mixed-method survey was developed based on established methodologies from previous artificial reef and stakeholder perception studies. The survey was designed to capture demographics, measures of marine use, Likert-scale perception items, perceived industry benefits, and willingness to use offshore reefs. A detailed implementation framework was also created that outlined target stakeholder groups, sampling locations, distribution strategies, data analysis methods, and a proposed timeline for data collection using both in-person and online methods. Although full data collection was not completed during this project given time constraints, the resulting survey with the implementation framework provides a practical and scalable tool that can be used by ORAI for future research and planning. The products developed in this project support the integration of stakeholder perspectives into artificial reef management and provide a foundation for evaluating how these systems are perceived across different user groups. The results of future survey implementation can be used to inform reef siting, improve outreach and engagement strategies, support funding and project development, and contribute to long term monitoring of stakeholder perceptions over time.