BATON ROUGE – Saltwater fishermen who have tapped many, many red snapper regularly since the Jacob Meek Reef was dropped in the Gulf of Mexico in 2023 should have twice the fun in the future because the artificial reef’s size has been doubled.

The Jacob Meek Reef has given up so many red snapper its original builders decided to expand the artificial reef in South Timbalier 165, accessible from several ports from Grand Isle to Cocodrie.

“The Jacob Meek Reef has been such a success, I thought, ‘Let’s make it bigger,’ ” Romeo Papa Boats owner Robert Perez said recently in a prepared statement released by the Coastal Conservation Association of Louisiana.

Rad Trascher, CCA-Louisiana’s executive director, spoke highly of the huge reef last week and said, “The amount of red snapper on it last year was incredible.”

CCA-Louisiana, in cooperation with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, E&L Construction, Chevron and Romeo Papa Boats, created the 55th unique artificial reef off Louisiana’s Gulf Coast. Built to honor the life of avid Baton Rouge saltwater fisherman and CCA member Jacob Meek, it was dedicated May 15, 2023, at a ceremony in Port Fourchon.

Jacob Meek Reef is located 45 miles south of Terrebonne Bay in about 91 feet of water. The site was chosen by his parents, John and Tiffany Meek, because it was one of the young man’s favorite near-offshore places to fish, they said.

Meek was 19 when he died suddenly because of complications from epilepsy, a brain disease that causes abnormal electrical signals produced by damaged cells. Despite his condition, Meek was the fisherman who consistently came back with the biggest catches, according to his parents, who called him the Fish Whisperer.

“Jacob was an incredibly passionate angler that could always produce fish,” his parents said. “He somehow always knew where they were, what they wanted and how to get them. We love the fact that people will be able to go to his site and enjoy fishing the way our son did.”

Perez, Romeo Papa Boats owner, heard about the 19-year-old and said, “I was so touched by Jacob’s story that I wanted to make sure everyone knew where this reef was and could enjoy it in Jacob’s honor.”

He jumped at the chance to play a key role in the expansion of the artificial reef, the first artificial reef action in 2025.

Funding for the Jacob Meek Reef expansion was provided by a generous donation of the boat and equipment of Perez’ company, according to CCA-Louisiana. Materials were bought through the CCA REEF Louisiana Program with funding from Chevron and matching money from LDWF’s Artificial Reef Trust Fund.

The latest project added 45 additional specially designed 6×6 concrete “fish houses,” perfect homes for red snapper and other species. Those new structures nearly double the size of the original reef, making twice the marine habitat to allow more anglers to enjoy the hotspot at one time.

After this first project, CCA-Louisiana plans to complete reefs during the next few months at Bodwin’s Point near Cocodrie and Goose Point in Lake Pontchartrain. REEF Louisiana has eight more projects planned this year.

CCA’s REEF Louisiana Program is aimed at replacing vital fisheries habitat that has been lost through decommissioned oil and gas platforms and degraded oyster reefs thanks to a collaborative effort between private partners, government agencies and CCA-Louisiana. The conservation organization has used fish houses, pyramid-shaped Super Reefs, 3-D printed concrete structure, sections of decommissioned oil and gas platforms, highway barriers, recycled concrete, crushed concrete and more over the years to restore lost fisheries habitat.

For more information about this reef or CCA Louisiana’s REEF Louisiana Program, contact Trascher at (225) 952-9200.