Eternal Reefs Inc. is the only U.S. company offering “underwater green burial at sea in an artificial reef.” That’s where eco-friendly concrete is mixed with cremated remains of loved ones, and deployed offshore in a fish-friendly pattern. And, they’ve announced their latest reef site for interested fishermen.

The new and fifth offshore site (others now exist off Sarasota, Tampa Bay, Pensacola and Fort Lauderdale) will be along the Palm Coast of Flagler County, between St. Augustine and Daytona Beach. Each individual memorial reef comes with an attached bronze plaque, and two memorial certificates. The smallest reef is two feet high and weighs 400 pounds. The largest weighs two tons.

Similar reefs already rest off North and South Carolina, Maryland, New Jersey and Virginia and Texas. With the fast-growing popularity of cremation in America, now at 27 percent and expected to reach 40 percent

by 2010, look for a great many more reefs offshore.

Talk on the dock says that if Florida book author Carl Hiassen ignores this issue in his next book, it will be a miracle.

FS