My name is David Walter. Thank you for visiting our website. Please let know if there is something you like or dislike about this site. Your comments are important to me.
I started Walter Marine in 1968. Walter Marine began building artificial reefs in 1986 under the name “Reefmaker”. Today we are the largest deployer of artificial reefs in the U.S. That keeps us very busy, but at the same time makes us one of the most experienced artificial reef companies in the world.
Sometimes I am asked what scientific research was done on our reef units. Our research and development is based on our customer feedback. Reefmaker started by selling reefs to individuals for our private artificial reef program here in Alabama. I always tell scientists, if you want to design the best artificial reef in the world, sell to individual fishermen. If they don’t purchase another one, you know it didn’t work. Over 17,000 deployments to mostly individuals have provided me with thousands of researchers giving me feedback on how their reef worked, whether it moved during a storm event, how fast did it produce fish, how productive was it, etc., etc.
It hasn’t been easy; we are saddled with the task of building a reef that a thirty-passenger charter boat could park on and everyone catch fish. We've met that challenge, our reefs deliver, and that’s been our success. I’ll share a secret with you, it’s never felt like a job, and I have a sincere love of what I do. The Lord has graciously blessed me in this business and provided me with two sons with an equal love for reef building. It has been an interesting 22 years. We started by deploying junk automobiles. Over ten thousand deployed, mixed with vans, buses, fuel tanks, grain silos, Cobra helicopters, F4 tail sections, chicken transport cages, combines, all sorts of heavy equipment, boats, ships, barges, dredges, concrete rubble, containers, C-5 aircraft jigs, fire trucks and lots of others things I can’t remember.
In 1996, I gave up trying to find the perfect “material of opportunity” reef and began building our own manufactured reef. That move solved many environmental concerns and propelled us into a larger market including many government contracts. I hold three patents and one pending for artificial reefs. Our biggest success was the discovery of Florida Limestone rock. It’s the perfect artificial reef material and will be incorporated into all our future reefs. The Florida Limestone rock propelled our unit’s light years ahead of our competitors. Our newest reef, EcoSystems launches us into areas previously neglected by artificial reef manufacturers and is a welcome addition to our company. It’s ideal for shoreline protection, estuary enhancement, and Coral Reef restoration. My sons and I continue the quest for the perfect reef and that journey will never end, but in the meantime, you can be assured any reef purchased from us is built to the highest standards of structural integrity and incorporates hundreds of suggestions from the people that actually use our product.
