Z's Reef Marine Preserve

Z's Reef Marine Preserve sits off the northwest shore of Fox Island in Hale Passage, on the sound side of the peninsula between the island and the Gig Harbor mainland. The reef itself is a roughly 200-yard rock-and-boulder ridge that breaks the bottom with a sudden 5 to 15 foot drop in 40 to 60 feet of water. The preserve boundary encloses the waters and bedlands from Fox Island's northeast shore out to the minus 85-foot depth contour and back, an area the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife records at 55.95 acres of subtidal ground with no intertidal component. Access is boat-only. Skippers work in from the Fox Island Sportsmen's Club ramp on the east side of the island, a private ramp with a member fee, or from the Narrows Marina launch in Tacoma, running north into Hale Passage and then west along the island's north shore. Currents run through the passage, so timing a dive to slack water matters.

Washington designated the reef a state marine preserve under WAC 220-302-120, recodified from an earlier rule that took effect on March 18, 2017. Divers looking for the reef without GPS use a shore landmark for reference: a small isolated shack with two windows and a flat roof, with small floating docks nearby, on the beach at the northwest end of the reef.

Underwater, the site reads as a rocky reef biome, mainly solid rock and boulders standing above the surrounding bottom. Diver reports from the site record wolf eels, lingcod, and copper rockfish on the rock, along with a broad invertebrate community across the boulders. Scuba is the practical use of the site.

There is no shoreside parking to consider. Take is prohibited within Z's Reef Marine Preserve for all fish and shellfish, with the single exception of salmon by fly-fishing gear, and that closure has been enforced under WAC 220-302-120 since the current codification took effect in 2017. Outside the preserve line, Marine Area 13 rules govern the surrounding waters, with all rockfish closed year-round and lingcod spearfishing restricted to the May 21 through June 15 season.