Okaloosa Island Pier’s underwater camera back online after months-long upgrade

The popular camera had been down for several months due to technical difficulties and infrastructure challenges, but is back!
Photo courtesy of Destin-Fort Walton Beach

The underwater camera at Okaloosa Island Pier is streaming again after the Natural Resources team from Visit Destin-Fort Walton Beach redeployed it Saturday with a dedicated fiber network.

  • The camera had been offline for several months due to technical difficulties with the camera itself and infrastructure challenges.

Okaloosa County’s Information Technology department advised building the camera on its own fiber network, aiming to improve overall quality and avoid interruptions. IT technicians installed the conduit and fiber for the relaunch of the camera. The Natural Resources team then installed the camera on the new fiber network.

Divers entered the water around the pier Saturday morning to reinstall the camera. Staff from Visit Destin-Fort Walton Beach and Okaloosa County Beach Safety assisted from above, and the camera was live within about an hour. Michael Norberg from Fish and Wildlife Service consulted on the efforts.

Pier management said downtime will be kept as minimal as possible but outages can happen. They described the camera as “a phenomenal amenity” but not mission critical to both the pier and Visit Destin-Fort Walton Beach, adding that any issues will be addressed as quickly as possible.

HAPPY STREAMING

PROMOTION

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“What great memories. Thank you for sharing.”
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Scott Schaeffler commented on WordroW: October 28, 2026
“fail, argh”
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“Hello fellow divers! What depth will this beauty be laid to rest.?????”
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“My FREND of close to 70 years and I went on a European tour n the summer of 1965 and sailed out of NYC aboard this ship,,,,,she stll lives n...”
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Sue Schaeffler commented on WordroW: October 26, 2026
“1:58, 6 attempts”
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“Another article and still no mention of motive? The article is literally a repeat of the previous article.”
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“I recall one of the arguments for the need of an additional 1/2 cent tax was due to the extra cost of COVID modifications and procedures, and I supported it...”
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“Trusting in Trey Goodwin = INSANITY defined!! Year after year of empty promises... He's "frustrated". He doesn't know how to get it done - so it's about time to replace...”
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Scott Schaeffler commented on WordroW: October 23, 2026
“2:40, 6 attempts”
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