Fisheries Enhancement
Sustainable Oceans International Pty Ltd (SOI) provides leading international expertise on the design and construction of artificial reefs as well as the supply of artificial reef modules.
We are unique in that we are licensed contractors for several different designs of artificial reef modules and we custom design modules to suit your specific application.
SOI provides reef design and construction for recreational/commercial fishing reefs, deep water reefs for pelagic fishes, anti-trawl reefs, juvenile habitat enhancement, enhancement of coastal structures, or alternative fishing spots within or near Marine Protected Areas.
When it comes to designing reef units for your specific project, we follow a philosophy of biomimicry and 'innovation inspired by nature' combined with a thorough knowledge of leading published research on artificial reefs. We have our own research contacts within China, Japan, Europe, US and Middle East that provide up to date data on their reef programs.
We believe one of our key advantages is our understanding of fish behaviour and how fish use structure and this is based on diving around the world over the past 20 years as well as watching hundreds of hours of underwater video. When designing a reef for your project, we study natural reefs as well as any artificial structures in the area in order to gain an appreciation for your local ecology and inspiration and design solutions for your constructed reefs.
Our experts have worked with Government, NGO’s, coastal developers and oil industry around the world to provide effective fishing reefs.
We provide customised services to meet your needs, as well as:
- Range of artificial reef modules (15kg to 5+ tonnes) to suit target species and application
- Anti trawl reefs
- Juvenile fish or lobster habitat to increase recruitment or connect deeper reefs
- Recreational or commercial fishing reef design
- Setup of Voluntary No Take Areas in island cultures
- Monitoring – Baited Underwater Video (BUV), otoliths as biomarkers, hydroacoustic surveys for fish biomass
>>Download out Tech Note: the four essential stages in successful artificial reef design
>>Download our Tech Note: Designing Artificial Reefs and Cities - the shared principles
>>Download our Tech Note 4: Explanation of design details for the Wind Tower and Antitrawl reef units
>>Download article in Marina Industry Association magazine on fish friendly marine design
Video showing one of our strategies to designing the layout of reef units on a reef.
In the News
Fish Friendly Marinas
Here's an article by SOI Director David Lennon in the Dec issue of the Marina Industry Associations magazine.
>> Fish friendly marina design
SOI can provide the full suite of services from assessing marinas and recommending strategies to increase fish habitat, to providing and deploying the most appropriate fish habitat. Retrofitting a marina is always the most costly option so if you are designing are marina, get in touch with us and we can show you the most cost and ecologically effective strategies to boost biodiversity and fish numbers.
Reef CPR for the GBR!
SOI is partnering with Cairns based 'Sustainable Reefs' and Southern Cross University in order to establish a Reef CPR (coral preservation and restoration) program that includes a research and training centre and coral adoption and planting program that will allow the tourism industry to play a role in helping the reef and to help fill gaps in knowledge about effective restoration strategies for impacted areas on the Great Barrier Reef. This knowledge will then be used in training programs to build the capacity of the dive industry and key government partners to respond to ship groundings, cyclone damage and general reef breakage occuring at high use sites. In effect it is pioneering a new philosophy of recognising that while the reef is traditionally resilient, it is unable to quickly recover from the huge stresses we are placing on it. Just as we have maintenance programs in land based parks, we now must do the same with our marine parks.
The program covers the science, art and business of restoration which is key to its success.
The Adopt-a-Coral program spearheaded by coral mascot 'Ari' will allow tourists, locals and anyone internationally to contriibute to saving the GBR.
Tourists, especially those snorkelling and diving can leave the reef in better condition than they found it! Therefore turning tourism into a tool for reef preservation. Considering the huge tourism value of the GBR...its the least we can do!
Contact us if you'd like to be involved.
Qater reef constructed to offset port impacts
SOI prepared the coral mitigation plan for the new Doha Port to reduce impacts of this important project and this included coral relocation and construction of a purpose designed artificial reef.
SOI's sister company Reef Arabia based in Bahrain, manufactured, delivered and deployed the concrete reef units for this mitigation requirement.
Summary of projects and product development, 2012
Here's our quick overview of some key projects and new constructed reef units we've worked on in 2012.
>>Read key highlights of 2012 here
Culturally Sensitive Artificial Reef Design
Local customs and architecture are considered when planning new buildings...as underwater architects, we believe there are benefits of doing the same when designing a reef.
But its not just about designing a pretty replica for the seabed! The design must also appeal to the marine life of the area.
We describe a good example of how this can be done in our Tech Note 4 - download here .
World's First 3D printed Artificial Reef!
In a world first, an advanced construction sized 3D printer has been used by SOI to revolutionise artificial reef design and produce reef units that look and function like a natural reef, a major step forward in a bid to restore lost and damaged reefs around the world.
>> Read the full media release here
Latest underwater footage from Bahrain artificial reef program
Reef 6, eight weeks after deployment.
Australia Unlimited features SOI
Australian innovation and can-do efficiency is restoring the world’s ocean reefs and creating sustainable marine environments.
Read this article and the background on why we do what do >>click here .
By Kristie Kellahan
http://www.australiaunlimited.com/environment/sustainable-success
We have a winner!
Sustainable Ocean Innovation Award 2012
...and the award goes to...GhostNets Australia for their work in northern Australia tackling the serious problem of lost fishing nets called 'ghost nets'.
The group has found ghost nets measuring 10km long and recorded a myriad of marine species that get entangled as the nets drift along with the currents. The destruction caused by ghost nets continues as they near shore, often wrapping themselves around delicate coral reefs and coastal mangrove systems.
"The GhostNets Australia program is a fantastic example of innovation in action"l.
>>Read the media release here: Sustainable Ocean Innovation Award 2012
SOI constructs first 'cod cave' to help save Murray cod
Murray cod are Australia's largest freshwater fish and overfishing and loss of essential habitat has decimated their numbers. SOI has been contracted to design and construct a concrete unit to help restore some of the essential breeding habitat the fish require. September surveys found a 1.03m Murray Cod right on top of a cod cave so that was very exciting and confirmation they are working. Sidescan image by ACT Government.
SOI wins 2 Year Contract - Bahrain
SOI and partner Reef Arabia have won a two year contract to design, build and monitor 10 artificial reefs around Bahrain.
>>Further details and photos of deployment of first reef in Bahrain
>>Bahrain newspaper article in Arabic
Four reefs have been deployed thus far. This is the first project of its kind to be constructed in the Arabian Gulf and the first to use custom reef units (designed by SOI) specifically for the local species.
SOI Completes Coral Mitigation Plan for New Doha Port
SOI conducted the necessary surveys and prepared the coral mitigation plans for the New Doha Port and naval base construction which includes a 10km long shipping channel and impact footprint of 4.5km2. Our mitigation plan included accurate coral surveys to quantify the size, type and number of corals within the imperiled and threatened zones, and detailed recommendations on relocation methodology, relocation sites and compensatory artificial reefs to offset loss of productive reef structure.
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