CasCioMar | Ecocean

Partners and sponsors

Agence de l'eau Rhône-Méditerranée-Corse
Région Sud - Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur
CDC Biodiversité

CasCioMar is a coastal marine wildlife restocking program that began in 2016. It is based on our BioRestore® solution, a unique approach that applies the PCCR (Post-larval Capture, Culture, and Release) method:

- Capturing post-larval fish as they arrive near the coast.
- Rearing them in captivity without domestication until they reach the juvenile stage.
- Reintroducing them into the sea near their natural habitats using temporary artificial microhabitats.

This process addresses a major challenge: restoring Mediterranean coastal nurseries, which have been weakened by urbanization, pollution, and human pressures. CasCioMar is part of the Marseille-La Ciotat Bay Agreement and constitutes an operational component of the marine nursery restoration plan led by the Rhône-Méditerranée-Corse Water Agency (AERMC).

Le projet en images

2011–2014 : GIREL Research Project (GPMM)

Initial experiments on post-larval fishing and artificial habitats.

2015 : Pre-launch of CasCioMar

Deployment across three sites: Cassis, La Ciotat, and Marseille, with the establishment of a fish farm in the GPMM

2016–2020 : Phase 1

Demonstration of the process's effectiveness, with very encouraging results.

2021–2025 : Phase 2

Expansion in Marseille and La Ciotat, and increased capacity at the GPMM livestock farm.

2026 : Seeking funding

Project on hold due to lack of funding

The rearing phase provides valuable insight into the animals' development and has enabled the creation of growth charts as well as the compilation of a knowledge base to help complete a guide for identifying Mediterranean postlarvae.

32488post-larvae captured over a 10-year period
25990juveniles released in a natural habitat
76species identified in 33 families
13815CARE traps set up over 910 nights

From 2015 to 2025, CasCioMar carried out a large-scale restocking program that gave the Mediterranean a real boost, with nearly 25,000 juvenile fish released—all of which were post-larvae that had been carefully harvested and reared using the BioRestore/PCCR process.

Thanks to this technique, their survival rate—which is limited in natural habitats and even more compromised in human-altered environments (with mortality rates ranging from 90% to 99% depending on the degree of human impact)—has increased by a factor of 4 to 56, depending on the site. With a survival rate of about 70% after restocking compared to a mere 1 to 2% in disturbed natural habitats, this is a real boost for sea bream, sea bass, grouper, snapper, and many other iconic coastal species.

Despite natural fluctuations and occasional years of low recruitment, the project has succeeded in maintaining a steady and diverse restocking program, helping the coastal nurseries in Marseille, La Ciotat, and Cassis regain vitality and resilience over the course of the seasons.