Eco-friendly mooring buoys Le Marin, Saint-Anne & Saint-Pierre, Martinique, France

The Société Antillaise d'Exploitation des Ports de Plaisance (SAEPP) has enlisted Ecocean to equip its mooring areas with Biohut® units, installed directly on the mooring buoys, in order to enhance the ecological functions of the marina infrastructure and contribute to the preservation of coastal biodiversity.

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Rights reserved: Ecocean

Partners and funders

  • Marina du Marin

The creation of new Anchorage and Light Equipment Zones (ZMEL) addresses organizational and coastal protection challenges, but can also impact coastal marine habitats. In Saint-Anne, the ZMEL has been equipped with moorings, some of which have been enhanced by the installation of Biohut®, distributed across two sectors and integrated into both the mooring buoys and the mooring chains.

To assess the effectiveness of this ecological enhancement system, monitoring was conducted over a three-year period, with two monitoring campaigns per year, comparing moorings with and without the enhancement system. Based on these initial findings, the system was then deployed in the Saint-Pierre Marine Protected Area (MPA), which was also equipped with enhanced moorings.

The project in pictures

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February 2021
Installation of Biohuts at the mooring sites of the future Marine Protected Area (MPA). Four Biohuts were attached to each mooring buoy, for a total of 80 modules installed. These artificial habitats are filled with conch shells, a mollusk emblematic of local ecosystems.

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February 2021
Ecocean trained the marina staff in the installation and maintenance of the modules, as well as in raising awareness, to ensure they could operate independently.

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February 2023
The locally based consulting firm Biotope conducted two surveys per year over a three-year period. The study focused on comparing unmodified moorings with moorings enhanced by the installation of Biohut. 

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February 2023
The findings from these three years of monitoring highlight the attractiveness of the Biohuts in the underwater landscape, particularly as evidenced by the presence of species of conservation concern such as the captainfish and the striped grouper.

Project impacts

Buoys equipped with Biohut host an average of 15.6 times more organisms than those without Biohut.

  • 80Biohut® installed
  • 20equipped mooring buoys
  • 6ecological monitoring
  • 10999individuals observed
  • 30species of fish
  • 25% of the fish species identified are of interest to the local fishing industry

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Sector concerned

  • Developer

    Are you undertaking a development project or construction work in a port or aquatic environment, and would you like to help promote biodiversity? We can offer you our expertise.

Solutions implemented

  • Biohut®

    Biohut® is an artificial nursery designed to restore the ecological functions of developed areas.