An artificial underwater trail in Port-Fréjus (ongoing)

Submerged modules in the shape of marine animals to restore the biodiversity of the area

Ecocean has been developing specific habitats for young fish life stages for over 10 years. Called Biohut®, for “Biodiversity Hut”, these patented modules offer protection and feed for fish and other crustaceans. They have been mainly designed to meet the needs of port developers, who wanted to revitalize biodiversity in their docks. With this BIOHUT TRAIL project, we propose to managers to combine the efficiency of these modules with the educational and artistic interest that the marine environment can arouse, by creating an artificial underwater trail, fun, educational and artistic!

The interest of this artificial underwater path is above all to make discover a rich and varied fauna for the beach users, even if the natural habitat nearby does not offer it. It recreates a natural ecosystem, on the basis of an artificial habitat conducive to the development of marine flora and fauna. The BIOHUT TRAIL underwater trail thus proposes to achieve 4 major ecological and societal objectives:

  • Environmental objective by providing ecological functionalities through the creation of artificial habitats with high colonization potential,
  • Preservation objective by diverting the public from natural areas in good condition,
  • The objective of reinforce the ecological commitment of the managers by the implementing ecological continuity between their artificial environments and the natural environments,
  • The objective of education facilitating the accessibility of information and the awareness of the general public.

No scientific monitoring has yet been implemented. In 2022, it is planned to monitor the colonization of the habitats in order to evaluate the ecological gain of this project.

The administrative part and request for authorization of this project were long and innovative with the State Services, considering that this project is a first on the French territory. The administrative obstacles having been removed, this project is proposed in other municipalities.

Category
Ecological restoration, In France