The artificial nurseries, Biohut®, installed in the Saint Florent marina, celebrated their 2nd anniversary!

Biohut® is an artificial habitat that helps to rehabilitate the nursery ecological function of shallow rocky and sandy seabeds which have been degraded by the construction of coastal developments (ports, outfalls, offshore wind farms etc).

The role of the Biohut® devices placed at various strategic locations in the port of Saint-Florent is to replace the nursery grounds exploited by humans and thus enable the natural cycle to be re-established.

What is a Biohut? From Ecocean On Vimeo.

This video explains the benefits of Biohut and its use in ports. You can discover the manufacturing, installation, and effectiveness of these highly biodiverse fish nurseries.

Thanks to the different types of Biohut®, quays, pontoons, and coastal structures are once again becoming biodiversity refuges for many coastal marine species.

The biologists at the Stareso marine station regularly carry out ecological monitoring and have looked at the initial, very positive results of the study! Dozens of young Puntazzo puntazzo were found in the Biohut® structures, along with other very interesting species… The blue water around our island appears to be very favourable and receptive to the growth of post-larvae.

Today, two years after their installation, the Biohut® have again observed in order to take stock of these two years spent in the waters of Saint-Florent harbour.

On this occasion, two classes of CP and CE1/CE2 from the Saint Florent primary school were present and participated with Ecocean in educational workshops that allowed the children to understand the importance of ecological restoration.

Two Biohut® cages were taken out of the water and the children took great pleasure in sorting the species found inside by dipping them into aquariums. Several species were observed, such as marbled crabs, pink shrimp, and eels!

The children also took part in activities and workshops led by agents from the Corsican Office of the Environment and the marine park of Cap Corse and Agriate, on the preservation of marine ecosystems. They were very attentive and provided many answers to the agents' questions.

The afternoon concluded with a (much-anticipated!) afternoon tea in the 'Wind Rose' square in front of the harbour master's office.

Below you will find the images from this day rich in learning and discovery. You can also find all the day's videos on our Instagram account @port_saint_florent in the highlights.

Click here to see the article from Corse Matin of 8 November 2018.