Tech & Sci
22:45, 13-Oct-2017
Mediterranean fish stocks revived by underwater nurseries
["europe"]
Share
Copied
To replenish marine fish stocks in places like ports that have suffered environmental damage, Ecocean has developed an innovative system to acclimatize baby fish to the sea.
Based in Montpellier, the French company harvests newborn fish, nurtures them onshore and then returns them to the Mediterranean sea after a short period in an underwater "bio-hut" or nursery.
The company was created in 2003 to address an alarming increase in the number of endangered marine species since the 1950s, caused by pollution, habitat destruction and overfishing.
The bio-huts are wire cages lined with oyster shells and shrouded in nets that serve as a habitat for the baby fish and the algae they feed on as they get used to the sea.
After several days the nets are removed and the fish swim to freedom.
Ecocean, which has a staff of 12, has projects to rehabilitate marine life in over a dozen French ports, including Marseille and Toulon in the south and Calais in the north.
It has also developed partnerships in the United States, the Netherlands, Denmark, South Korea and Jordan.
Source(s): AFP