Marie-Claire Fabri (Ifremer), together with the Anthony Grehan (University of Galway) held a ‘Workshop on the optimization of protocols for the design and deployment of 3D eco-reefs’ (Milestone 5) in Ponsacco, Pisa, Italy (July 24-25th) to discuss reef module design in the light of recent module deployments during the ECOREST I and ECOREST II cruises, and production and transport logistics. Nine REDRESS scientists and engineers from four countries (Italy, France, Ireland and UK attended in person). The workshop began with a half day visit and tour of the nearby 3D printing facility to provide a comprehensive overview of the evolution of artificial reef module production and current operations (including the time required to produce a reef unit). This provided a sound basis for discussion of logistics, i.e. number of reef modules required per beneficiary, target date for reef module deployment, storage and transport options. The rest of the workshop focused on:
- developing a ‘best practice’ protocol for deployment of reefs based on feedback from ECOREST I and the recent ECOREST II;
- suggesting improvements to the basic reef module design including modifications to support ‘clean’ deployment of the modules;
- suggesting possible techniques for attaching coral branches onto eco-reefs to minimise their exposure to air immediately prior to module deployment to enhance coral nubbin viability.
