Early underwater monitoring shows juvenile fish sheltering and coral settlement on the world’s first eco-engineered mooring reefs.
Three weeks on from its World Oceans Day dive debut, Ecocoast’s Ecoreef – an eco-engineered mooring block designed to turn passive marine infrastructure into living underwater habitat – is already showing early signs of marine life taking hold, the company confirmed following its launch dive in Fujairah.
Ecoreef was unveiled on 8 June 2026, World Oceans Day, during a live dive event, where Ecocoast brought together marine scientists, consultants, industry partners and media to mark the launch. Guests joined a guided dive at the Ecoreef deployment site in Fujairah’s waters, seeing the structures and their emerging marine life first-hand.
Ecoreef replaces traditional concrete mooring blocks with engineered reef structures specifically designed to support juvenile fish, encourage coral recruitment and enhance marine biodiversity. It is ideal for use around ports, harbours, marinas, tourism resorts, aquaculture, solar installations and coastal developments – settings where conventional mooring has offered little ecological value.
Originally conceived by Ecocoast in 2023 during the UAE’s ‘Year of Sustainability’ as part of the company’s Drive Change philosophy, Ecoreef was developed by a team of in-house specialists alongside renowned artificial reef expert and marine ecologist Dr. Aaron Bartholomew. It has undergone three years of research, engineering and iterative development, with Fujairah Research Centre (FRC) collaborating on post-design research and interns from the American University of Sharjah and University of Oxford supporting post-deployment monitoring.
Early findings shared at the launch point to a promising start. Since trial deployments began in the UAE in August 2025, underwater monitoring has recorded juvenile Snappers and Groupers (hammour) sheltering on the structures – an early indication that Ecoreef could help produce commercially important fish and contribute to local fisheries, rather than simply attracting existing populations. Monitoring has also observed coral settlement and a wider range of biodiversity, including cryptic species and filter feeders that help improve water clarity. Among these are native oysters – historically central to the UAE’s pearling heritage and valued today for the way they filter and clean surrounding waters.
Particular focus has been placed on creating refuge for juvenile fish to improve survivorship in their most vulnerable early life stages. Ecoreef is designed to pair with Ecomoor, Ecocoast’s neutrally buoyant mooring line technology, which helps prevent the seabed scouring and habitat damage commonly associated with traditional steel mooring chains. Together, the two enable operators to replace traditional moorings with small-investment, big-impact systems that support habitat creation and marine regeneration.
Dr. Aaron Bartholomew said: “I have been exploring concepts for more effective artificial reefs and marine infrastructure since my PhD research in 2001, and it has been incredibly rewarding to see these ideas in the water and working. Initial results have exceeded expectations, with strong early evidence of juvenile fish using the structures as refuge habitat. Ecoreef demonstrates how mooring blocks can be designed to deliver both operational performance and measurable ecological value.”
Dr. Philip Sanders, aquatic ecologist and sustainability strategist at Ecocoast, said: “Marine infrastructure has traditionally been designed with little consideration for ecological function. Ecoreef takes a different approach, actively contributing to healthier marine ecosystems while still delivering the performance ports, marinas and coastal projects require. Many artificial reef systems simply attract existing fish – Ecoreef is designed to protect younger fish during their most vulnerable stages, supporting the recovery of local populations over time.”
As a patent-pending technology, Ecoreef joins Ecocoast’s broader marine regeneration offering across the Middle East and Europe, focused on greening grey infrastructure and building ecological enhancement into operational marine assets. Manufacturing is split between the UK and UAE to support both quality and delivery readiness. Monitoring at the Fujairah site continues, with further results to be shared as the reefs mature.
