Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) is continuing to do its bit for environmental stewardship – a special type of fish friendly concrete installed at the Port of Savannah is encouraging fish to thrive at the Garden City Terminal.
Back in February, Israeli based SeArc Ecological Marine Consulting, suspended a series of 30 panels at the docks made out of ECOncrete. The GPA is testing the product as part of its environmental stewardship efforts.
“This building material could transform our dock substructure into an incubator for aquatic life,” said GPA executive director Curtis Foltz. “The study currently being conducted at the GPA is part of our cutting-edge sustainability initiative, finding real-world solutions to ecological issues that can be implemented globally.”
SeArc’s ECOncrete features a lower pH than regular cement and a honeycombed surface. Both factors attract filter feeders, which clean the water and form the foundation for a broader food chain.
Typically, only barnacles thrive on the regular cement used in marine construction. However, the product is more hospitable to a broader range of aquatic animals, hosting various corals, mussels, oysters and hydrozoans.
The textured surface allows them to latch on and survive. Meaning that subsequent generations of aquatic life will see the surface as natural, instead of a man-made structure.
ECOncrete came to the GPA’s attention at the 2011 Savannah Ocean Exchange contest as a nominee for the US$100,000 Gulfstream Navigator Award for innovative ecological ideas. It can be used to produce pilings for new construction, in the repair of existing pilings, or to sheath current dock infrastructure.
