Our goal is to be the leading mitigation specialist for the oil, dredging, coastal development and tourism sectors by helping these sectors complete and operate important and critical projects in a way that minimises marine impacts and even increases opportunities for nature and maintains biodiversity and local fish stocks.
SOI is an Australian social enterprise with an international team dedicated to advancing sustainable design below the waterline and the restoration and enhancement of marine habitats through the application of best-practice and world leading technologies. We have a continuous improvement philosophy where we seek out new technologies and strategies and develop our own to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of our reef restoration programs.
We are supporting and collaborating on a range of research projects around the globe and we provide recognition of important contributions to 'better design below the waterline' via our annual 'Sustainable Ocean Innovation' award.
Our artificial reef design philosophy is that constructed reefs should aim to mimic natural reefs in form and function. We aim to build beautiful reefs!
We incorporate a philosophy of biomimicry and 'innovation inspired by nature' when it comes to designing reef units and restoration programs.
We prefer to use artificial reef units that have natural curves and organic shapes so that after a few years it is impossible to tell it is a man-made reef. We believe the marine environment is owed at least this simple courtesy.
As a company we look for additional ways to give back and reduce our footprint.
Biomimicry - Innovation Inspired by Nature, Janine Benyus, 1997
David has a unique background, blending a career in marine science with extensive business development and project management experience.
After starting his career as a qualified commercial diver and then PADI diving instructor, he gained his degree in Oceanographic Technology from Florida Institute of Technology in the USA and began building artificial reefs in 1991 from materials of opportunity while studying the impact of oil production in the Arabian Gulf.
It was during this time that he began paying attention to the way marine life chooses and utilises different structures and groupings of reef materials, further developing his interest in artificial reef design to enhance biodiversity.
Since then he has undertaken major impact assessments and artificial reef projects around the world. He has extensive experience designing and building artificial reefs for fisheries enhancement, dredge impact mitigation, coastal protection and tourism in the Middle East, South East Asia, Caribbean, Meditteranean, Australia and the Pacific. He has worked with NGOs, state and national governments, research institutes and universities and industry to improve artificial reef design and enhance reef restoration outcomes.
After his undergraduate degree, David was awarded his MSc in Environmental Management from Griffith University in Queensland, Australia, and began developing his business and management skills. He has led a number of successful business ventures, including a unique marine ecotour company and now his own marine consultancy, and since 1997 has been the sole authorised contractor in Australia for Reef Ball artificial reef modules.
He was Business Development Manager for three national companies collaborating with organisations such as CSIRO and Pratt Water to take numerous innovative environmental products and services from concept to market, and is currently a business mentor in the Mentor Partners Program for the Glen Eira and Kingston City Councils.
Social Responsibility
David is committed to socially and environmentally responsible business practices and donates 20% of his time to worthy causes through the SOI Special Projects Fund and donations through the Buy1Give1 Program, http://www.b1g1.com/buy1give1/sustainable-ocean.
He is dedicated to 'better design below the waterline' and is a leading advocate for the advancement of marine impact mitigation and restoration strategies. His unique combination of science, business and industry experience sets him apart from other consultants and has enabled him to offer the best balance between theoretical and practical project outcomes.
John is an international leader and trainer in sustainable coral propagation, reef restoration and culturing of marine ornamental fish and pioneered many of the techniques SOI and others use today. John designed, built and ran the world’s largest ornamental mariculture facility in Puerto Rico, and has established or managed dive centres and other aquaculture facilities in Roatan Honduras, Thailand, and multiple locations in the US.
He has been the team leader for coral restoration projects around the world including Thailand’s tsunami reef restoration projects and was the invited guest speaker and contributing author at two World Bank Conferences on Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development.
John has worked in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Thailand, Puerto Rico, Trinidad, Antigua, Turks & Caicos Islands, American Samoa, Palau, Honduras, Solomon Islands, Singapore and the USA. John has a deep understanding of island cultures and is passionate about helping local communities reduce and repair damage to the reefs they depend upon.
Iain is a marine ecologist with over 30 years of international experience as a Chief Technical Adviser on project identification, development, planning of sectoral reviews and management in Coastal Zone, Marine Parks/Protected Areas, Community based resource management and stewardship and stakeholder participation.
Iain is the founder of Reef Conservation Mauritius which now runs marine educational programs in over 80 schools and provides marine tour guide training accredited by Tourism Mauritius.
Iain is a leading consultant to government and industry on environmentally sustainable marine eco-tourism, tourism and recreational planning.
Iain has an MSc in Marine Environmental Protection, is a certified trainer, Yacht Master and PADI Master/Staff Instructor, BSAC Advanced Instructor and Commercial Diver (HSE III). Countries of work experience include Canada, China, Denmark, Far East, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Middle East, Rodrigues, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Socotra, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania (Mafia Island), Uganda, UK, USA, Western Indian Ocean Region, and Yemen.
Capitalizing on his B.S. Biology degree, 9 years of diving and passion for the marine environment, Mike is a natural at helping individuals experience the marine environment and draw their own personal connections to the vast but fragile ecosystems - and in turn facilitate the desire to help protect/preserve these systems.
Mike worked for the Jean-Michel Cousteau’s educational program for 7 years where he educated, inspired and trained generations of individuals from the future decision makers with-in our youth to the influential role models of professional business peoples, athletes and movie stars. His enthusiasm and presentation skills also played a key role in making the marine educational programs a financial success, thus ensuring their continuation.
Mike worked on sustainable projects with-in the local communities of New Zealand and El Salvador and played a key role in a coral restoration project that helped re-establish Thailand's tourism business, and relocation of over 500 coral colonies out of a dredge zone in Saudi Arabia. Mike is a qualified coral handler by the Reef Ball Foundation. His roles on projects include boat captain, writer, educator, researcher, photographer, presenter or project supervisor.
Intrigued and educated through the biodiversity with in cultures of the world, Mike has lived and worked in such places as California, New Zealand, Thailand, Grand Cayman Island, Saudi Arabia, Australia, El Salvador and Costa Rica.Shaun Britton and Paul Muttimer, through their business ‘Squidinc’ develop cartoon characters and storylines for educational texts, products and children’s books.
Shaun is a designer and illustrator who worked for many years at the Walt Disney company and develops cartoon characters for many national and international clients, including Nike and Coca Cola. Paul has successfully developed and published numerous storylines and characters for national organisations and products.
SOI has engaged Squidinc to develop a range of reef characters to act as ambassadors and educational assistants within SOI’s Reef Recovery Programs.
Reef Building Bali!
Looking to make a positive impact on your next dive trip? Tired of just looking at reefs and want to help rebuild them?
Join us this September for 12 days of fun positive impact diving in Bali and Gili Air. You will learn how to design and build artificial reefs, Reef CPR and work with the wonderful locals on rebuilding damaged reef areas.
Get the the details here, and feel free to shoot us an email if you have questions: https://www.dive2u.com/bali-reef-building-trip-safari
Seawall Enhancement via addition of Concrete Habitat Panels
SOI Director David Lennon is excited to see phase two of SIMS World Harbour Project roll out which involves the addition of 500 concrete custom designed habitat panels to Sydney seawalls to increase oysters and biodiversity in general.
David has been involved in the project from conception through his affiliation with the Reef Design Lab which he co-founded with Alex Goad. Enhancing seawalls and designing new seawalls for increased biodiversity is an important advancement in coastal engineering design that David has been promoting since the 90's. SOI can provide a range of services for seawall design or enhancement. Contact us to discuss your project.
Papua New Guinea Coral Relocation
In Dec 2017, SOI was contracted by Pacific Marine Group to relocate over 260 priority corals out of the area where a sewage outfall trench was to be dredged.
The project was a success and bommies up to 3m in dia and 2m high were relocated to safety. We also relocated associated fauna such as numerous anenomes with clownfish, a range of other fishes living in the corals, as well as urchins.
Hyundai Power Plant Artificial Reef Design (Red Sea, Saudi)
SOI designed the artificial reefs to offset impacts from dredging and construction of seawater intake infrastructure for the power plant. We used three different reef unit designs and a total of 500 units in various configurations to recplicate natural bommies that were impacted and to provide productive habitat for commercial fish species.
Reclamation Offset (Arabian Gulf, Saudi)
SOI designed the artificial reefs to offset the impacts from reclamation of 4.4million m2 of sandy nearshore seabed. A total of 1,300 reef units of three different sizes were deployed in specific configurations to maximise ecological benefits.
Fish Friendly Marinas
Here's an article by SOI Director David Lennon in the Dec issue of the Marina Industry Associations magazine.
>> Fish friendly marina design
SOI can provide the full suite of services from assessing marinas and recommending strategies to increase fish habitat, to providing and deploying the most appropriate fish habitat. Retrofitting a marina is always the most costly option so if you are designing are marina, get in touch with us and we can show you the most cost and ecologically effective strategies to boost biodiversity and fish numbers.
Qater reef constructed to offset port impacts
SOI prepared the coral mitigation plan for the new Doha Port to reduce impacts of this important project and this included coral relocation and construction of a purpose designed artificial reef.
SOI's sister company Reef Arabia based in Bahrain, manufactured, delivered and deployed the concrete reef units for this mitigation requirement.
Culturally Sensitive Artificial Reef Design
Local customs and architecture are considered when planning new buildings...as underwater architects, we believe there are benefits of doing the same when designing a reef.
But its not just about designing a pretty replica for the seabed! The design must also appeal to the marine life of the area.
We describe a good example of how this can be done in our Tech Note 4 - download here .
World's First 3D printed Artificial Reef!
In a world first, an advanced construction sized 3D printer has been used by SOI to revolutionise artificial reef design and produce reef units that look and function like a natural reef, a major step forward in a bid to restore lost and damaged reefs around the world.
>> Read the full media release here
Latest underwater footage from Bahrain artificial reef program
Reef 6, eight weeks after deployment.
Australia Unlimited features SOI
Australian innovation and can-do efficiency is restoring the world’s ocean reefs and creating sustainable marine environments.
Read this article and the background on why we do what do >>click here .
By Kristie Kellahan
http://www.australiaunlimited.com/environment/sustainable-success
We have a winner!
Sustainable Ocean Innovation Award 2012
...and the award goes to...GhostNets Australia for their work in northern Australia tackling the serious problem of lost fishing nets called 'ghost nets'.
The group has found ghost nets measuring 10km long and recorded a myriad of marine species that get entangled as the nets drift along with the currents. The destruction caused by ghost nets continues as they near shore, often wrapping themselves around delicate coral reefs and coastal mangrove systems.
"The GhostNets Australia program is a fantastic example of innovation in action"l.
>>Read the media release here: Sustainable Ocean Innovation Award 2012
SOI constructs first 'cod cave' to help save Murray cod
Murray cod are Australia's largest freshwater fish and overfishing and loss of essential habitat has decimated their numbers. SOI has been contracted to design and construct a concrete unit to help restore some of the essential breeding habitat the fish require. September surveys found a 1.03m Murray Cod right on top of a cod cave so that was very exciting and confirmation they are working. Sidescan image by ACT Government.
SOI wins 2 Year Contract - Bahrain
SOI and partner Reef Arabia have won a two year contract to design, build and monitor 10 artificial reefs around Bahrain.
>>Further details and photos of deployment of first reef in Bahrain
>>Bahrain newspaper article in Arabic
Four reefs have been deployed thus far. This is the first project of its kind to be constructed in the Arabian Gulf and the first to use custom reef units (designed by SOI) specifically for the local species.SOI Completes Coral Mitigation Plan for New Doha Port
SOI conducted the necessary surveys and prepared the coral mitigation plans for the New Doha Port and naval base construction which includes a 10km long shipping channel and impact footprint of 4.5km2. Our mitigation plan included accurate coral surveys to quantify the size, type and number of corals within the imperiled and threatened zones, and detailed recommendations on relocation methodology, relocation sites and compensatory artificial reefs to offset loss of productive reef structure.