Resorts and Tourism
Sustainable Oceans International Pty Ltd (SOI) recognises that sun-and-sand tourism has matured as a market and ecotourism has been growing at 20-34% per year since the 1990’s – three times faster than the tourism industry as a whole. Sustainable tourism has been predicted to equal 25% (US$473.6 billion) of the world’s travel market by 2012.
Over 60% of US and Australian tourists, and 90% of British tourists consider a hotel responsible for protecting the local environment and supporting local communities. Tourism is the second most important source of foreign exchange for 40 of the world’s poorest countries. Of the 109 countries with coral reefs, 90 of them are being damaged due to tourism (The International Ecotourism Society, 2009).
Our core belief: tourism can be a tool for reef preservation.
To respond to this growing market and urgent attention reefs need we have created a customizable program called TIDES that resorts can implement to increase guest (and employee) satisfaction, increase revenue, support the local community and protect or even restore local reefs.
TIDES is a social enterprise taking a creative sustainable approach to tourism. Responding to the increasing desire of tourists to truly experience the culture and environment when they travel, TIDES includes a series of programs that provide them with the opportunity to both interact with and support the marine ecosystems and culture within the region. The concept is to change the Tide so tourism becomes a tool for coral reef preservation rather than its adversary. These self-funding experiences enhance the environment, educate the participants, and instill a feeling of pride for everyone involved. The ocean is our classroom and every adventure is a lesson!
How SOI can help you
Our team of experts will review your needs and prepare recommended programs of opportunity for your selection. We then work with you at a level that you choose to effectively implement and run the programs. Our Team has direct experience of working within the Tourism industry for major hotels, launching and running their own ecotours and working with NGOs.
One of our key strengths is that we have a unique combination of business development experience (this helps us design effective self funding programs for you and understand the business needs of resorts), scientific understanding of reef restoration and practical hands-on experience.
The benefits of our programs include:
- Memorable marine activities for guests that also conserve the reef
- Increased guest satisfaction
- Positive contributions to the marine environment and local community - promoting goodwill for the resort
- Conservation of surrounding reefs for long term sustainability
- Creation of new reefs to increase opportunities and reduce pressure on natural reefs
>> Learn more about our tourism program
>>Checkout our Reef Restoration Activity Sheet # 1, designed for kid programs in resorts - meet Ari, Roy and Bazzer, three enthusiastic reef characters ready to tell you all about their life on the reef!
Help Ari and Roy smile by giving them some colour like Jamie did from the Philippines!
Planning a marina?
The following presentation provides a few suggestions of how marinas can increase their value by capitalising on the structure they put below the waterline and maintain or enhance important marine biodiversity.
In the News
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.
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