reef cubes®

ARC Marine's flagship product is the patented reef cube®, these are robust cuboid units with five or six ports and a spherical hollow chamber proven to enhance marine biodiversity and abundance.  They are manufactured from Marine Crete, our own carbon-neutral Portland cement replacement mix.  They are made from 98% recycled materials, contain no plastic and are certified as non-toxic to the marine environment.

reef cubes® can be supplied in a variety of sizes from 150mm to 1500mm sided and weight up to 5.5 tonnes in air to suit a variety of intertidal and subsea applications.  Larger sizes are planned and units can be combined to form multi-tied structures for additional height in the water column.  We have supplied smaller reef cubes® inside larger ones for added weight and habitat complexity.  We can supply with a scallop or oyster shell veneer to encourage bivalve settlement.  We have successfully trialled units with juvenile oysters and kelp paste to help seed new biodiverse reefs that deliver enhanced ecosystem services. 

Colonisation by fauna and flora is very rapid and the units often become unrecognisable as man-made structures within 12 months.

Smaller reef cubes® can be employed at scale using fall-pipe vessels for scour protection (see RESP entry) whilst larger units can act as eco-friendly gravity moorings  or protect subsea infrastructure or aquaculture sites by acting as a deterrent to bottom trawling and dredging.  They can shield subsea wellheads from ghost nets and reduce the risk of bottom trawling related production or environmental losses.  The 5-port 1.5m Krib Karn intertidal reef cubes® are used for coastal defence with a large internal shade rockpool.

This innovative award-winning technology is designed using nature inclusive design (NID) principles to deliberately encourage marine life to create a positive reef effect.  There is a strong decommissioning case for units to be left in situ as they do no harm and are deliberately designed to accelerate reef creation (the ARC in ARC marine) to leave a positive hard substrate legacy and consequent thriving ecosystem for future generations.  This is the subject of cautious ongoing stakeholder consultations and requires developer support to put through license applications to allow regulator consideration on a case by case basis until full confidence in their use and impact is obtained and shared. A number of peer-reviewed scientific papers on their impact are already published and available upon request.