SOMAGEC entrusted OSS with all the underwater works related to the laying of artificial reefs on the M’DIQ and AGADIR sites.

As a reminder, the goal of installing these artificial reefs is to enhance the growth of the fishery resources of the Kingdom’s seas.

The effect of such a system is to create, protect or restore a rich and diverse marine ecosystem, including in particular:

• The proliferation of attached marine life
• Food for fish assemblage in the upper link of the food chain
• The establishment of species.

From an economic and social point of view, installing large artificial reefs has a positive impact on :

• Artisanal coastal fisheries
• Recreational diving activities

OSS thus participated in the installation of these reefs on various sites. The aim was to form chaotic clusters of 36 blocks in order to obtain a pyramid shape. Once in place, that pyramidal structure becomes a lifetime suitable place for underwater species. Especially the grouper for example on the M’DIQ site. It is important to note that each block weighs one tonne for a 1.5 meter edge. Each site is made up of 64 pyramids up to 12 meters high.

The operation was therefore carried out as follows:

A barge loaded the predisposed block piles.

A crane lowered a cluster of block piles to the sandy bottom.

The diver goes underwater, carries out an inspection of the structure & takes care of unhooking all the slings.

Once the clusters of block piles are in place and stable, the artificial reef, in the form of a 12-metre high pyramid, is now functional.

The challenges

The outcome

Morocco has, since 2015, two operational and active artificial reef areas.