Høj Nordic Marine Contractor from Horsens will soon commence preparation work to construct the two stone reefs at Raade Hoved in Denmark.
The Little Belt Nature Park is working together with Haderslev Municipality, who have hired Høj Nordic Marine to build the new reef with rocks that will be brought to the site from Norway.
A large stone-carrier vessel will unload the two consignments of rocks at a sea “depot” after which the contractor will commence the construction of the reefs using two vessels from its fleet. Depending on winds and the weather, the reefs will be constructed between January and March 2023.
Thorough investigatory work has been done to find the best place to construct the two stone reefs for the greatest effect. A cavity-forming stone reef aimed at cod and porpoise will be constructed at Tybrind Vig, using approx. 2,800 m3 of stone spread over an area of 1 hectare. The other stone reef will be built at the river estuary and aims to support sea trout at Vedbjerg Harbour with 3,130 m3 of stone spread over an area of 1 hectare.
According to Jakob Bjørnskov Nielsen , who is both the chairman of the Little Belt Nature Park and a member of the Middelfart Municipality town council, the two new stone reefs are just part of a transitional journey towards a Little Belt where nature is in a greater state of balance.
”We know that improving the marine environment takes time and that there is still more to be done, but by creating a cleaner marine environment and increasing habitats, such as fish nurseries and stone reefs, we are at least showing the way,” said Nielsen.
Høj Nordic Marine Contractor is also very enthusiastic about this project, which the company’s CEO, Michael Normann, calls an important Danish contribution to global goal number 14: Life below water, the purpose of which is to ensure that marine and coastal ecosystems are protected and managed sustainably.
The project for the two stone reefs will serve as a basis for research, using the first smolt reef in the world to examine the effect. The research is being done in collaboration with Aarhus University, which is investigating the impact on porpoise, and DTU Aqua, which is investigating the impact on sea trout and cod.