Habitat-Enhancing Concrete Supports Marine Life At Vancouver Port

The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority has integrated habitat-enhancing concrete blocks by ECOncrete into a new rock revetment at the Port of Vancouver, Canada. The intervention forms part of the Sterling Shipyard Remediation and Infill Project, completed in 2026. It aims to provide refuge for fish and support marine biodiversity alongside industrial port infrastructure.

Compensating For Habitat Loss

The remediation and infill works created additional industrial land but also removed existing habitats used by local fish and other species. As a result, the port authority needed environmental measures to compensate for this ecological impact. It introduced a combination of onsite and offsite interventions.

For the onsite measure, the project team incorporated ECOncrete Armor Blocks into the rock berm revetment. These precast concrete units perform an engineering function within the shoreline structure while adding features intended to improve habitat conditions. Their textured surfaces and varied geometry offer opportunities for marine organisms to attach, shelter and forage.

The project demonstrates how ecological requirements can become part of the material and structural design of hard coastal infrastructure. Instead of treating the revetment solely as a protective barrier, the design also gives it a role within the surrounding ecosystem.

Early Signs Of Marine Colonisation

Monitoring during the first months after installation showed early biological colonisation. Barnacles, sugar kelp, green seaweeds including Ulva and Ulvaria species, and red algae had established themselves on the concrete blocks.

Observers also recorded fish and invertebrates on and around the structures. These initial findings suggest that the blocks already provide some habitat value, although longer-term monitoring will be necessary to assess their full ecological performance and contribution to local biodiversity.

Combining Infrastructure And Ecology

The project required the port authority to define habitat compensation targets and integrate the units into the berm revetment. It also involved collaboration with regional supply chains. This approach shows how ports can incorporate habitat creation into conventional construction processes rather than adding it as a separate feature.

For architects, landscape architects and infrastructure designers, the project offers an example of multifunctional concrete. The material supports coastal engineering requirements while its surface design may encourage marine growth. Such applications could help ports and other waterfront developments reduce ecological impacts and create more biodiversity-inclusive infrastructure.

Source: ECOncrete
Photos: Vancouver Fraser Port Authority