Preservation of the coral reefs with Denis Schneider

The Biorock method, an innovative method developed by the Global Coral Reef Alliance, allows the coral reefs grown at the resort to be released into the natural environment after only two years instead of 15 years.

BLOGS, Resort

November 16, 2021

A scientist involved in the preservation of the environment, Denis Schneider implemented the Biorock technology in Bora Bora.

With master’s degrees in both Biochemistry and Oceanography in his pocket, Denis Schneider joined the French Navy as a scientist in charge of monitoring nuclear installations. A few years later, after having been a doctoral student as a young officer, he left the navy to become a diving instructor and to travel. He arrived in Bora Bora in 1993. He was then asked by schools to run extra-curricular activities on the marine environment. Faced with the environmental damage that was peculiar to Polynesia, he decided to train in coral restoration to improve the condition of marine animals.

From 1999, Denis began to collaborate with several hotels in Bora Bora, Tahaa and Moorea to introduce coral reefs within the resorts.

Its mission is simple: doing coral cuttings to recreate coral reefs. While his Tahiti Bioroche brand is responsible for the installation process, the Espace Bleu company that he created in 2000 maintains the coral reefs.
Denis at first used the concrete reef method, which consists of fixing coral cuttings on concrete. However, this method does not help the coral to resist stress and requires waiting 15 years to have a convincing result. Denis therefore decided, in 2007, to begin using the Biorock method, an innovative method developed by the Global Coral Reef Alliance, an organization dedicated to scientific research and the sustainable management of the ecosystem. The corals are fixed on metal structures charged by a low-voltage electrical current through a connection to solar panels. This method, used today at the InterContinental Bora Bora Le Moana Resort, allows the coral reefs to be released into the natural environment after only two years!

– Heart and star-shaped structures welcome the coral reef cuttings.

– Solar panels supply the structures with low-voltage electrical current.

The InterContinental Bora Bora Le Moana Resort is one of Tahiti Bioroche‘s first partners. In 2002, Bora Bora faced a red tide phenomenon (very rapid proliferation of toxic microorganisms) which resulted in the loss of 18km of coral reef, as well as many fish and other marine animals. The Moana, located next to the place impacted by the red tide, called upon Denis to produce cuttings and recreate the disappeared coral beds.
The hotel now has biorock reefs that are produced 10 at a time and connected to solar panels for two years before being released into the natural environment. Ten reef units of one meter in diameter and 60 centimeters high are equal to a coral reef.
The resort thus participates in a sustainable environmental action and offers its guests the benefit of magnificent coral gardens, in the shape of heart and starfish, which are home to a large number of fish, sea cucumbers, giant clams and more.