A New Brunswick scientist who has been working with different strengths of concrete is planning to construct lobster habitats out of the material.
Buquan Miao, an engineering professor at the Universite de Moncton, has been experimenting with concrete for 20 years and has produced, on the one hand, a substance as light as Styrofoam and, on the other, as heavy and strong as steel. He believes he can turn his expertise into a durable habitat for lobsters – a habitat that could last for 100 years.
In conjunction with the Maritime Fishermen’s Union, Miao is now seeking grant money from the Atlantic Innovation Fund and the National Research Council to go forward with his plan.
“Some fishermen came to me last year saying that there was a need for something to protect the lobsters,” Miao says. “We know that lobsters use rocks for shelter. I didn’t realize then, but I do now, that shape is important. My plan is to create a concrete that optimizes the needed form and that will be durable in seawater for more than 100 years. Obviously, the trick will be to make it economical as well.”
Miao says that preliminary tests, done with ordinary cement (which disintegrates quickly in salt water), show that lobsters will migrate to these new areas. He adds that he believes his project will help to revive lobster stocks in the future.