BioRock, as a technology, is a slightly electrified metal mesh, upon which a layer of magnesium hydroxide, calcium carbonate, and other ionic compounds form due to electrolytic reduction at a very slow rate.

BioRock is an integral part of shoreline preservation and wave energy dispersal, as the reefs that it creates act as a semi-permeable barrier to waves, slowing the waves down such that sediment is deposited on formerly-eroded shorelines. Additionally, this semi-permeability prevents it from being undermined by waves, a common problem with bulkheads and riprap, which, we have noticed, is currently implemented extensively throughout South Hampton Roads.

In addition, the spat of bivalves, most notably the Eastern Oyster (the subject of most current Chesapeake Bay conservation efforts) has been shown to preferentially accumulate on BioRock instead of other nearby surfaces in marine waters. Once on the BioRock, these oysters can exhibit mortality rates of up to 90% less than their non-attached counterparts in extreme situations. Additionally, they are shown to mature and reproduce up to 10 times faster while attached to an active BioRock structure. Similar effects have also been shown to occur with corals and seagrasses.

BioRock has been experimentally proven to have these effects through its 40-year-long history of various pilot projects in the Maldives, Indonesia, The Hudson River, and Florida. BioRock has seen such unprecedented success, in fact, that it is an integral part of the U.N.'s Floating Cities Initiative, as a protective barrier, a biodiversity enhancer, and maybe even has potential aquacultural utilization. Supporting information can be found throughout BioRock's website, at https://www.globalcoral.org/biorock-coral-reef-marine-habitat-restoration/

My colleagues and I are trying to introduce this technology to the Chesapeake Bay as quickly and safely as possible. We have already, alongside BioRock's co-developer Dr. Thomas Goreau (Dr. Goreau wiki-bio), had meetings with the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, who have expressed interest in the technology, but currently have no plans to implement the technology either as a pilot project or at scale.