Native oysters restored to UK waters

4,000 native oysters are being returned to UK waters as part of a project spanning coastal regions across England, Scotland and Wales. The Wild Oysters Project, a partnership between ZSL (Zoological Society of London), Blue Marine Foundation (BLUE) and British Marine aims to help restore healthy, resilient coastal waters around the UK by bringing back these ‘ocean superheroes’ from the brink of extinction.

Native oysters (Ostrea edulis) are said to provide huge benefits to coastal waters by helping to clean the seas and acting as an important habitat for marine wildlife. Native oyster populations have decreased since the 1800s, blamed on human activity.

The first mature native oysters are housed in nurseries suspended underneath marina pontoons in the North East of England. These oysters will begin reproducing over the next few months.

“These oysters will produce the next generation of the oyster population, by releasing larvae which will settle onto the seabed,” says Celine Gamble, from ZSL.

“Despite their small size, oysters are capable of filtering 200 litres of water a day, the oysters will almost immediately begin their important work helping to create cleaner water and increase marine biodiversity in the UK.”

The project began by installing 47 nurseries with 1,300 native oysters underneath marina pontoons in Sunderland Marina and Port of Blyth, North East of England. Partnering with Groundwork North East and Cumbria, along with the Environment Agency North East, local project officers will help to care for the newly placed oysters.

“We are thrilled to bring oyster restoration efforts to North East coastal waters, to revive this forgotten and remarkable native species locally. It’s great to have active hands-on marine conservation work happening on the doorstep of local coastal communities” says Ashleigh Tinlin- Mackenzie, one of the project officers.

The Wild Oysters project, was made possible by a £1.18m award from the Postcode Dream Trust.

“The release of the project’s first native oysters into the sea is a huge milestone, all possible thanks to the support of players of People’s Postcode Lottery,” says Laura Chow, head of charities at People’s Postcode Lottery. “Oysters are an important part of our ecosystem and the Wild Oysters project will not only support our oceans but help educate and share the importance of these ocean superheroes with thousands of volunteers, school and university students, and local community groups.”

Wild Oysters will be deploying more native oysters around Britain throughout 2021.