Since September last year, about 30,000 European flat oysters have been reintroduced at four sites which are being monitored. Photo Credit: Callum Bennetts/Maverick Photo Agency

Animals Scotland23. January 2025

We’ve Hit a Key Milestone in Oyster Protection

Thanks to a mollusk restoration project that reached an 85% survival rate, the Scottish estuary Firth of Forth is once again home to thousands of European flat oysters after a century-long absence.

“This is down to the hard work of not only the staff involved but the hundreds of volunteers who have turned out in all weathers to help us prepare the oysters for deployment and to physically put them in the water,” says Naomi Arnold, the Restoration Forth project manager from WWF Scotland. “With this success and the amount we have learned, things are looking very positive for future restoration in the area.”

The Restoration Forth Project – Edinburgh Shoreline, Fife Coast and Countryside Trust, the Marine Conservation Society, Project Seagrass, and the WWF are among the organizations involved – reintroduced some 30,000 European flat oysters in the estuary and is planting 4 hectares of seagrass. Monitored regularly through dives and underwater cameras, the oysters are thriving. Oysters are known to enhance water quality through filter feeding. They also store carbon and improve biodiversity by creating a complex habitat that provides homes and shelters for many organisms. “The project not only aims to revive marine life but also highlights the cultural heritage of oysters and emphasizes our collective responsibility to restore and protect our seas for future generations,” explains Anna Inman, a shellfish engagement officer at the Marine Conservation Society.

Source:
The Guardian

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