Spat'll do nicely: oyster grower partners with eco-group to restore firth
West of Scotland shellfish grower The Oyster Restoration Company has announced a partnership with rewilding organisation Mossy Earth through its Donate and Collaborate Initiative.
As part of the collaboration, The Oyster Restoration Company will donate native oyster spat to support the restoration of marine ecosystems in Scotland’s Cromarty Firth, a project spearheaded by Mossy Earth to reintroduce native oysters and enhance seagrass meadows in the firths surrounding the Black Isle, where once widespread reefs are now considered absent.
Spat – tiny juvenile oysters - will initially be grown on in baskets suspended from ropes and floats, before being used to form new reefs.
European Native oysters (Ostrea edulis) are important to maintaining the health and biodiversity of marine ecosystems, acting as natural water filters and creating habitats that support a variety of marine life. However, due to factors such as overfishing, habitat loss, and disease, native oyster populations have plummeted by more than 95% in the last century. Mossy Earth’s Cromarty Seascape project aims to help reverse these losses by restoring oyster reefs in the Cromarty Firth and re-establishing the species in its natural environment.
Ecological change
“The Cromarty Seascape Initiative is a testament to what can be achieved by determined members of a local community that want to enact positive ecological change on their doorstep. The Oyster Restoration Company will play a key role in restoring this crucial habitat, and we look forward to seeing the impact of our combined efforts,” said Isla MacLeod, conservation biologist at Mossy Earth.
Dr Nik Sachlikidis, chief executive of The Oyster Restoration Company, said: “The Donate and Collaborate Initiative embodies our belief that collaboration is key to achieving our mission of ecosystem restoration. By working together with organisations like Mossy Earth, we aim to demonstrate the power of collective action in driving meaningful environmental change.”
Biosecurity
The Aultbea, Loch Ewe-based company produces 150 million native oysters each year. It has implemented native oyster screening at its hatchery as part of its biosecurity measures, using genetic testing.
The Oyster Restoration Company’s aim is to enhance genetic diversity for restoration purposes and to improve the species for farming, so it has initiated a robust selective breeding programme focusing separately on restoration and farming.
In July, the company announced a collaboration with the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust collaboration aimed at restoring native oyster populations in the Humber estuary.
