UKSA officially launched the Isle of Wight’s first oyster regeneration project in partnership with Blue Marine Foundation as its first oysters were placed in baskets beneath UKSA’s pontoons to breed.
The Cowes based charity, which provides life-enhancing water-based adventures, education, and world-leading maritime training, welcomed children from Lanesend Primary School on the Island together with guests including Cowes Harbour Commission.
The Commission is funding the baskets and the initial oyster stock to enable the project to get underway.
This followed a visit by UKSA with a number of its students to Blue Marine’s base at University of Portsmouth last week to perform the cleaning of the oysters ahead of them being transported to the Island for installation.
The project will facilitate the release of millions of larvae into the Solent, while also providing refuge for other marine life including endangered European eels, young seahorse and sea bass.
As ecosystem engineers, UKSA’s oysters will provide a range of benefits to the environment and people such as improving water quality, with a single oyster able to filter up to 200 litres of water every day. They also act as a natural defence to coastal erosion.
Ben Willows, CEO of UKSA said at the launch:
“We’re excited to launch the oyster regeneration project today with great thanks to all those who have made it possible.
"It is a significant step forward for sustainability on the Island and we’re very proud to be housing the project at UKSA.
"This project is a great start in making a difference in the marine environment UKSA calls home.”
Despite the last known oyster fishery on the Isle of Wight closing in the 1970s, between 1972 and 2006, the Solent supported the largest native oyster fishery in Europe, however the oyster population has declined significantly and the fishery collapsed in 2013.
Native oyster reefs in the UK have declined by 95 percent due to overfishing, pollution, disease, habitat loss and other pressures.
Since 2015, Blue Marine Foundation has restored over 150,000 oysters using innovative nursery systems and creating oyster reefs, and has developed a strong working group in the Solent.
To find out more about UKSA, visit www.uksa.org
To find out more about Blue Marine Foundation, visit www.bluemarinefoundation.com
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