Oyster “cubes” deployed from Whitburn Coast to save UK’s underwater superhero

Local TV

In a pioneering move for UK marine conservation, experts from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and Groundwork North East and Cumbria have deployed 20 specialised oyster reef cubes off the North East coast, in a bid to revive native oyster reefs and boost marine biodiversity.

Transcript

00:00The textured concrete-like cubes made from a carbon-neutral material known as marine crude

00:05are now home to 4,000 European native oysters, forming part of a major restoration effort in the North Sea.

00:12This is the first time the technique has been used at this scale in the UK,

00:17marking a significant step forward in the fight to restore lost marine habitats.

00:22The innovative cubes act as a ballast to secure oysters to the seabed,

00:26shielding them from storms and tidal surges.

00:29Each six-tonne block is engraved with ridges to mimic natural marine surfaces.

00:34Large portholes cut through the centre of each cube creates ideal hiding spaces for lobsters and fish,

00:40encouraging other marine life to settle and thrive.

00:43Across the UK, native oyster populations have declined by 95% over the past 200 years.

00:48The Wild Oysters Project Tine & Weir is a collaboration between the Zoological Society of London

00:52and Groundwork Northeastern Cumbria,

00:54and together we're working to restore native oyster populations off the coast of the Northeast.

00:59We've established a 10,000 square metre restoration trial site off the coast of Whitburn,

01:04with the aim of restoring native oyster habitat, which in turn can help benefit local marine wildlife

01:09and also help improve our coastal water quality.

01:11So we've deployed 20 oyster reef cubes with 4,000 oysters attached onto them.

01:16Alongside this, we've deployed 35,000 spat-on shell and 40 tonnes of repurposed scallop shell culch.

01:23Spat-on shell refers to a larvae that has settled on a shell material.

01:27For our project, we've worked with a hatchery who have done this for us.

01:29The shell is scattered in a nice thin layer on the seabed,

01:32so when the oysters on the reef cubes start to breed next summer,

01:35the larvae will have somewhere surrounding that area to settle on.

01:39A recent study by ZSL and the University of Edinburgh found that oyster reef ecosystems have collapsed across Europe,

01:47making their restoration crucial to coastal health.

01:49The restoration effort has also been powered by the community.

01:54At North Shields Fish Quay, 90 local volunteers cleaned and scrubbed the oysters to remove any non-native species before their deployment,

02:01while a further 100 volunteers helped attach the oysters to the reef structure using specialist reef glue.

02:08The artificial reef cubes and culch were then lowered onto the seabed 1.8 kilometres off the coast using a survey vessel,

02:15following extensive consultation with local stakeholders and fishers.

02:20Over 200 volunteers have helped us to make this all possible.

02:24They've helped us to clean the native oysters and also attach them onto the oyster reef cubes,

02:28ready for their new home out at sea.

02:30The marine environment can be unpredictable at times.

02:32Bad weather comes in, it can throw everything off.

02:34We've obviously got contracts lined up with vessels and suppliers and delivery dates.

02:38It's really, really satisfying and a little bit emotional to see all these reef cubes finally go into the sea.

02:44This groundbreaking project brings hope that oyster reefs,

02:48once a cornerstone of healthy coastal ecosystems, could return to UK waters,

02:53supporting cleaner seas, richer biodiversity and more resilient coastlines for generations to come.

02:59Fantastic!

03:00Thank you!

03:06money

03:08We've got a discussion which gives you a closer one hour and done it.

03:11It's good to follow.

03:13Besides problème, in order for Einsatzort is still here in you.

03:16Cause still isn't our best distances so nearly asane but it's beautiful.

03:18We've got views by Nossa Sena that looks a lot like more than a shelter.

03:23We've got a nearer than sol.

03:25Last harvest is not as high as the water,

03:26but it's not like not as our hospitals.

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