Ben Fogle

A UK-based marine conservation charity, Blue Marine Foundation (BLUE), enlisted the help of the broadcaster, traveller and adventurer Ben Fogle to raise awareness of its initiative to restore the native oyster to the Solent. Their plan is to reintroduce one million oysters by the end of 2017.

Ben is a passionate marine conservationist, and has worked with a team of volunteers to get the programme underway at MDL’s Port Hamble marina.

BLUE has partnered with MDL Marinas, Landrover BAR and the University of Portsmouth to roll out the project across the Solent, which involves using a local team of volunteers to fill cages with 10,000 oysters, suspended underneath the pontoons of MDL’s marinas.

Ben, who first became interested in marine pollution after rowing across the Atlantic, told us: “The humble oyster is an incredibly powerful ecosystem engineer, capable of filtering 200 litres of water a day and supporting marine life. Restoring the native oyster to the Solent would be another step closer to turning the tide against the large-scale degradation of our oceans, and giving something back to the UK’s inshore waters which provide us with so many benefits.”

We asked Ben how many oysters will be needed to restock the Solent. Ben told us: “Five million in five years is our goal”.

The oysters are placed in unique cage-like structures, designed and built by MDL Marinas, which are prototypes that can be used in the future by other marinas and boat owners who wish to help to restore the native oyster. Volunteers have already lowered these oyster-filled cages from the pontoons of four MDL Marinas; Hamble Point, Port Hamble, Sparkes and Saxon Wharf as well as the pontoons at Portsmouth University and the pontoon that MDL Marinas installed at Landrover BAR HQ.

The oysters will be protected in these cages whilst reproducing seed oysters that will travel to new habitats around the Solent. Oysters usually reach maturity in one year. They are protandric during their first year, they spawn as males by releasing sperm into the water. As they grow over the next two or three years and develop greater energy reserves, they spawn as females by releasing eggs.

Dean Smith, Commercial Director of MDL Marinas said: “Helping to restore the native oyster population, an important part of the local ecosystem which removes pollutants and provides habitats, is one of many ways that the boating community can give back to the ocean and improve the local waters around us for our future enjoyment.”

The Solent oyster industry was once the largest in Europe but was closed in 2013 due to depleted stocks caused by overfishing. The native oyster population in the UK has halved over the last 25 years, while globally an estimated 85% of oyster beds and reef habitats have been lost. The restoration of the native oyster will provide wide-ranging ecological and social benefits for the region over the long-term by helping to improve water quality, foster valuable habitats and re-establish an important strand of the economy on the South Coast.

Tim Glover, BLUE’s UK Projects Director explained the significance of the next stage of the Solent Oyster Restoration Project: “Last year we started this project with pilots at Land Rover BAR and the University of Portmouth’s raft in Langstone Harbour (monitored by scientists from the University) which showed that the technique of suspending cages of oysters under floating pontoons can result in healthy reproduction and low mortality. Now BLUE is ready to go a stage further. Our aim is to introduce up to 1 million oysters to the Solent over the course of 2017, mostly into protected seabed sites. We hope this five-year programme will have a transformational effect on the Solent in the long-term.”

All At Sea asked Tim what we as leisure boaters can do to improve water quality and look after the marine environment. He said: “As a boat owner myself I am aware that most boaters are responsible water users and want to protect marine life. Always be aware of your behaviour in harbours and out on the water.”

The project will be funded by donations. It will cost £75,000 to sponsor one million oysters. Members of the public can sponsor a cage for £150.

For more information or to donate to BLUE go to  http://www.bluemarinefoundation.com/project/solent/

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