Oyster beds reintroduced in Thames estuary to reverse more than 200 years of decline in numbers

Oyster beds are being reintroduced in the Thames estuary in bid to reverse more than 200 years of decline in numbers

  • Scientists are reintroducing the shellfish in the hope of reviving their production
  • Conservationists from Zoological Society working to build oyster bed in Essex
  • Laying recycled shells in the river bed and will add adult females who will spawn

Oysters have not been produced on a mass scale in the Thames estuary since Roman times and in the past 200 years, the population in the Thames has decreased by 95 per cent.

But now scientists are reintroducing the shellfish in the hope of reviving their production.

Conservationists at the Zoological Society of London are beginning work to build an oyster bed in Essex in the region’s first Mother Oyster Sanctuary.

Conservationists at the Zoological Society of London are beginning work to build an oyster bed in Essex (stock pictured) in the region’s first Mother Oyster Sanctuary

Using shells of oysters bred at Mersea Island in Essex, 30 miles north of the estuary (pictured), scientists are laying the recycled shells in the river bed and will soon add adult female oysters to them who will spawn

Using shells of oysters bred at Mersea Island in Essex, 30 miles north of the estuary (pictured), scientists are laying the recycled shells in the river bed and will soon add adult female oysters to them who will spawn

Using shells of oysters bred at Mersea Island in Essex, 30 miles north of the estuary, scientists are laying the recycled shells in the river bed and will soon add adult female oysters to them who will spawn.

Alison Debney, the society’s senior conservation programme manager, said: ‘It may not be glamorous work, but laying mother oysters at the right time is vital to the success of the restoration programme, and therefore vital for the survival of the species.

‘The coalition has moved more than 25,000 native oysters to Essex estuaries as well as ensuring that fishing in the area is prohibited until the oyster stocks have sufficiently recovered and are able to withstand sustainable harvesting.’

Native British oysters can currently only be enjoyed in a few places in the UK like Whitstable in Kent and Falmouth in Cornwall.

It is hoped the oysters will also have a positive environmental impact, as one adult oyster can filter more than 30 gallons of water in a single day.

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