Restoring Oyster Reefs on the Norfolk Coast
Oysters as Natural Ecosystem Engineers
Oysters are one of nature’s most powerful engineers. A single oyster can filter up to 200 litres of water per day, removing pollutants and excess nutrients. Oysters also create complex reef structures that provide shelter for hundreds of marine species, stabilise coastlines, and clean the water.
The Loss of Oyster Reefs Globally and in the North Sea
Historically, oyster reefs covered vast areas of coasts around the world, acting as natural breakwater barriers, biodiversity hotspots, and water filtration plants. But around the world, over 85% of oyster reefs have been destroyed, primarily due to overharvesting and pollution. In the North Sea, the situation is even worse, and oysters are now functionally extinct.
The Impact of Restoring Oyster Reefs
Restoring oyster reefs doesn’t just bring oysters back. It revives entire ecosystems, restores water quality, enhances fisheries, and helps defend vulnerable coastlines. It’s one of the highest impact interventions we can make in marine conservation, and one of the most urgent ones as well.
Our Partnership with Oyster Heaven
So we partnered with Oyster Heaven, who developed the Mother Reef: a patented clay structure that provides the perfect foundation for oyster larvae to settle and grow. The design is optimised for oyster settlement and attractive for hundreds of other marine species as well.
Why Measurement and Verification Matter
We know that today, good intentions aren’t enough. Real impact must be measurable and verifiable. That’s why our project includes long-term monitoring and reporting, tracking outcomes like biodiversity return, water filtration, and nitrogen management. We deliver real outcomes, not just hopes or promises.
Underwater scenes of the Mother Reef for oyster regeneration
Native Oysters in Britain - A Historical Perspective
Long before the Romans arrived, people in Britain were eating native oysters, but the Romans were the first to prize them on a large scale and make them famous across their empire consuming them in large quantities when they occupied Britain nearly two millennia ago.
Natural beds along the coast here supplied their demand. In the 19th century oysters were so abundant and cheap they were the food of the poor, with the shellfish forming a staple part of British diets. However, the once abundant European native flat oyster - Ostrea edulis - has suffered a 95% decline in population in the last 200 years due to overfishing, habitat loss, pollution and disease.
Keeper's Cottage, Wells Road, Warham, Norfolk NR23 1NG, United Kingdom