First oysters introduced to island's harbour

The oysters have been reintroduced to the waters off Cowes

A batch of 1,000 oysters have been put in the sea off the Isle of Wight as part of efforts to reverse the loss of the molluscs on the seabed.

The oysters have been placed in baskets hanging beneath a pontoon at Cowes Harbour.

It is part of a scheme to bring back oyster reefs in the Solent, once the largest oyster fishery in Europe.

It is hoped they will release millions of larvae and form beds that will improve water quality and create habitats for marine animals and plants.

Eric Harris-Scott, from the Blue Marine Foundation, said a mixture of diseases, pollution and over-fishing had led to the oysters decline in the Solent

This latest development in the project was launched by the UK Sailing Academy (UKSA) , a maritime youth charity and training centre, in partnership with the Blue Marine Foundation.

An improvement in the water quality is expected to be seen over the next five to 10 years.

Eric Harris-Scott, from the Blue Marine Foundation, said the Solent "used to see about 50 million oysters pulled out every year".

He said: "A mixture of diseases, pollution and over-fishing led to their decline over the last 100 to 150 years and a loss of them as a habitat in the Solent."

The floating baskets have been placed on a pontoon at the UKSA, which is based in the harbour.

Primary school pupil Bella was among those painting the oysters so they can be identified as they are monitored in the coming months

Before their release pupils from a local primary school marked the oysters in batches of 10 with a blob of different coloured nail varnish so they can be identified.

The pupils, who will be involved in monitoring their survival and growth monthly with the conservation charity, said they were "very proud" to be involved in the project.

Mr Harris-Scott said: "Hopefully the oysters will be really happy in the water here... they will grow and start reproducing in the next year or so and will start pumping out millions of larvae which will hopefully settle on the reefs we have built in the area."

The 1,000 oysters have been placed in baskets hanging from a pontoon in Cowes Harbour

The first Oyster reef was set up by the charity in Langstone Harbour in 2021 and a second in Hamble in March as part of efforts to restock the molluscs in the Solent area.

The charity said it was looking at building a third reef in either Chichester Harbour or the island's Newtown Harbour.

The scheme is part of the Solent Seascape Project - a multi-million pound scheme set up to restore the Solent's marine habitats.

It will see 10 organisations work together on four types of habitat - seagrass meadows, oyster reefs, saltmarsh and seabird nesting sites.