Volunteers scrub oysters in water quality project

An oyster can filter up to 150 litres of water a day

Volunteers spent hours scrubbing oysters which next month will be transferred to a marina as part of a project to improve water quality.

The 4,000 oysters, which were cleaned in Southsea, will be placed in the Emsworth Yacht Harbour on the Hampshire-West Sussex border in March.

The shellfish naturally filter water but their population has fallen rapidly over recent centuries because of overfishing, disease and pollution.

Lottie Johns, who is co-leading the project with help from the Blue Marine Foundation, said the work was the "tip of the iceberg", but still critical.

Lottie Johns is co-managing the project to place the oysters in the harbour

"This is going to be the largest installation of oysters in Europe. That's really exciting and hopefully it makes a massive impact," she said.

"Every oyster can filter up to 150 litres of water a day so that's got to make an impact.

"They're there, they're feeding and filtering and they're breeding and they can start to make a change."

The 60 volunteers scrubbed at the oysters at the Institute of Marine Science Laboratory in Southsea

Oysters feed on algae, phytoplankton and nutrients and their gills act as a sieve to help to remove contaminants in water.

The marina is located at the northern end of Chichester Harbour in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Before they are transferred, the the molluscs have to be properly cleaned to protect existing oysters living in the harbour.

The 60 volunteers gathered at the Institute of Marine Science Laboratory in Southsea on Tuesday for morning and afternoon scrubbing sessions.

The Solent was previously the largest fishery in Europe for flat oysters but they have largely been replaced by the invasive Pacific oyster.