In September 2023 UKSA created the Isle of Wight’s first oyster nursery in partnership with the Blue Marine Foundation, with funding from Cowes Harbour Commission.
Supporting this important Solent wide project, we are delighted to be aiding the restoration with the breeding and growing of oysters in high densities, which are hanging in baskets in the water beneath our pontoons. This oyster nursery facilitates the safe growth and nourishment of juvenile oysters and once they mature and start breeding, the release of millions of larvae into the Solent. It also provides refuge for other marine life including endangered European eels, young seahorse and sea bass.
Oysters are ecosystem engineers and provide a range of benefits to the environment and people such as improving water quality, with a single oyster able to filter up to 200 litres of water every day! They also act as a natural defence to coastal erosion.
Our Further Education students check in on our oysters each month, measuring and weighing them and sending the stats back to the Blue Marine Foundation for logging.