Pioneering oyster reef project aiming to boost biodiversity

AN oyster reef being built off the Norfolk coast has been hailed as a pioneering project that could help increase biodiversity.

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At least four million oysters will be placed into the North Sea just off Blakeney Point by the end of 2026, with work starting this month.

The juvenile oysters, called spats, will be spread across 40,000 specially designed clay bricks known as mother reefs.

Marine conservation organisation Oyster Heaven, which is behind the project, hopes they will form the basis for a larger self-sustaining reef over time.

The reef is being constructed under a seaweed farm so it is physically impossible to trawl and there is no new squeeze on space for fishermen.

Piers Hart, aquaculture adviser for environmental charity the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), said it was a “pioneering project”.

He said he became aware of it as he was working with the seaweed farm as part of a WWF project.