Oysters from south Wales are set to be transferred into the River Hamble as part of plans to restore marine habitats across the Solent, the Southern Daily Echo reports.

Blue Marine Foundation, alongside the River Hamble Harbour Authority and contractors Jenkins Marine, laid the foundations for the largest restoration reef in the Solent last week. They laid a thin veneer of shingle mixed with cockleshells, known as ‘cultch,’ covering 2,500 metres square onto the seabed.

Oysters sourced from south Wales will be transferred to the site to seed the area at the Swanwick bend in the River Hamble in a few weeks, after being cleaned, measured and checked.

The Solent was once the largest and most important oyster fishery in Europe, the charity says, but over the last decade oysters have significantly dwindled in numbers as a result of poor water quality, competition from invasive species, disease and fishing pressure.

The work is part of the Solent Seascape Project, a multi-million-pound scheme funded by the Endangered Landscapes Project.

Louise MacCallum, Solent Project Manager for Blue Marine said: “This new restoration reef has taken more than a year to plan.  As well as creating a perfect home for 30,000 oysters, it has also been critically important to ensure that our operations do not affect navigational safety for the many people who enjoy boating and water sports on the river.”

Joanne Preston, Reader in Marine Ecology and Evolution at the University of Portsmouth said: “This reef deployment is another significant step forward in re-creating the subtidal oyster reef habitat that has been all but lost in the Solent and across Europe.  We hope this reef creates a tipping point; kick-starting a population of native oysters that builds over several generations and provides offspring that will spill over and populate other areas.”

As well as restoring oyster habitats, the Solent Seascape Project team will be restoring seagrass meadows, seabird nesting habitat and salt marsh across the Solent region.

Further information can be read in Fish Focus and the Southern Daily Echo.