Dive Surveys Reveal New Life on Restored North Sea Oyster Reef

Published 3 weeks agoon September 13, 2026

Photo: © Project Baseline UK

A pioneering oyster restoration project in the North Sea is showing promising signs of success, with recent dive surveys revealing native oysters surviving and marine life already moving into the newly created reef.

The one-hectare restoration site off Whitburn, South Tyneside, was created in October 2025 as part of the five-year Wild Oyster Project: Tyne and Wear, led by ZSL and Groundwork NE & Cumbria.

Twenty specially designed oyster reef cubes were deployed alongside 60,000 juvenile oysters and 100 tonnes of scallop shell, with the cubes themselves seeded with 4,000 adult native oysters.

Nine months later, a team of seven volunteer divers from Project Baseline UK returned to survey the site at a depth of around 25 metres.

The results are encouraging. All of the reef cubes remained securely in place, while 99% of the adult oysters attached to them were found alive and healthy. Juvenile oysters had also survived their first winter.

Divers recorded fish, crabs, sea urchins, shrimps and squat lobsters using the structures and surrounding habitat, suggesting the developing reef is already providing valuable shelter for other marine life.

Native oyster reefs once formed an important part of Britain’s coastal ecosystem, but populations have declined by more than 95% since the 1800s due to factors including over-harvesting, habitat loss, pollution and disease. A single native oyster can filter as much as 200 litres of water each day.

The project has now added a further 1,000 mature and 15,000 juvenile oysters, while monitoring will continue to determine how successfully the reef develops over the coming years.

Source: ZSL / The Wild Oyster Project

Jane Morgan

Jane’s lifelong love for the ocean began in childhood and has shaped the course of her life and career. After learning to dive in 1991, she spent much of the '90s teaching scuba and working on marine conservation projects in the Philippines and Borneo. A chance encounter with a film camera on a dive trip to Egypt in 2001 ignited a passion for underwater photography, inspiring her to leave the corporate world and pursue a full-time career in dive travel and photojournalism. Since then, her work has been published in a wide range of national and international magazines, books, and newspapers. She has filmed underwater for the BBC, judged major photography competitions, and received numerous accolades—including the prestigious Plongeur d'Or at the Festival Mondial de l'Image Sous-Marine. In 2009, Jane became a freelance photojournalist, and in 2011 completed a BA (Hons) in Marine and Natural History Photography at Falmouth University, where she now works as a Dive Safety Officer. Based in Cornwall, Jane dives locally year-round and is passionate about showcasing the rich marine life found in UK waters. As a proud ambassador for Dynamic Nord and Fathoms Free, she actively supports marine conservation initiatives and advocates for ocean protection through her storytelling. In her newest role with Scubaverse, Jane combines her love of travel, diving, and storytelling—sharing experiences from around the world to inspire others to explore, protect, and connect with the underwater world.

Related Topics: north sea, Oysters, The Wild Oyster project, ZSL

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