Ten years after the discovery of a flat oyster reef in the North Sea...

Wouter remembers it well: with ARK Rewilding Nederland, he and his colleagues explored locations where the flat oyster could potentially return. "Flat oysters used to form large reefs in the North Sea, but they've all disappeared due to intensive fishing and oyster diseases," Wouter explains. "At the time, with ARK, we explored possibilities for restoring the species. In the Voordelta, the team found locations where fishing was non-existent and ecological conditions were optimal. During a dive, Wouter checked the bottom hardness and found something else. "A natural reef of flat oysters," he says. "Bizarre. A truly groundbreaking discovery, because the flat oyster seemed to have disappeared from the North Sea."

From there, things took off. Such an oyster reef offers many advantages. "The North Sea was once one-third reef," says Wouter. "A reef is a breeding and spawning ground for sharks and rays, oysters filter the seawater, and a reef is also a habitat for commercial fish species like herring. A reef offers added value for everyone."
Over the past 10 years, Waardenburg Ecology has worked with various organizations to restore the flat oyster to the North Sea. Wouter: "This discovery has given impetus to the entire field. We've learned more about oyster reefs and developed restoration techniques."

The discovery of this reef and the extensive research over the past ten years were carried out in collaboration with ARK Rewilding Netherlands, Wageningen Marine Research, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, SAS Consultancy and Stichting Zeeschelp, with financial support from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF-NL) and the Dutch Postcode Lottery.

Read more about oyster restoration on our website.