Six east coast sailing clubs are supporting a unique project to restore native oysters in Dublin Bay.
As The Sunday Independent reports, David Lawlor of the Green Ocean Foundation not-for-profit has enlisted the support of Howth Yacht Club, the Royal St George Yacht Club and The National Yacht Club in Dún Laoghaire.
The three clubs have agreed to host a number of “oyster gardens”at their marina pontoons, following installation of similar shellfish “gardens” at Dún Laoghaire, Malahide and Poolbeg marinas earlier this year.
Oysters are natural “climate champions” due to their natural habit of filtering water, and this helps to reduce excess nutrients and pollutants, Mr Lawlor says.
As Afloat has previously reported, he set up the Green Ocean oyster reintroduction project as a philanthropic enterprise a year ago with the aim of restoring native oysters, like the European flat oyster, throughout Dublin Bay.
When he and his partner Marguerite learned to dive 20 years ago in Scotsman’s Bay off Sandycove, south Dublin, he remembers being struck by the lack of life on the seabed.
He began the project by taking oysters from Tralee Bay in Co Kerry, with the approval of the Marine Institute, and filling some 60 baskets.
The support of three more yacht clubs this autumn has allowed him to expand from 60 baskets to 120 baskets, cultivating 900 native oysters in all.
“We had mortality rates of less than 3pc with the first phase, which compares very favourably with similar projects in Britain,” he told the newspaper.
Read The Sunday Independent here
