Is it someone dressed in lycra flying through the air?

For me, an ocean conservationist and ocean lover, my mind thinks of the oyster!

Now I know what you’re thinking, oysters? Superheroes? Surely you can’t be serious!? 

Oysters are actually marvels of the sea that provide great benefit. For example: just like the mighty whale, oysters are filter feeders, this means they suck in a whole load of water, keep all of the little bits of algae and plankton that they want and need and then expel the rest.  

This filtering massively improves water quality. A single oyster can filter up to 240 litres every day. Without the oysters, things like algae would build up, not only making the water murky for us but also blocking out any essential sunlight for underwater plants and creatures. When they are left undisturbed, oysters will form complex reef structures, these reefs then provide habitat and refuge for a whole load of species, including different crab species, juvenile fish, shrimp and so many more.  

However, oysters are in danger, their numbers have decreased by 95% since the 1800s. This is due mainly to overfishing to meet the demand for human consumption. But this can also be attributed to pollution, climate change and the introduction of invasive species like the American slipper limpet (Crepidula fornicate). 

But it’s not all bad news for the oyster. There are efforts in Northumberland to try to restore the populations, The Wild Oysters Project are an organisation set up to fight on behalf of the oyster. They offer education activities, volunteer days and a citizen science programme. 

I recently undertook one of their volunteer days at Blyth and it was fantastic! A bit chilly but super educational and amazing meeting likeminded people. We started off with a safety briefing and getting to know each other a little bit, and then we went down onto the jetty where the oyster nurseries are kept. One person had the job of being photographer for the day and the others helped with lifting the nurseries out of the water, rinsing the water and nurseries into one bucket which was used to log any biodiversity found. Then each separate parts of the nursery were opened, each oyster taken out, checked if still alive, rinsed, and then five were selected from each nursery to be photographed and logged for the data entry. However, we didn’t just find oysters inside. In two of the nurseries, we found juvenile scorpion fish! Along with nudibranchs, isopods, anthropods and a sea star! 

It’s a great project and cause to get behind, so if you are interested, please sign up for a volunteer day and see for yourself!  

I recently spoke to Karen Stewart who is the project assistant for the Wild Oysters Project. Karen has been an employee since November 2021 and is responsible for education. I asked why she thought that oysters are superheroes and here’s what she had to say: 

“Oysters are capable of filtering 200 liters of water per day, if you were to fill a bathtub with murky water and put one oyster in there, then in just one day that water would be clean! Oyster reefs also play a massive role in creating a healthy marine environment, they act as nurseries for a whole load of species. Not only that but oyster reefs help to prevent coastal erosion, if a reef is established along a coastline, then when big waves come in, they break and dissipate on the reef rather than on the sand which can cause issues for the coastline.” 

The Wild Oysters Projects goal for the future is incredible, they plan on creating an oyster reef in a location of off the Tyne and Wear coast. The aim is that the nurseries that they have established in Blyth, Firth of Clyde and Conway Bay will produce oyster larvae which will then attach themselves to the man-made reef, thus creating an ecosystem. I can’t wait to see what is achieved in the local environment for years to come! 

It’s easy to want to focus conservation efforts on the big, flagship species like whales and dolphins, but it’s the little guys who need just as much help. If the small species are forgotten about and left to go extinct, then what’s to stop it happening to the big species, even losing one species would have a knock-on effect to the entire ecosystem.  

And it’s not just the Wild Oysters Project who are looking after the oyster… there are numerous other charitable organisations and projects that are fighting for them: The Wildlife Trusts, Native Oyster Network and many more. There are also organisations committed to cleaning up the oceans to help the life within it; Ghost Diving UK, The Fifth Point Diving Company, Surfers Against Sewage, Sea Champions Northeast and loads of dedicated individuals.  

So next time you think of the word superhero maybe your mind will think of the humble oyster! 

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