By Izzy Hawksworth via SWNS
A wildlife restoration group who are hoping to put a whopping 500,000 oysters into a British river to tackle pollution are in the next stage of their project.
Wilder Humber aims to re-introduce the native European flat oysters to the Humber estuary in East Yorkshire over the next five years.
The animals are being introduced as a way of tackling pollution as a single one can clean 200 liters of water a day, experts say.
The estuary was once home to a large thriving oyster reef, but it declined because of
overfishing, disease and a reduction in water quality.
The oyster larvae were placed in a tank filled with scallop shells and they will now be put onto a trestle in the Humber estuary, where they will be monitored for six months.
Amazing photos show staff from Wilder Humber carrying the trestles into the river, using a wheelbarrow.
Marine restoration manager Kieran McCloskey, 34, said: “The native oyster species can filter around 200 liters of water a day when they are adults.
“We are putting out juvenile oysters and they will grow into adults, so hopefully we will improve water quality and contaminates in the water.”
Kieran also says the oysters have “lots of other benefits” such as bringing in biodiversity as being ecosystem engineers.
He said: “They have a host of other ecosystem services outside of pollution, they provide a lot of benefits.
“They are eco-system engineers to they will attach to a substrate and they will reproduce.
“Then those larvae will then attach to the shells that have been left over from past generations.
“They are really powerful by being ecosystem engineers because they bring in biodiversity.
“They are also helpful to protect wave energy.”
