A 181-year-old whiskey distillery on the shores of the North Sea estuary in the Scottish Highlands has achieved a decade of environmental success. It will introduce 112,000 European flat oysters to the Dornoch Firth. The project, led and funded by Glenmorangie, is the result of a three-way collaboration between businesses, scientists and conservationists, known as DEEP’s Dornoch Environmental Enhancement Project.
Scientists from the Heriot-Watt University DEEP team are spacing out new additions of native oysters to the Dornoch Firth.
Scientifically co-ordinated by marine biologists from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh and backed by the British Marine Conservation Society, the project was conceived more than a decade ago and aims to improve North Sea estuary biodiversity and water quality through heroic oxygenation. was intended to improve. And the plain oyster filtration.
Birth of an idea
In many ways, this translates into the buzzing concept of “manifestation,” in today’s parlance: the idea that seemingly unattainable goals can be achieved through the alchemy of creativity, determination, and relentless focus. A triumph of concept. When the “DEEP” conversation began more than a decade ago, this alchemy combined with protection obligations from the UK and the European Union was all that existed for the project.
From examining the area’s dead coral reefs, divers and marine biologists agree that the native European flat oyster has thrived in these waters for thousands of years, as it does throughout Europe. But by the 19th century, overhunting, high tides, and disease had virtually wiped out the species, depriving it not only of its food source but also of its powerful natural water purifier.
So the strategy was born, and all that was left was to execute it.
Glenmorangie CSR Director Hamish Tolley and Maritime University Professor Bill Sanderson … [+]
112,000 down, 3.9 million left: But who’s counting?
112,000 may sound like a lot of oysters, and of course it is. However, the population target set from the beginning was always 4 million people. It will become a self-supporting coral reef.
The whole team includes Hamish Tolley, director of corporate social responsibility at Glenmorangie, chief scientist at DEEP, Professor Bill Sanderson from Heriot-Watt University, and Callum Duncan, head of policy and advocacy at the Marine Conservation Society. is included.
With a zero oyster starting point in 2014 in mind, the DEEP team developed an environmentally responsible plan, identified supply chains, and literally drove programs around the world to ensure that governments We’ve shared both the stress and elation of securing permits for our species. And it will pay for the final millions of dollars spent on DEEP to date.
“This is a perennial challenge and will take a long time,” Tory says. “This is a long-term restoration. Once we commit to this period, we need to get it done. Nothing is forever in terms of funding. We are very confident that we can continue, but in the long term there are other We need our partners to be on board.”
dornoch dancer
Glenmorangie’s Dornoch environmental improvement utility boat “Dornoch Dancer” … [+]
Given the nature of the DEEP project, being surrounded by water like Scotland, there was always a high demand for boats to be booked and it cost a lot of money over several years. Mr Glenmorangie recently purchased a sturdy small farm-style boat, named Dornoch Dancer, which can carry up to eight passengers. It also aims to transport oysters and shells recycled as bedding and “substrate” to about a dozen different coral reefs in the evolving bay. This is not a construction-grade heavy-duty boat, but it is sturdy and purpose-built by local Highland boat company Reco Marine.
Mr Sanderson’s team is still mapping the bottom of the Dornoch Firth and carefully cleaning and screening all new oysters to prevent contamination from other aquatic environments that the oysters experience when breeding. I am doing it.
Firth of Dornoch, Scotland.
“One of the first things Hamish said to me was that no one wants a rush project; it must be done carefully and use peer-reviewed and published evidence at each stage. There was a need,” Sanderson said. “So we didn’t rush into it, but took the time to establish the environmental history, look at current survival rates, and experiment with optimizing the restoration process before we started chasing numbers.” While he is optimistic that the foundations are in place for even more rapid reef expansion, the question has been from the beginning: where will projects like DEEP find the 4 million oysters? It was. “In terms of challenges, it can still be difficult to get enough oysters,” Sanderson said.
Mr Duncan of the Marine Conservation Society, which spearheads policy and conservation efforts, emphasizes the whiskey company’s vision for DEEP and the broader responsibility of companies around the world. “Achieving climate goals will require transformation,” Duncan said. The flip side of that is that change can be difficult, which makes it difficult to have a plan for how to lead industries and sectors of the economy on a journey that supports the transition to more nature-friendly and climate-friendly ways of working. It shows the importance. I think that is a big political issue. Examples like this are very important because they show what can be done. ”
Next stop: 200,000 oysters
“When we started 10 years ago, there were a couple of other oyster projects going on, and now there are about 50 in Europe. We’ve been leading the way,” Tory said. says Mr. “From the beginning, we made a commitment to produce the first 200,000 oysters. And to really scale up the project, we need to bring in other partners. Cooperation in the environmental field is crucial. We all want the same result: a stronger environment.”
Initial results are in
Professor Bill Sanderson demonstrates the growth of oysters introduced to the Dornoch Firth reef … [+]
About six years ago, from the banks of the River Firth next to Glenmorangie Distillery, Sanderson looked out over the roaring River Dornoch and recalled: It’s very attractive. And I imagine that someday in the future I’ll be able to get on a boat and look down and see the bottom. Oysters are in the system. ”He is still working towards that change. But transformation is underway. “The impact on biodiversity is significant where oysters live,” Sanderson said. “There are more turfs for animals, algae, crabs and more. Our research suggests we can expect the diversity in these areas to double over the next decade, and that’s more likely to be the case among oysters. It will become very clear.”
