More than 15m oysters to be released in the North Sea for UK rewilding project

Exclusive: Experts say scheme will help repair damaged marine ecosystems while sequestering large amounts of carbon

More than 15m juvenile oysters are to be released into the North Sea in one of the biggest rewilding projects in UK waters.

The scheme, which will use a unique rearing process, hopes to re-establish a huge oyster bed around Orkney that experts say will create a “trophic cascade” of climate and ecological benefits.

Richard Land, the marine expert leading the project, said it would have a knock-on impact on the entire ecosystem. “It won’t just benefit fish and the bay, it will benefit sea mammals, seabirds and the whole environment.”

Experts hope the scheme, which is being run by the Green Britain Foundation, the Nature Restoration Fund, Marine Fund Scotland and North Bay Innovations, will provide a template to revive oyster beds in coastal areas around the UK. “This project is a blueprint for a wider plan to reintroduce oysters to the UK and to European waters,” Land said.