Oyster reef focus of Tain talk on 'fascinating' Dornoch Environmental Enhancement Project (DEEP) backed by Heriot-Watt University and Glenmorangie Distillery
Oysters were rife in the Dornoch Firth until greed and over-fishing sounded their death knell more than 100 years ago.
But 60,000 of these native European bivalve molluscs have been returned to the firth and are now flourishing thanks to a joint project between Scotland’s Heriot-Watt University, the Glenmorangie Distillery and the Marine Conservation Society.
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The Dornoch Environmental Enhancement Project (DEEP) started as part of Glenmorangie’s wider sustainability strategy which aims to recreate a sustainable reef comprising four million native oysters – re-establishing them in the firth and helping the distillery on its journey to a ‘net zero’ world.
The oysters help purify the water, which contains organic by-products from the distillery and the local area. One oyster can filter up to 200 litres of water a day. The distillery already has an anaerobic digester which reduces the biological load on the firth by 95 per cent.
It is hoped that the oyster reef will take care of the rest.
The story of oysters in the Dornoch Firth and DEEP’s restoration project is the subject of a talk by Professor Bill Sanderson from Heriot-Watt University at Tain’s Royal Hotel on Friday, December 9. The talk, which is supported by the Tain and Easter Ross Civic Trust, Tain and District Development Trust, Glenmorangie and Heriot-Watt University, starts at 7.30pm.
Tom Bannerman from the Marine Conservation Society will also be attending the event to answer queries.
“This is a fascinating story – not only of the history of oysters and reef restoration in the firth but the role they can play in biodiversity enhancement,” said Civic Trust chairman, Richard Littlewood.
