DEME and The Oyster Restoration Company have joined forces to deliver EuroReefs, a large-scale offshore project to restore native European flat oyster reefs in the Belgian North Sea.
Last week, 1,800 natural and biodegradable clay bricks, carrying more than one million European flat oyster spat, were installed on the seabed. The reef elements were loaded in the port of Ardersier (Scotland) and transported and installed using DEME’s split hopper barge Vlaanderen VIII, supporting the development of a healthy, reproducing reef in the Belgian North Sea.
“ The project, commissioned by Belgium’s Federal Public Service Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment and funded by NextGenerationEU, marks an important step in bringing back oyster reefs at scale, in support of Belgium’s marine restoration goals ,” as reflected in a statement by Annelies Verlinden , Minister in charge of the North Sea.
Moving beyond the pilot phase into industrial scale, the project aims to enhance marine biodiversity, improve water filtration and stabilize the seabed, DEME concluded.