Last month, we received the final monitoring report from Waardenburg Ecology on our offshore flat oyster restoration pilot. The results give us exciting first insights into how the reef structures are performing 6 weeks after placement.

🔹 Structures in place All reef structures landed successfully on the scour protection stones, just as planned.

🔹 Survey learnings Close to 150 structures were analysed, even though only 70 were installed. This happened because some structures were double-counted in the ROV footage. Since the ROV images weren’t GPS-tagged, it was impossible to identify each structure individually. For the next survey, we’ll work on improving positioning technology.

🔹 Tetrapods vs. blocks The tetrapod structures appear more stable and host more living oysters compared to the block-shaped units.

🔹 Oyster Survival Encouragingly, at least half (53%) of the oysters observed during the survey were alive. This suggests that conditions are favourable for oyster survival and recovery at the site.

Looking ahead, we’ve agreed with Wageningen University to carry out the next ROV survey in summer 2026, along with a larval density study. This will help us find out whether the restored oyster reefs are truly functioning as “larval pumps” that spread new life into the wider North Sea.

We’re happy with these first results and eager to see how this underwater ecosystem continues to develop!