Restoration Forth

In the Firth of Forth, an area the size of modern Edinburgh was once covered by European flat oyster beds, but by the early 1900s, they were all fished out. Together with our partners, Heriot-Watt University, and the local community, we’re working to restore European flat oysters, and other species, in the area.

About the project

Restoration Forth is a community-inspired marine restoration project that aims to reintroduce 30,000 European flat oysters and restore four hectares of seagrass to the Firth of Forth, Scotland.

Working with local communities, the Restoration Forth project team will research potential sites and trial methods for restoring oysters and seagrass to the area. They will then introduce a baseline population of oysters and seagrass, which will hopefully become self-sustaining over time.

Together, communities around the Firth of Forth and across Scotland can help restore our marine environment and influence Scottish Government policy for stronger marine protection. The Restoration Forth team will be engaging with local communities throughout the project, empowering them to get involved through education, training, and volunteering opportunities.

The vision of the project is for communities to become the local restoration champions and experts, to ensure further restoration is an ongoing legacy of the project.
Calum Duncan, Head of Conservation Scotland

Our partnership with Heriot-Watt University builds on our successful, ongoing collaboration as part of the award-winning Dornoch Environmental Enhancement Project (DEEP) which aims to reintroduce native oysters to the Dornoch Firth.

Why oysters?

European flat oysters provide a wealth of ecosystem services. They enhance biodiversity and create nursery habitats, they can improve water quality by filtering up to 200 litres of water a day, and contribute to the stabilisation of carbon in the marine environment.

Globally, European flat oysters have declined by around 85%. Restoration Forth aims to restore and conserve this vital species by reintroducing oysters to the Firth of Forth, where they will enhance the local ecosystem.

Credit: Maverick Photo Agency

Seagrass

We’re also working to retore Seagrass in the Firth of Forth. Find out more about our seagrass restoration work.

Help restore the Firth of Forth

The Restoration Forth team have launched a brand-new citizen science guide.

Anyone can be a citizen scientist and it’s a great way to get involved in scientific projects, like oyster restoration, that bring about real change. Citizen science also offers lots of opportunities to get outside, meet new people and learn new skills and you can take part anywhere at any time.

There are lots of ways to get involved and collect information which contributes to our understanding of the marine environment. The Restoration Forth science team have identified three types of information which would be useful to collect about the survival and wider benefit of returning oysters to the Firth of Forth:

Finding the best places to restore oysters
Checking how the oysters are doing
Tracking the benefits of returning oysters

You can also keep up-to-date with upcoming events on the Restoration Forth website.

Get involved

Oysters like to live in areas where the seabed is made of small pebbles or shell material, with fewer big rocks where predators, like crabs, could hide. Areas with more shell material and calmer conditions may improve the chances of oyster larvae settling and establishing oyster beds. Muddy habitats aren’t suitable as the oysters can become smothered and struggle to get oxygen or food.

Survey your local beach and let us know what it’s made of. This information could help us decide the best places to return oysters.

How long will it take? 15-30 minutes
Where can I take part? Anywhere on the Firth of Forth shoreline.

(Can be done together with the Oyster observer guide activity)

What to do:

Head to the beach and record when and where you are conducting your survey
Randomly select and measure out a 1m square, preferably on the low shore, marking each corner (you can use a bucket or sticks to do this)
Look at your square and record what the majority of your beach is made up of

Enter your survey results online

Oyster shells continue to wash up on shores around the Forth and may indicate areas where historical oyster beds once thrived. The Restoration Forth team are conducting surveys so we can better understand the relationship between shells on the shoreline and historical shell beds.

Survey your local beach and tell us how many oyster shells you find. This information could indicate where historic oyster beds were and might indicate good places to return them.

How long will it take? 15-30 minutes
Where can I take part? Anywhere on the Firth of Forth shoreline.

(Can be done together with the Habitat Assessment activity)

What to do:

Download and print the Oyster Observer Guide and recording form
Head to the beach and randomly pace out a 10-meter square and mark the corners with an item
Explore your plot and record how many oyster and horse mussel shells you find – use the ID guide to help you!

Once you’ve carried out your survey, enter your results on our online form.

Once the oysters have been returned to the Firth of Forth, we need to monitor how they survive, grow and whether they start to reproduce. We can look at the oyster shell sizes, survival rates and look for oyster spat (baby oysters).

It’s particularly important to monitor this over time to help identify any trends or changes. Oyster restoration can be a very slow process, so revisiting monitoring sites can collect important data on their progress and help improve future oyster reintroduction.

How long will it take? 1 – 5 hours, organised events
Where can I take part? Oyster restoration sites
What’s involved? Activities include cleaning oysters, measuring oyster shells and looking for signs of reproduction.

To get involved, register to join our oyster volunteer team. You’ll work closely with the team and get regular updates on how to get involved in practical monitoring activities.

Sign up to receive our newsletter and find out more

Tracking the impact of returning oysters

This survey looks at the impacts returning oysters might have on other species. We’re interested in seaweeds, birds and the species which start to grow on oyster shells over time. We can collect this before and after the oysters have been returned so we can see any changes.

This information can be used as evidence to change how we manage oyster restoration activities in future and inform government policies on the importance of oyster beds and how to protect them.

Survey our restoration sites and tell us what you spot there.

How long will it take? 1 – 2 hours
Where can I take part? Anywhere on the Firth of Forth shoreline, but best in rocky areas

Be sure to conduct this survey whilst the tide is going out!

What to do:

Download your instruction booklet and identification guide
Head down to the beach and measure out a 25-metre straight line running parallel to the shore on a low tide
Slowly walk along your measured line carefully, creating a tally of the species you find within 1m either side of the line. Use the ID guide to help you identify what you see.
Take lots of pictures – this can help us to identify the species you spot, even if they aren’t on the list
Upload your findings to our online form

Meet the team

Emmy Cooper-Young, Shellfish Restoration Officer

Emmy is working closely with Heriot-Watt University to develop a native oyster restoration plan for the Firth of Forth, scoping out suitable areas for native oysters to be returned to. We asked her why she wanted to get involved with the project.

Credit: Professor William Sanderson

I came across the role on a social media group of marine biologist friends. I noticed that the role involved native oysters and, already being in the field of native oyster restoration, my interest was piqued. Going through the job description was like going through a checklist of requirements for my dream job and I knew that I had to apply!

At the time, I was working in an aquaculture facility producing native oyster spat specifically for the restoration market. While I enjoyed the contribution I was making to restoration, I wanted to be involved in a more hands-on approach and use my experience and skills to facilitate this. I love sharing my passion for the sea with people and the social aspect of this role was a large bonus.

I get to chat to similar marine enthusiasts daily. It's inspiring to see so many people coming together to help improve our local marine environment.

I've been part of the Firth of Forth community since my childhood and have seen the impact increasing industrialisation has had on the natural environment; from a petrol plant, sewage works and naval shipyards, to infrastructure development such as the iconic Firth of Forth bridges. I've witnessed first-hand the negative impact humans have had on the environment - I'm so excited to be part of this project and be involved at the beginning of reversing some of this damage.

We hope that this project will create a baseline population for native oysters and seagrass and that over time, this will become self-sustaining. Community involvement will be a massive part of this project as we want the community to take pride in these restored areas - and to continue protecting and monitoring them for years to come.

This project has a community-led vision and having that engagement from the start will really encourage people to act and be more aware of their surrounding marine space - not just in relation to native oysters and seagrass, but hopefully to the wider environment. It will teach people that all our actions are connected and that we can have a healthy relationship with the sea.

The Restoration Forth project will hopefully demonstrate the positive impact people can have on the local environment – showing how communities and scientists can come together and work towards a common goal. It could also help lay the groundwork for other community-led restoration projects.

Caitlin Godfrey, Shellfish Engagement Officer

Caitlin is leading on engaging communities around the Firth of Forth, and with support from Emmy and our expert citizen science team, will be recruiting volunteers to help return native oysters to their rightful place in the local marine ecosystem. Here she explains what she is most looking forward to about the project.

Credit: Amy Leach

Prior to taking on this role at Marine Conservation Society, I worked for the Scottish Seabird Centre, a conservation and education charity in North Berwick and one of our partners in the Restoration Forth project. The Centre is perfectly placed along the East Lothian coastline to educate and enthuse visitors about the amazing seabird colonies and other marine life that lives in the Firth of Forth.

During my time at the Centre, I learned so much about how people interact with the ocean and worked closely with the Engagement and Education Teams to engage visitors in fun and interesting ways.

Looking ahead, I am excited to develop citizen science and education programmes within Restoration Forth and I’m looking forward to working with the team to think up new ways to make our project both enjoyable and accessible for local people - I can't wait to get stuck in!

"I’ll be bringing my enthusiasm, engagement experience and innovative ideas to this collaborative project."

My role is to engage and empower local communities around the Firth of Forth to support the project in various ways - I’ll provide education, training, and volunteering opportunities. With no live native oysters currently left in the Forth, one successful outcome would be for local people to gain a greater understanding of the ecological importance of oysters within the marine environment. Oysters also have huge cultural value in this area - and we hope to re-connect communities with the fascinating and complex history of the oyster fisheries that once flourished in the Forth.

It would be brilliant if Restoration Forth could be used as a blueprint for future ecosystem-based projects with local people at its centre. We hope to draw from the amazing ecological benefits provided by oysters and use the extraordinary history of oyster fishing to inspire a local sense of community and stewardship.

Other shore activities

If you’re interested in more ways to contribute to marine projects, here are some other great citizen science projects you can get involved in.

A deeper dive into the science

Restoration Forth has a brilliant team of scientists who are researching lots of different elements of returning oysters and the impacts they have on marine environments.

Dive into the data here.

The Marine Conservation Society are part of this WWF-led project, alongside Heriot-Watt University, Project Seagrass, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Scottish Seabird Centre, Fife Ecology Centre, Fife Coast and Countryside Trust, Edinburgh Shoreline Project and Heart of Newhaven.