A major step forward in restoring nature in the Belgian North Sea has been taken: over two hundred thousand young flat oysters were deployed onto the seabed, around 30 kilometres off the coast.
© Jan De Nul. Installation of young oysters on biodegradable reef substrate in the Belgian North Sea by Jan De Nul staff.
The action is part of the Belreefs project, a collaboration between government, science and industry, commissioned by the Marine Environment department of the FPS Public Health, aimed at restoring oyster reefs in our sea.
Oyster reefs: lost, but not forgotten
The European flat oyster (Ostrea edulis) was once widespread in the North Sea but has almost entirely disappeared since the 19th century due to overfishing, seabed disturbance, and disease. Belreefs now aims to bring them back. Oyster reefs are not only crucial habitats for other marine organisms, but they also provide ecosystem services such as water purification, nitrogen fixation, and seabed protection. This contributes to greater biodiversity and resilience to climate change.
Collaboration driving restoration
The Belreefs project is a strong example of collaboration between government, science, and industry. Minister of Justice and the North Sea Annelies Verlinden underlines the importance of such initiatives:
“The North Sea is not only a key economic engine, but also a unique natural environment that we must safeguard. Deploying young oysters is an investment in biodiversity and climate resilience. Projects like Belreefs help us achieve our goal to restore at least 20% of our North Sea ecologically by 2030.”
Oysters find their way to sustainable reef substrate
The young oysters, or "spat", were attached in a controlled environment to biodegradable reef substrate that was carefully selected and tested. They were then installed on a gravel bed surrounding an old shipwreck—an area chosen in collaboration with the Institute of Natural Sciences for its optimal survival conditions. After installation, intensive monitoring will follow to assess ecological impact and enable further scaling up.
The young oysters, or "spat", were attached in a controlled environment to biodegradable reef substrate
Restoring oyster reefs is a priority within the federal marine environmental policy.
“This project is part of the action programme to improve the environmental status of our sea. The European Nature Restoration Regulation requires member states to not only protect but also restore nature – including marine ecosystems,” says Merel Oeyen, policy officer at the Marine Environment department. “We examined which measures would most effectively support nature restoration. We also looked at what our neighbouring countries are doing, because it’s essential that measures reinforce one another. Based on that, we selected the active restoration of oyster reefs as the best step forward to improve the state of nature in our North Sea.”
Laying the groundwork for large-scale restoration
The techniques and knowledge developed within Belreefs have applications far beyond this project.
“With Belreefs, we are laying the foundation for large-scale restoration of oyster reefs in the North Sea and beyond,” says Vicky Stratigaki, marine engineer and Belreefs project coordinator at Jan De Nul.
Belreefs is a collaboration between Jan De Nul, the Institute of Natural Sciences, Shells & Valves, and Mantis Consulting. The project is carried out on behalf of the FPS Public Health as part of action T4.8 of the LIFE Belgium for Biodiversity project.
All partners work according to the guidelines of the Native Oyster Restoration Alliance (NORA), an international network dedicated to restoring flat oyster reefs across Europe.