Overfishing and pollution have made entire populations of oyster almost extinct.
But in Dornoch Firth, Scotland, local scientists and a whiskey distillery are helping to reinstate the European oyster, while also restoring habitats for other water species.
A new environmental restoration project established by Glenmorangie has seen European native oysters reintroduced to coastal waters around the whisky producer’s home in the Scottish highlands after an absence of more than 100 years.
The move is part of the Dornoch Environmental Enhancement Project (DEEP), established by Glenmorangie with Heriot-Watt University and the Marine Conservation Society (MCS), to restore long-lost oyster reefs to the Dornoch Firth, to enhance biodiversity and also act in tandem with the anaerobic digestion plant to purify the byproducts created through the distillation process.
Glenmorangie said that such an undertaking is an environmental first for a distillery.
Photo courtesy of Glenmorangie.