The University of Portsmouth last week welcomed hundreds of volunteers to its Institute of Marine Sciences (IMS) to help prepare 20,000 native oysters for deployment onto a new reef in Chichester Harbour - marking a major milestone in the UK’s largest subtidal oyster reef restoration project.

Between 11–15 May, around 260 volunteers gathered in Portsmouth for a series of “biosecurity days”, carefully cleaning and checking oysters before their release onto the newly constructed reef. The oysters were deployed in Chichester Harbour by Blue Marine Foundation at the end of the week, representing a significant step in restoring one of the Solent’s most threatened marine habitats.