Restoration Forth

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

About the project

Restoration Forth is a community-inspired marine restoration project that aims to reintroduce 40,000 European flat oysters and restore seagrass meadows to the Firth of Forth, Scotland.

Working with local communities, the Restoration Forth project team has been researching potential sites and trialling methods for restoring both oysters and seagrass to the area. Since the project began in 2022, the team have now introduced a baseline population of oysters, which we hope will 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 is 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 species and habitat restoration to be trialled around the Forth, involving local communities at each step of the process.
Calum Duncan, Head of Policy and Advocacy

Our partnership with Heriot-Watt University builds on our successful, ongoing collaboration as part of the award-winning Dornoch Environmental Enhancement Project (DEEP) which has so far reintroduced 100,000 European flat oysters to the Dornoch Firth.

Why oysters?

As well as historically supporting local communities, European flat oysters provide a wealth of ecosystem services. Not only do they enhance biodiversity and create nursery habitats, they also 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: Blaise Bullimore

Why seagrass?

Like oysters, seagrass meadows provide many ecosystem services. They enhance water quality through filtration, help protect coastlines from erosion and store carbon through their root systems. We’re supporting project partners to restore seagrass in the Firth of Forth.

Find out more about seagrass and the Marine Conservation Society's seagrass restoration work across the rest of the UK.

Help restore the Firth of Forth

There are lots of opportunities to get involved in the project and you can keep up-to-date with our upcoming events on the Restoration Forth website.

Recently, the team have launched a brand-new citizen science guide. Citizen science is when the public join forces with scientific teams to collaborate on research projects.

Anyone can be a citizen scientist and it’s a great way to get involved in scientific projects, get outside and meet new people.

The Restoration Forth science team at Heriot-Watt University has identified three key types of information that are valuable for assessing 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

Get involved

Oysters like to live on seabed that 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.

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 measure 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.

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.

How long will it take? 1 – 2 hours
Where can I take part? Anywhere on the Firth of Forth shoreline

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.

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 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

Meet the team

Caitlin Godfrey, Community Engagement Lead

Caitlin is managing the community engagement for the project, finding ways to involve local people in practical restoration, advocacy and citizen science activities. She works with Anna and the rest of the engagement team to deliver a range of free events around the area.

Anna Inman, Shellfish Engagement Officer

Anna is working with communities around the Firth of Forth, delivering events and activities related to oysters and their restoration with Caitlin and the Heriot-Watt University team.

Credit: Anna Inman

Emmy Cooper-Young, Shellfish Restoration Officer

Emmy has recently finished in her role on Restoration Forth and completed her Master of Research at Heriot-Watt University, which focused on developing a European flat oyster restoration plan for the Firth of Forth, scoping out suitable areas for oysters to be returned to. Her research will help to inform future oyster restoration in this area.

Credit: Professor William Sanderson

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 The Ecology Centre, Edinburgh Shoreline, Fife Coast & Countryside Trust, Heart of Newhaven, Heriot-Watt University, Project Seagrass, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and Scottish Seabird Centre.

The first phase of Restoration Forth (2022-24) was made possible by funding from Aviva, the Moondance Foundation, the ScottishPower Foundation and the Scottish Government’s Nature Restoration Fund, facilitated by the Scottish Marine Environmental Enhancement Fund, and managed by NatureScot.

The current phase of Restoration Forth is made possible by funding from Sky and the Cinven Foundation; the project is supported by the Scottish Government’s Nature Restoration Fund, managed by NatureScot.