GLENMORANGIE RESTORES DORNOCH OYSTER REEFS

Description

The Highland distillery, based in the Dornoch area, partnered with the Marine Conservation Society and Heriot-Watt University in 2014 as part of the Dornoch Environmental Enhancement Project, or DEEP.

An initial 300 wild oysters were re-introduced to waters at two locations in the Dornoch Firth in 2017. Having thrived in their new environment, DEEP has now created natural underwater reef habitats for the oysters by recycling over 20 tonnes of waste shells from scallops and mussels – the first time a natural European oyster habitat has been recreated.

The oysters, which became extinct in the Dornoch Firth area due to overfishing in the 1800s, are now expected to multiply from 20,000 to over 200,000 during the next three years, and to over four million in the next five years, creating a self-sustaining oyster population.