WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT HARBOUR OYSTERS?
Clear answers to the questions people ask us most about our oysters and operations.
What's so special about oysters?
Oysters are not the only filter feeders, so why not use something else – such as mussels?
Oysters are amazing, not just because they filter and clean water so quickly and effectively, but also because their "poo" (known as "pseudofaeces") is really good for the environment. It is highly stable and forms a great base for other sea plants and animals to grow in; making oysters "keystone species" for restoring marine habitats.
Mussels, however, although they also filter water, produce a sticky anoxic sediment (known as "mussel-mud") which isn't good for other species.
Mussels can also stick to boats and other surfaces, where they can interfere with other marine operations. Native oysters, however, only grow on other shells.
Will you eat your oysters?
Short answer, no
Our oysters are not for eating; we install them to do what they do best – their amazing job of filtering water. Our oysters will live out their days, in their new homes, getting fat and happy off the dirty water.
It doesn't mean we don't eat other ones though – look out for our pop-up oyster bar events when we ship in lovely fresh supplies from the clean waters of the Atlantic coast.
What's the difference between native oysters and Pacific oysters?
Native oysters – also known as the European flat oyster – were once abundant throughout Europe, but have been nearly wiped out by overfishing, pollution and disease.
The Pacific oyster, Magallana gigas – a non-native species in the UK, introduced for aquaculture – has become widespread due to rising sea temperatures. They can be identified by their elongated shape and rough, frilled shells. They play a role in filtering water and creating habitat, but they also compete with native species, can damage infrastructure and pose a hazard to people with their sharp shells.
Are you a charity?
We are not a charity.
Harbour Oysters is currently run as a limited company and a Community Interest Company.
Our simple but effective governance structures keeps our running costs down and allows us to focus our time and resources on getting more oysters in our waters.
By being a business we are best placed to influence other businesses and to become a scalable enterprise. We want people to see our work as an investment in natural capital.
How are you funded?
To date we have received funds from a mixture of sources; donations from private and public sources which has come to us via a variety of channels, as well as funds received from service-based agreements, and from our fundraising events.
We find funding partners to align with projects on a case by case basis; allowing us to carry out projects without cost to the public or local community.
Why do you scrub your oysters?
Disease and invasive non-native species have reduced the ecological health of European waters. It is critical that restoration efforts mitigate the biosecurity risks arising from active restoration efforts.
As there are no oyster fisheries near our operations - as they all collapsed due to over exploitation and pollution - we must translocate our oysters from another location. This translocation carries a risk of moving potentially harmful organisms to new sites.
Movement of shellfish is already heavily regulated by CEFAS, and this is controlled via our licensing process. The 'scrubbing' is part of the biosecurity process mitigates against any potential negative effects on ecosystems from biological organisms. Implementation of good biosecurity practices is fundamental in any ecosystem restoration and is the responsibility of the project.
In 2026 we set up our mobile scrubbing capabilities. This allows us to bring the oysters directly to site; reducing the milage and closer to our communities.
Our biosecurity processes are carried out in accordance with best international practice, and under the guidance of the Blue Marine Foundation.