Wind Farm Oyster Reefs
Reefs
Borssele, Zeeland, the Netherlands
Analyzing oyster growth in an offshore environment. The European flat oyster (Ostrea edulis) used to cover about 20% of the Dutch part of the North Sea; but overharvesting, habitat destruction from bottom-trawling fisheries, and disease drove the species nearly to extinction. As bottom-trawling activities are not allowed at wind farms to protect subsea cables, the innovation wind farm Borssele V, located 20 kilometers off the coast of the Netherlands in the North Sea, provided an excellent setting for an oyster reef rehabilitation project. In 2018, the research team, led by Van Oord DMC, began by analyzing the settlement rates of oyster spat on different types of substrate. They then identified the potential logistical obstacles in obtaining the required number of oysters to stock the area, and finally they developed their own brood stock structure to induce reef development via natural spawning and larvae settlement in the offshore wind farm. By designing effective methods for initiating sustainable oyster reefs at the rock material scour protection placed around the base of each offshore wind turbine, the team has added yet another benefit to renewable energy.
132
