In 2026, Chichester Harbour Conservancy partnered with Harbour Oysters to install native oyster in cages under jetties and pontoons in Chichester Harbour. In total over 15,000 native oysters have been secured in cages under the Chichester Harbour Conservancy public jetty at Itchenor, the Emsworth Visitors’ Pontoon and Emsworth Sailing Club.
Why Native Oysters?
For hundreds of years native oysters were abundant in Chichester Harbour. But native oyster populations across Europe have plummeted by 95% due to factors including over-fishing, habitat loss, predation, pollution, and invasive non-native species. Native oysters bring significant environmental benefits including for water quality – one oyster alone can filter up to 200 litres of water per day. They also remove nitrogen, sequester carbon and provide habitats for other marine life.
Community-based nature restoration
Harbour Oysters is the brainchild of local sisters Lottie and Poppy Johns, inspired to harness the power of nature to help clean up our harbour waters. Following significant research and trials, in 2026 Harbour Oysters installed 4000 oysters in Emsworth Yacht Harbour. They have plans to expand their native oyster restoration beyond Chichester Harbour. Read more about the inspiration behind Harbour Oysters in the 2026 edition of Harbour Life.
Oysters in the “wild”
As Harbour Oysters continues to roll out native oysters in cages within Chichester Harbour and beyond, there will be thousands of oysters under marine infrastructure like jetties and pontoons. But in the wild, oysters live on the seabed, forming shallow reefs. This spring the Solent Seascape Project will undertake a large scale “wild” restoration of native oysters in Chichester Harbour, creating natural habitat on the seabed. A new native oyster reef has already been created on the River Hamble, with underwater film footage last year showing enormous initial success.
The native oysters in cages will play a vital role in promoting the success of any “wild” oyster habitat restoration work. They will release spat (larvae) into the harbour waters, all of which has the potential to settle and grow into an adult oyster!
Oysters under your feet…
So, next time you walk down Itchenor Jetty, perhaps to catch the ferry to Bosham, or to take a boat trip around the harbour, give a thought to the thousands of oysters in cages beneath your feet. Think of the millions of litres of water they’ll be filtering every week to clean our harbour waters, and the impact they are having on restoring our marine ecosystems.
Looking Ahead: A long-term commitment
The success of the project in Chichester Harbour is just the beginning; Harbour Oysters has plans to expand across other locations in Sussex and Hampshire, embedding community-based oyster restoration as a cornerstone of marine conservation efforts across the region.
Lottie Johns, founder of Harbour Oysters said:
“We’re excited to install thousands more native oysters into Chichester Harbour and beyond. The science is clear, native oysters are a keystone species of a thriving marine ecosystem, vital to the health and connectivity of our harbour habitats. It has been a joy to work with and inspire so many from the local community in raising awareness of the special role oysters have, and I look forward to further phases of the project.”
Partnership working is key to nature recovery success and the ongoing collaboration between Harbour Oysters, Chichester Harbour Conservancy and Chichester Harbour Friends demonstrates a commitment to creating a resilient, thriving marine ecosystem for generations to come.