Marine habitats in the Solent are heavily degraded. Multiple pressures on native oyster populations and habitat have caused an almost complete collapse, with a 95 per cent loss in native oyster (Ostrea edulis) populations. This trend has been mirrored within Chichester Harbour, with the oyster fishery closed since 2018.
A key result of oyster population decline is loss of marine ecosystem structure and functions, which provide ecosystem services. Oyster functions provide a wide range of services. As active filter-feeders, oysters remove suspended particulate matter from the water column, vastly improving water quality and clarity, depositing the material to the seabed. Oysters also form a keystone habitat that supports feeding and nursery grounds for a myriad of other marine life.
This spring, the Blue Marine Foundation, Chichester Harbour Conservancy, and the Manor of Bosham and The Hundred will be working together to restore native oysters to the Chichester Channel.
More information on this exciting project will be published here over the coming days.
8 April 2026