en.Wedoany.com Reported - Belgian marine engineering contractor DEME, in collaboration with The Oyster Restoration Company, has launched an offshore oyster reef restoration project in the Belgian North Sea, deploying 1,800 biodegradable reef units carrying at least one million European flat oyster (Ostrea edulis) spat onto the seabed.

The EuroReefs project is commissioned by the Belgian Federal Public Service Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment and funded by NextGenerationEU.

The batch of native European flat oyster spat was installed last week at a designated site in the Hinderbanken gravel bed area.

The reef units were loaded onto DEME's bottom-opening hopper barge "Vlaanderen VIII" at the port of Ardersier, Scotland, before being deployed onto the seabed.

Building on previous pilot work, the project advances oyster reef restoration toward larger-scale offshore deployment. The partners combine offshore engineering, logistics, and ecological expertise to support marine biodiversity, water filtration, seabed stabilization, and habitat creation.

DEME is a Belgian marine engineering contractor active in offshore energy, dredging, marine infrastructure, and environmental remediation, with involvement in offshore wind, marine infrastructure, green hydrogen, and deep-sea mineral collection.

The Oyster Restoration Company is a Scotland-based specialist in native oyster restoration, cultivating disease-free native oysters at its Aultbea facility and working to rebuild oyster reefs in European waters.

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