After absence of 100 years, oysters reintroduced in the Firth of Forth are thriving

Thousands of oysters released into the Firth of Forth appear to be thriving after a century-long absence since they were lost to overfishing.

- Jessica Murray

Marine experts who have helped reintroduce 30,000 European flat oysters to the estuary on Scotland's east coast said monitoring by divers and underwater cameras showed they were doing well.

The Firth of Forth was once home to one of the largest native European oyster reefs in the north-east Atlantic, yielding up to 30m oysters a year during the 1800s. But by the beginning of the 1900s they had been fished to local extinction.

Shellfish reintroduced through the Restoration Forth project, which is also planting 4 hectares (10 acres) of seagrass, have so far had an 85% survival rate.

Naomi Arnold, a Restoration Forth project manager from WWF Scotland, said the charity was "delighted by the early signs of success".