Gemini Wind Park and The Rich Northsea are working on the development of a new large-scale oyster reef over the next few years at the 600MW offshore wind farm off the Netherlands.
The duo are working on site to restore what was once one of the largest oyster reefs in the Netherlands.
They said that research has shown that the conditions in this area are suitable for the growth of new oyster reefs because of the sediment composition and low soil dynamics.
The researchers lowered more than 1500 oysters and 18 tonnes of shells onto the seabed across five hectares of the wind farm.
This summer, another 3000 oysters, hundreds of thousands of baby oysters and 48 tonnes of shell material will be added.
The research into the optimization of reef construction is being conducted in close collaboration with scientists of Wageningen Marine Research, the NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Waterproof and Bureau Waardenburg on behalf of TKI Wind op Zee and TKI Agri & Food.
Gemini Wind Park is owned by Northland Power (60%), Siemens (20%), HVC (10%) and Alte Leipzig/Hallesche (10%).