Huge restoration project to boost oysters in the Solent under the microscope as SailGP team visit with schoolchildren
A huge restoration project to boost and support oysters in the Solent has been put under the microscope thanks to a visit from the SailGP team and local schoolchildren.
The driver of Britain's SailGP team Dylan Fletcher, and development sailor Kai Hockley, visited Emsworth Harbour to take part in the Ocean Impact Project where they were joined by pupils from Emsworth Primary School and representatives from the Blue Marine Foundation.
The visitors learned about the Solent Oyster Restoration Project to boost native oysters which are the ecological lifeblood of the Solent but have been brought to the point of near collapse as a result of pollution, climate change and overfishing.
Once home to Europe’s largest flat oyster fishery in the 19th century, in the five years leading up to 2013 the annual oyster harvest plummeted from 200 tonnes to just 20 tonnes. The vitality of the Solent - the racetrack for the Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix on July 19 and 20 - depends on healthy oyster populations, prompting the visit of the SailGP team.
Mr Fletcher said the aim of the visit was to help teach the schoolchildren about sustainability, what they can do to help improve the climate and how to keep the seas clean and healthy.
He said: “What we're teaching them today is about biodiversity and how what they can do has a real impact on this world, and just really teaching them about the ocean and what it has to do.”
Mr Hockley said it was great to learn about the importance of oysters in the Solent. He said: “It's been really great learning about what oysters are, how they're important to their ecosystem and really just getting a better understanding of the marine biology around the Portsmouth and Solent area.
“I think it's really good to understand what makes your ecosystem around you tick, and also the problems that are occurring around it and how people are trying to find the solutions to it.”
Fiona Morgan, the chief purpose officer at Sail GP said it was really important to look at environmental issues ahead of the huge SailGP event which will see the area near Southsea Castle transformed into a ‘race village’ and stand area for the two-day sailing event.
She said the event was ‘like Formula One in the water’ which ‘hopefully the UK can kind of get behind and embrace’ and said the health of the event’s ‘racetrack’ was of vital importance to those taking part.
She said: “We really do care. Our athletes are here, they've seen the devastation in the ocean. And so one of our jobs at SailGP is to be an advocate and actually talk about the ocean health.
“We've just had David Attenborough obviously release his film, and I was very privileged to be at that premiere.
“You can't see the ocean trouble is invisible. I look at it, it looks great, but actually underneath it's, you know, devastating the impacts that it's had.
“So we're here around World Ocean Day, on the ocean, talking about how important it is and telling these young kids today just to value it and spread the word and understand that, the ocean is literally the lifeblood of the planet. Every second breath comes from the ocean.”
For more information about SailGP and to buy tickets visit The Sail GP website.