5th Native Oyster Restoration Alliance (NORA) conference

Fiona Woods

University of Southampton

Caption: Group picture of the NORA 5 attendees (Photo credits Andreas Essenberger)

In November 2023 I attended the 5th Native Oyster Restoration Alliance (NORA) conference in Middelburg, Netherlands, with the support of funding from the Challenger Society for Marine Science. NORA brings together all types of researchers working on the European native oyster, Ostrea edulis, and was a great opportunity to meet other researchers in my field for the first time.

Despite only being a three-day event, the conference was jam-packed, including a student session, 8 talk sessions, 2 poster sessions, and excursions to local shellfish production and research facilities in Yerseke.

Day one started with the student session, which myself and Sophie Valk, another PhD student from Wageningen University & Research were asked to organise and chair. This was a first for both of us, and more than a little nerve-wracking. But the session was a success with many people attending the 6 student talks, and around 20 students attending a post talk workshop on scientific and personal topics important to students. Outputs from the workshop were really interesting, and as a result, the NORA student working group has been set up for all students and early career researchers working on and around native oysters to meet, exchange ideas and feel more actively represented within the NORA community.


Caption: Getting ready to chair the student session with Sophie Valk (Photo credits Pauline Kamermans)

Day two provided the chance to listen to a wide range of talks, while day three was my opportunity to showcase my own research. I presented my research into the impact of native oyster restoration in the Solent, which I have been carrying out in collaboration with Blue Marine Foundation and the University of Portsmouth, as part of my PhD with the University of Southampton. As a result of this presentation, I’ve been able to meet a number of other researchers working in similar areas and hope to collaborate with them in the future.


Caption: Presenting my talk on biodiversity associated with Ostrea edulis reefs in the Solent at NORA 5 (Photo credits Andreas Essenberger)

Finally, the conference finished with an afternoon of excursions to local places of interest. First, we visited the De Oesterij oyster farm and heritage centre, where we learnt about the history of oyster farming in the Netherlands, and I was able to try eating my first (and last!) oyster. Next stop was at the Roem van Yerseke shellfish hatchery, where we saw the start of the oyster life cycle, with a huge algal culturing facility, and millions of tiny oyster ‘spat’ (young oysters that have recently settled). Lastly, we had a tour around the Wageningen Marine Research centre, and were able to see some of their state of the art facilities, and ongoing experiments.


Caption: Algal cultures and juvenile oysters at the Roem van Yerseke shellfish hatchery

The NORA 5 conference was a fantastic experience and I hope to remain involved with NORA community as I found them to be very welcoming and supportive. I also want to restate my thanks to the Challenger Science for Marine Science, who made my attendance to this conference possible, and without whom, I would not have had this amazing experience.


Caption: Commemorative native oyster shell gifted to the people who helped organise the NORA 5 conference

Profile:
I am a second year INSPIRE DTP PhD student at the University of Southampton, working in collaboration with Blue Marine Foundation and the University of Portsmouth. My is looking at quantifying the status and success of restored European oyster (Ostrea edulis) reefs in the Solent. I am particularly interested in the ecosystem functions associated with oysters and am currently investigating the role of European oysters in marine nitrogen cycling and habitat provisioning.