Death rattle of native oysters heard outside the Dail

The death rattle of native oysters was heard outside the Oireachtas today. Representatives from Coastwatch, native oyster fishermen, Ulster wildlife Trust and Save the Swilly group left an “oyster graveyard” at the gates of the Oireachtas at 11am, on the eve of International Biodiversity Day. They staged the demonstration as part of their ‘Native Oyster Campaign’ to highlight the urgent work that needs to be done to protect Irish native oysters and
other native shellfish from extinction.

“Action to protect the European oyster from becoming extinct in the wild is urgent.” said Karin Dubsky, spokeswoman for Coastwatch. “We along with other EU countries have promised to halt the loss of biodiversity by 2010. If we combine the know-how of local traditional native oyster men, scientists and other stakeholders, we can save this and other species, and the livelihoods of native inshore fishermen.

There are many threats to the native oyster which has now become a ‘red list species’ but was once the food of Bronze age man and Kings. One new threat is the Gigas Oyster, an alien invasive species, which is now confirmed at three of the remaining native oyster sites. It is displacing native species and threatening sustainable jobs traditional fishing jobs.

Coastwatch,  Save The Swilly, and traditional native oyster fishermen from the Foyle and Swilly have prioritised 10 actions for the oyster which would also aid many other coastal species and habitats. They are calling on the government to join work already being done in Northern Ireland to protect native species from extinction and are offering their help.

The oyster shell graveyard was carried and rattled by volunteers wearing black t-shirts with the names of sites where oysters are now extinct and red t-shirts will bear the names of the remaining sites that contain native oyster beds. The 10 threats and ten actions will be displayed and offered to government for joint action.

Note to editors:
A captioned photo is available.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2451/3550784967_a403e6910f_b_d.jpg