@inproceedings{8734638,
  abstract     = {{Once a key habitat in the North Sea, European flat oyster (Ostrea edulis) reefs have completely disappeared in the Belgium part of the North Sea (BPNS) due to a combination of factors, including overexploitation, destruction by bottom trawling and diseases such as bonamiosis. Across Europe, a number of projects and initiatives are being deployed to bring back this iconic species and the associated ecosystem, but Belgium is trailing behind this wave of renewed interest in flat oyster restoration. However, with the UNITED project, a first and important initiative has started to restore flat oyster reefs in the BPNS. UNITED (2020-2023) is a research project co-funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 programme. The acronym UNITED stands for Multi-Use offshore platforms demoNstrators for boostIng cost-effecTive and Eco-friendly proDuction in sustainable marine activities. By installing specific test pilots at five different marine sites in five European countries, UNITED aims to assess the feasibility and added value of marine multi-use. The Belgian pilot focuses on a combination of flat oyster restoration and aquaculture, and sugar kelp (Saccharina latissima) aquaculture in an offshore wind farm. Belgian offshore wind farms might offer a unique environment for both flat oyster aquaculture and restoration. Bottom-disturbing activities such as trawling are forbidden here, while the scour protection around the wind turbine foundations might serve as a suitable substrate for oyster settlement. Recruitment from the aquaculture individuals can initiate and sustain natural oyster reef development on this scour protection, and as such restore a lost ecosystem in the BPNS. An overview of the oyster restoration activities within UNITED will be presented, including the latest, promising results of the nearshore experiments and the successful offshore (within an offshore wind farm) installation of oyster restoration structures, which house broodstock animals. Before moving offshore, the nearshore experiments have tested and optimised the restoration structures and investigated the settlement of flat oyster spat on different materials as well as the survival, growth and reproduction of flat oysters in aquaculture systems.}},
  articleno    = {{03}},
  author       = {{Declercq, Annelies and Kerkhove, Thomas and Stechele, Brecht and Pribadi, Ajie Brama Krishna and Groenendaal, Bert and Vandercammen, Dirk and Pinto da Silva, Elisabete and Lataire, Evert and Lemey, Emile and Maes, Frank and Verao Fernandez, Gael and Vanaverbeke, Jan and Knoop, Jessica and Pilgrim, Laura and De Clerck, Olivier and Delerue-Ricard, Sophie and Petit, Simon and Devriese, Sander and Dambalasa, Serge and Debels, Stephanie and Degraer, Steven and Voorend, Wannes and Versluys, Willy and Bossier, Peter and Nevejan, Nancy}},
  keywords     = {{multi-use,european flat oyster restoration,oyster and seaweed aquaculture,UNITED}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  location     = {{online}},
  pages        = {{03:48--03:48}},
  title        = {{H2020 UNITED : is scour protection suitable for flat oyster restoration in Belgium?}},
  url          = {{https://noraeurope.eu/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/NORA-4-Abstracts.pdf}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}