The Rich North Sea partnered with Van Oord (structural design and installation) and Eneco (offshore wind farm operator) to execute this project. The original pilot led to a new design: a concrete table with 16 vertical columns, with 250 oysters attached securely. Four structures were placed on to the scour protection layer of four offshore wind turbines.

Materials used:

• Broodstock structure, designed by van Oord. Following the findings of the pilot project Luchterduinen 1.0 and the current Oyster broodstock research in Borssele II/IV and V, the objective of this project is to test an improved outplacement method for live European flat oyster broodstock in OWF Luchterduinen.
• Living flat oysters, loosely distributed on the scour protection (800, May 2022)
• Living flat oysters, glued on the broodstock structures (1000, November 2022)

In 2024 an ROV (Deep Trekker) monitoring mission was conducted. Further monitoring is not currently planned. Possibilities for further monitoring are being explored through 2024.

• Partners with shared goals and clearly defined roles across installing, monitoring, and decommissioning can help the project to be smooth and straightforward.
• When using a crew transmission vessel, it is sometimes more efficient and economical to combine research with the crew’s planning. If you can have your own vessel, this can be much easier to run on your own schedule.
• Include a ‘definition of success’ in the monitoring process: for example, when are structures ready for scaling, when to apply other designs, or use different testing methods.
• A backup plan is helpful to have when monitoring with an ROV. Monitoring with divers can be easier, but is often not allowed due to safety reasons. In this project, the ROV imaging was grainy, and it was difficult to see through overgrowth on structures to know how many oysters were there and if they were alive.

Decommissioningg is planned in 2028, and documents required include a work method statement and risk analysis.