Community Rallies on Skye as Talisker and Seawilding Host First Annual Oyster Count

The event showed promising signs for coastal restoration in the waters surrounding the Isle of Skye

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The Isle of Skye community has joined forces with Talisker Distillery and marine habitat restoration charity, Seawilding, in its first annual community oyster count. Together, the partner groups uncovered promising levels of native oysters in local waters - an encouraging sign for the island’s marine ecosystems.

With 95% of native oyster reefs lost over the last century and significant declines in seagrass habitats, the event was part of a landmark three-year partnership to help restore abundant wildlife to the seabeds and shores of Scotland’s west coast.

The oyster count brought together Seawilding, the Talisker Distillery team and Skye community groups for the first in a series of proposed community initiatives to inspire and empower local people with the knowledge and opportunity to help drive effective change for Scotland’s ecosystems.

This event marks an important beginning in the partnership’s ambition to help the vital recovery of thriving native oyster reefs which provide habitat for other species, improve water quality, and support resilient coastal ecosystems. However, there is still significant work ahead to restore oyster populations to optimal levels.

The initiative also underscores the importance of community involvement in environmental restoration. The strong turnout from local residents and groups reflects growing momentum behind the partnership and its mission to help protect and restore Scotland’s west coast waters.

Laura Hume, Retail Assistant Manager at Talisker Distillery has lived on Skye for 24 years and is taking an active role in the partnership at the distillery, including attending the oyster count with her colleagues. Laura commented: “It was great to take some physical action and do our part in the work needed to begin to understand what the next steps should be in our partnership with Seawilding. This is the first of many oyster counts over the next three years, and we look forward to welcoming even more of the Skye community to take part in the years ahead.”

Danny Renton, CEO of Seawilding, helped lead the oyster count and seagrass dive. He said: “Education and participation are the first steps in making effective change. By bringing people closer to the marine environment and involving them directly in restoration efforts, we can create meaningful, lasting impact for native oysters and the wider natural ecosystem. It was a great day with a heartening result which brings us all hope for the future.”

The community counts form a key part of the wider Talisker and Seawilding partnership, which is backed by a £600,000 investment over three years. Together, they aim to drive hands-on conservation, restoration, innovation and education to help to restore Scotland’s west coast ecosystems, reconnect people with the sea, and protect these vital habitats for future generations.

More volunteer opportunities will be available soon for locals and visitors.

For more information, visit Talisker.com 

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Issued on behalf of Diageo by Olivia Gibbons, Frame PR: olivia.gibbons@frame.agency 

Notes to Editors:

About Talisker

Located on the shores of the Island of Skye in Scotland for nearly 200 years, Talisker is very much a product of its rugged, coastal home.  A brand rooted in adventure, the whisky’s founders, the MacAskill brothers, rowed from Eigg to Skye in 1830 to start the Talisker Distillery in Scotland and that sense of adventure lives

About Seawilding

Seawilding is a Scottish charity based in Loch Craignish, Argyll and Loch Broom, Wester Ross. They are the UK’s first community-based seagrass and native oyster restoration project. The charity employs 7 full time members of staff and is supported by hundreds of volunteers, from the local community and further afield. Seawilding is restoring 1 million native oysters and planting hectares of seagrass in Loch Craignish, initiating similar restoration projects around the Scottish coastline and training other UK marine conservation groups in best practise restoration methodologies. To date, with the help of scores of volunteers, Seawilding has translocated 28,000 rhizome shoots and created 3,000m2 of successfully established seagrass meadows. They have released 359,000 native oysters to Loch Craignish and Loch Broom are starting to see signs of successful breeding from their restored oysters.

Seawilding is an advocate for better protection of the seabed and the ocean generally. Only 5% of Scottish waters are protected from the most damaging forms of fishing – bottom trawling and dredging – and Seawilding campaigns for a ban of these destructive practises in inshore waters, and for eco-system scale restoration to bring back lost biodiversity, sustainable fishing jobs and hope for the ocean.