Nature at the heart of Stranraer Oyster Festival

As the native oyster season opens (1st September), Scotland’s oyster festival has announced a new celebration of nature, right in the heart of the festival site.

Stranraer Oyster Festival, which takes place from 13-15 September, is introducing a new Eco Zone with a nature-based programme of talks and activities. The festival celebrates Scotland’s last wild, native oyster fishery taking place on the waterfront, a short distance from the sustainably managed native oyster beds in Loch Ryan.

The new Eco Zone programme will include a talk by Prof. Bill Sanderson of Heriot Watt University on the Benefits of Loch Ryan’s Oyster Beds, and a talk by Dr. Nicola Stock of Edinburgh University’s Roslin Institute on Oyster Microbiomes in Loch Ryan. Other activities will include wildlife and shoreline ranger led walks by the Solway Coast and Marine Project, touch tanks containing marine wildlife and activities for young people on a marine and ecology theme. 

The Eco Zone continues Stranraer Oyster Festival’s growing emphasis on showcasing the importance of the Loch Ryan native oyster beds as one of Scotland’s ecological treasures, as well as an exceptional seafood product.

Allan Jenkins, Event Co-ordinator for Stranraer Development Trust, the community organisation that organises the festival explains:

“Since Stranraer Oyster Festival launched in 2017 our understanding of the ecological importance of these oysters has grown. Last year we launched an oyster shell recycling scheme to give something back to the loch and the oyster bed. This year we wanted to make environmental activities and experiences a core part of the festival so that visitors to the event can understand just how extraordinary these oysters are. We are absolutely privileged to have such knowledgeable experts joining us for the festival.”

Professor Bill Sanderson of Heriot Watt University was commissioned by Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Environment Team to carry out an oyster stock assessment of Loch Ryan last year, which estimated a population of 23 million native oysters.

He will share information about that assessment and his work on native oysters at a talk during the opening evening of the oyster festival. He said:

“Native oysters are marine biological super heroes. They improve the water by filtering it, they create spaces for other species improving biodiversity, they store carbon and, of course, they’re delicious.

“200 years ago we had oysters everywhere, including here on the Forth. Stranraer and Loch Ryan is an amazing glimpse into the past because oysters were abundant everywhere.

“Importantly, Loch Ryan’s oysters are also a window on the future, because people all over Europe are looking to restore oyster beds. Loch Ryan finds itself in the centre of the oyster restoration world, so I’m absolutely delighted to be taking part in this new initiative at the oyster festival.”

Later this year 10,000 native oysters from Loch Ryan will make their way to the Firth of Forth as part of Restoration Forth - a major marine restoration programme working with communities to restore seagrass habitats and European flat oyster populations in the Firth of Forth. 

Stranraer Oyster Festival launched as a community-led regeneration project to ‘change the story of Stranraer’ from a story of economic decline to a story of destination opportunity. With six successful festivals delivered, the event has had a cumulative economic impact of more than £7m for the scenic former ferry port in south west Scotland.

The 2024 festival programme leans strongly into Stranraer’s connection with the water of Loch Ryan, with ecosystem and community regeneration strong themes. The Scottish Shucking Championship is a focal point of the festival, with chefs from across Scotland competing in the ‘Shuck Off’ to become Scottish Champion and win their place in the World Shucking Championships in Ireland in late September. 

Culinary inspiration comes in the form of chef demonstrations that reunite two TV chef double acts – BBC’s Spice Kings Tony Singh and Cyrus Todiwala, and STV’s Hot Wok stars Julie Lin and Jimmy Lee. They’ll be joined in the festival demo kitchen by Pam Brunton whose multiple award-winning restaurant Inver is the only restaurant in Scotland to receive a Michelin Green Star, which recognises restaurants that combine culinary excellence with outstanding eco-friendly commitments.

Allan Jenkins added:

“People enjoying and eating the oysters at Stranraer Oyster Festival are directly supporting the sustainability of the oyster bed. It sounds counterintuitive, but only 5% of the oysters that are lifted by the Loch Ryan Oyster Fishery are ever sold. The rest are carefully relaid in dense beds to help encourage native oyster breeding. So, enjoying Loch Ryan native oysters – especially at Stranraer Oyster Festival – is directly helping to fund this important work.” 

Stranraer Oyster Festival is supported by Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Major Events Strategic Fund, EventScotland’s National Events Funding Programme and South of Scotland Enterprise. The work of Stranraer Development Trust is also supported by Kilgallioch Community Fund.

Stranraer Oyster Festival takes place from Friday 13th to Sunday 15th September 2024. Weekend tickets cost £15, and Day Tickets cost from £6, with concessions available. For more information details and to book tickets, head to www.stranraeroysterfestival.com

Photos: show Prof. Bill Sanderson of Heriot Watt University, with Emmy Cooper-Young and Dom Rye with native oysters at Restoration Forth.

Photographer credit: Colin Hattersley