Development of hydrodynamic larval dispersal model for Northern Ireland’s sea loughs

Description

Ulster Wildlife has been awarded funding through the DAERA Environment Fund 2023-28, to carry out targeted species restoration of native oyster in Northern Ireland’s coastal marine area. The project is within the wider work area of ‘Accelerating Blue Recovery’. Native oyster (Ostrea edulis) populations have in many regions been severely impacted by overfishing, habitat loss, pollution, and disease. Conservation and restoration efforts are crucial to protect and enhance native oysters in natural ecosystems, helping to restore and recover the marine environment. Ulster Wildlife are committed to the restoration of native oyster communities as these keystone species provide important ecosystem services, improving biodiversity, aiding coastal protection, and helping mitigate the impacts of climate change. Lot 1: Ulster Wildlife would like to establish a partnership with a qualified and experienced hydrodynamic model provider during 2023-2026. The partnership will explore larval dispersal of native oysters (//Ostrea edulis//) within Northern Ireland’s sea loughs. The project will include collaborative working between Ulster Wildlife and the service provider, data scoping, model setup and scenario testing. The partner shall develop a model that will be used for dispersal simulation of native oyster larvae from distinct locations within sea loughs and their immediate adjacency sea areas. Within the contracted period the service provider will work in partnership with Ulster Wildlife as an ongoing process, within the funding limits of the project, to ensure maximum benefit for the understanding of the conservation of native oyster and informing future conservation objectives. The selected service provider shall be responsible for establishing an exploratory coastal hydrodynamic larval dispersal model set of three independent study areas: Belfast Lough: -5.942505, 54.601455, -5.548370, 54.761741 Larne Lough: -5.836075, 54.770965, -5.690163, 54.858161 Carlingford Lough: -6.298325, 53.994849, -6.033279, 54.112082