Oyster Research Volunteer Opportunities

Oyster Research Volunteer Opportunity

Please can you help us with our native oyster citizen science project?

Period: 21st August – 30th September 2023

We need to recover and stock asses our native oysters, record the data (growth, biodiversity) from our aquaculture research site!

FalFisheryCooperativeCIC.org & SavingESTER.co.uk (the Cornish Native Oyster Restoration Project), is funded by two Crowdfunder campaigns and Co-op Foundation’s Carbon Innovation Fund, The project has stored native oysters in trays, but we need a good crew to recover trays, remove and reseed mussels, grade oysters, enter data: weight size growth (paper & digital), and also record the number of different species before immediately returning them to their habitat…

All of the work will be afloat on a vessel on the river, much of it wet and muddy, some of the work will be hard, but not all tasks are hard, some are just data recording…

Ideally we would like a commitment for whole days (10:00-16:00), two or more if possible, and teams of 6 people.

What will you get in return?

Firstly, the CIC has full insurance for volunteers, we can transport you from/to Mylor Harbour, or pay your ferry ticket to Trelissick, then when we publish the data you will be fully acknowledged. We cannot promise the weather, but the wildlife up river is always entertaining…

Finally, we are the first canning company in Cornwall since 1940s, and we plan to can our shellfish this season, so we are offering you canned mussels and maybe oysters harvested from the work (this will take a few weeks once this work is completed)

You would bring your own lunch, cold drinks and snacks, waterproof footwear /boots, and wet weather clothing. We will provide hot drinks, PPE gloves & goggles and life jackets, (if you have your own that’s great) You will need to read and sign the H&S and Safeguarding Policies & sign a non disclosure as we are quite unique in what we are learning.

Please email volunteers23@falfisherycooperativecic.org