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England’s first native oyster hatchery has opened with ambitious plans to clean up the waters of the Solent on the south coast.

The hatchery, established by the University of Portsmouth and Blue Marine Foundation, will provide a million oysters a year for a restoration project to reduce pollution and boost biodiversity in the area.

The strait between mainland Britain and the Isle of Wight used to be famous for its oyster population, but after years of over-fishing and pollution numbers have declined dramatically. It is a similar story across the UK: according to the Zoological Society London, wild native oyster populations have declined by more than 95 per cent in recent decades.