An award-winning project to restore European flat oysters to their natural habitat in the Firth of Forth is celebrating doubling its original target.
Restoration Forth has recently introduced 14,080 more European Flat Oysters into the Firth, bringing the total to 60,000.
In the Firth, an area the size of modern-day Edinburgh was once covered by European flat oyster beds, but by the early 1900s they were all fished out.
Over the past four years hundreds of volunteers have helped staff clean and deploy the oysters - and monitoring shows they are thriving in their new home.
Strict biosecurity rules mean they have to be cleaned before moving somewhere new to avoid spreading any disease or introduced species.
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Near the end of last year monitoring by the Heriot-Watt University scientific dive team, as part of the Restoration Forth project, showed a high average survival rate of around 88% for the oysters deployed from boats.
Dr Naomi Kennon from Heriot Watt University said: “I’m over the moon to have reached the incredible milestone of 60,000 oysters now back in the Firth of Forth. After so many hundreds of hours scrubbing and cleaning them over recent years, it was pretty emotional.
"We are hopeful that they will thrive and grow, as those already deployed earlier in the project have been doing.
“Oysters are incredible underwater engineers: they filter water, store carbon and enhance biodiversity by providing shelter for countless marine species.
"We know we’re a long way off from the millions of oysters that once thrived here, but with promising survival rates we are showing the value of restoration work.”
Alice Caldwell, a volunteer with Restoration Forth said: “I’m really grateful to have had the opportunity to take part in this amazing project. I’ve learned so much about the research behind it and have really enjoyed preparing the oysters for their new home in the Forth.
"The whole experience has filled me with a sense of optimism for the future of this vital species and for our precious marine environment.”
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