Borwnsea Island Oysters

Unlike many of the oyster beds around the country, those of Othniel Oysters, which are situated just off Brownsea Island in Poole harbour, are not actually visible. So Gary Wordsworth harvests his oysters with a mechanical dredger-an eco-harvester, designed by himself, which gently moves over the oyster beds bringing the oysters up on a conveyor belt onto the deck, where they are then graded by hand by Gary.

It’s a simple two-man operation harvesting the oysters and getting them to Gary’s HQ, called Number 3, which is the old Sandbanks Ferry, now anchored close to the oyster beds. Gary managed to persuade the harbour master to let him use the anchored-up car ferry for his business as it was out of sight of residential properties and a seaworthy, environmentally-friendly enterprise.