Continuing on from the earlier weeks diving, the mostly new dive team set off once again to explore the Sound of Mull area.  Travelling from the all over the UK between Orkney and the Isle of Wight to get to there, the team kicked off the week with a meal in “The Oyster Inn at Connel”, which given some of the project objectives seemed very appropriate.

This week we were diving off two vessels; MV Purpoise II for the shakedown dives in the Firth of Lorn area to the south of Oban and then back onboard MV Clasina for at trip up the Sound of Mull.

We had been given intelligence from BSAC’s Operation Oyster partner, Seawilding about possible seagrass and oyster locations in Loch Craignish and so focussed day one is this area.

To mitigate the risk of transmitting potentially harmful marine life from our dive kit to the Loch Craignish area, particularly Bonamia Ostreae parasite which attacks native flat oysters (Ostrea Edulis) we Checked, Cleaned and Dried kit before arriving to dive (Check, Clean, Dry).

Dive one was an exploratory wall dive which turned out to be a medium energy site despite its proximity to the Gulf of Corrywreckan and the Dorus Mor tide race.  We found plenty of saddle oysters and also kept our eyes open for PMFs (or Marine Priority Features) that could help support an application for a highly marine protected area.

Our second dive really scored for BSAC Operation Oyster with the discovery of what is nowadays described as a carbon store; i.e. a dead reef.  But what a dead reef with an abundance of dead native flat oyster shells that were approximately 3 times the size of native flat oyster shells previously found on other BSAC Operation Oyster dives and that was just for half a shell. Just image what the reef would have looked like when it was thriving and alive and not buried in silt.

Ollie then hit the jackpot, finding a single, live native flat oyster which was measured and recorded for the BSAC Operation Oyster database.

Over the rest of the week we explored more classic wrecks including the SS Breda, SS Hispania and SS Shuna aswell as exploring some scenic sites to build on the discoveries of the previous week.  Once again we found an abundance of saddle oyster shells and started to spot the live versions but this time didn’t find anything to surpass the earlier oyster shell and oyster fines

We overnighted in both Tobermory and Loch Aline and were blessed with some of the best diving conditions I’ve known in my 30 years that I’ve been diving the Sound of Mull!

Undertook some BSAC First Class Diving, BSAC Advanced Diver training during the course of the week.

Dr Karen Boswarva was also onboard providing lectures on the wider benthic fauna and flora of the Mull area and details of the native flat oyster lifecycle.

Another great week with thanks to the dive team Chris, James, Ollie, Catherine, Sean, Laura and Katy plus the boat crew Bob, Stef and Craig and visiting lecturer Karen.