Andrew Hunt
VSEL/VEL
Plant an Oyster founder Andrew Hunt is a chartered mechanical engineer with decades of experience in subsea engineering and has been at the forefront of the development of diver-less, direct embedment anchoring systems a key component in cost effective Advanced Mooring Systems that are increasingly used in seagrass restoration projects.
He is also a keen sport and commercial diver, with over 35 years of diving experience all around the UK. Yet, ironically, he has spent most of his professional career delivering Remotely Operated Vehicles and equipment that remove the need for a diver.
He fuses engineering experience with his knowledge of the subsea environment to help engineer a sustainable underwater future with appropriate use of ROVS and/or divers; whichever is safe, relevant and cost effective.
Andrew is one of the authors of BSACs Underwater Surveyor course which teaches citizen science divers safe implementation of scientific diving survey techniques. He founded and is project lead for British Sub Aqua Club’s Operation Oyster project that seeks to find and survey remnant native oyster populations.
Vectis Sustainable Engineering Ltd (VSEL) has supported a number of seabed restoration projects with diving surveys, project engineering and marine operations planning and supervision.
Vectis Expeditions Ltd (VEL) has supported the training of citizen science divers with relevant surveying and expeditionary diving skills.
Richard Hunt
CJC Coding
Richard is an electronics and firmware engineer experienced in real world product and app development. Work has spanned low power devices through to high power radio transmitters and always with a product focus. This has included complete mobile phone developments with incredibly small teams, commercial GPS products, and a variety of connected sensing solutions. More recently developments have included USB-C power delivery, precision GPS tracking, and wildlife camera monitoring systems over LoRa and Iridium. Low power customer-facing embedded development has been a consistent theme along with a long-term interest in real-world sensing. A senior coach and hang glider pilot of many years, more recent interests also now include outdoor swimming and improving the health of rivers.
Dr Ken Collins
Scientific Advisor
Emeritus Research Fellow, Ocean and Earth Science, University of Southampton with over 50 year of experience in coastal ecology and scientific diving including biogenic and artificial reefs for fishery enhancement. Co- leader MARINEFF EU Interreg project co-leader with University of Caen, Solent oyster restoration reef http://marineff-project.eu/en/
Ken knows a lot about oysters and building reefs!
Key references:
Collins, K.J., Mallinson, J.J., Jensen, A.C. and Robinson, B. (2015) Colonisation Trials of Shell Concrete, Southampton, UK. Proceedings Congrès RECIF sur les récifs artificiels : des matériaux à l’écosystème / RECIF Conference on artificial reefs: from materials to ecosystem. ESITC Caen, 27-29 Jan. 2015, pp.111-118
Deane, S.R.A,, Sawusdee, A., Collins, K.J. and Jensen, A.C. (2015) Epifaunal colonisation on shells of native European Oysters, Ostrea edulis, and non-native Pacific Oysters, Crassostrea Gigas. Proceedings Congrès RECIF sur les récifs artificiels : des matériaux à l’écosystème / RECIF Conference on artificial reefs: from materials to ecosystem – ESITC Caen – 27-28-29 Janvier/January 2015, pp.146-153.
Hughes, A., Bonačić,K., Cameron,T., Collins,K. da Costa,F., Debney,A., van Duren,L.,Elzinga,J., Fariñas-Franco, J.M., Gamble,C., Helmer,L., Holbrook,Z., Holden,E., Knight,K., Murphy,J.A.J., Pogoda,B., Pouvreau,S., Preston,J., Reid, A., Reuchlin-Hugenholtz,E., Sanderson,W.G., Smyth,D., Stechele,B., Strand,A., Theodorou,J.A., Uttley,M., Wray,B., zu Ermgassen,P.S.E. (2023) Site selection for European native oyster (Ostrea edulis) habitat restoration projects: An expert-derived consensus. Aquatic Conserv: Mar Freshw Ecosyst. 2023;1–16 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aqc.3917 Jensen, A.C., Collins, K.J. and Lockwood, A.P.M.,eds. (2000) Artificial Reefs in European seas. Kluwer Academic Publishers, the Netherlands, ISBN 0‑7923‑5845‑7. 508pp
Richard Land
Success is in the execution and Richard excels at bringing innovative ideas to market. With roots in sustainable aquaculture in North America, the UK and Europe, Richard is also the innovator behind Aquahive (acquired by Cadman Capital Group in 2017) and the upcoming Lobster Cub and Box’n’Buy systems.
Richard is the driving force behind developing the National Oyster Centre in Scotland, dedicated to restoring the Native Flat Oyster to the UK.
Dennis Gowland
Aquaculture is life and with 36 years’ experience in shellfish aquaculture, Dennis is a leader in developing strategic opportunities for aquaculture in the UK. He specialises in the setup and running of bivalve mollusc and crustacean hatcheries.
Since 1998 he’s led 18 major research projects around genetics, stock recovery disease, environmental carrying capacity, harmful agents in shellfish and food safety. Dennis has consulted on many of the lobster projects in the UK, Canada and Europe.
Kenneth H. Norton
Ken is a experienced operations and energy-sector executive with a strong background in high volume manufacturing, advanced battery systems and large scale renewable energy solutions. With specialist expertise in Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), solar integration and emerging clean-energy technology, he brings a systems-drive, engineering-led approach to organisational leadership. Kenneths career includes overseeing complex manufacturing environments, scaling production processes and leading cross-functional technical teams skills that translate directly into building reliable, efficient and commercially viable ecological technologies. His deep understanding of battery chemistry, renewable energy development and system optimisation provides a unique platform for bridging clean energy innovations with environmental restoration.
Now driving strategy within an aquaculture, biodiversity and eco-solutions company, Kennet is particularly focussed on opportunities where clean energy, carbon-reduction technologies and ecological recovery intersect. He has a strong interest in leveraging renewable-powered systems and emerging carbon-capture approaches to offset the environmental footprint of high-resource industries, including mining, while supporting ecosystem resilience.
Steve Jakeway
Creative
Trained as a Graphic Designer and Illustrator Steve (RHS in the image) has worked as a senior designer for several agencies over the years for some nice big brands.
He has been diving for over 30 years, mostly off the UK South Coast, but Scotland now has a particular draw.
He and Andy have worked on a number of projects on an off over the years including expeditions with volunteer dive teams to map and draw famous shipwrecks.
His responsibilities lie with the branding, illustrations and creative assets.