A Falmouth fisherman is setting up a Crowdfunder to save Cornish oysters in the Fal estuary.

Chris Ranger, founder of the Fal Fishery Cooperative CIC, is aiming to hatch and release 1,000,000 Cornish native oysters into the estuary in order to increase their survival rate.

Speaking to the Packet in April last year, Mr Ranger said: “There’s not as many boats out there as there were 100 years ago. The stock has been over fished, same as everywhere else.”

The Fal Fishery Cooperative was set up almost a year ago with the aim to secure the future of protected shellfish and other species, as well as improving conditions for local fishermen.

Fal oysters hold EU “protected designation of origin” status, meaning that oysters have to be landed, processed and prepared locally to hold the name.

The aim of the program is to save large and disease resilient oysters and put them into a “controlled hatchery programme” to keep an eye on the growth of baby oysters.

Writing on the Crowdfunder page, Mr Ranger said: “Even the smallest donation will make a real difference to the survival of the species, even £1 will save an Ester- A Cornish native oyster.

“Oysters play a vital role on filtering seawater and keeping marine habitats alive, just one oyster can filter over 200 litres of water every day.”

The Crowdfunder is set to go live soon.

If you want to show you support and find out more, visit www.crowdfunder.co.uk/savingestertheoyster?tk=b5342fbab9ce516a0f64e5f9615c5a9ca66f740f#start