"Age" determination of European flat oysters from the Voordelta reef Version 13

Twelve european flat oysters (Ostrea edulis) from the Voordelta (Netherlands) were aged by counting internal growthlines. Oldest found oyster was 14 years and was collected in December 2015. The results show that this is the case for 5 out of 12 of the analyzed oysters and thus have settled before 2008. This suggests that the oyster bed probably was already present to some extent before the area was designated as Natura 2000 reserve.