18,000 oysters & counting – Prof. Fiona Regan on restoring nature’s super filters and eDNA
Thu Jan 29 2026
In this episode, Will and Tom welcomed Professor Fiona Regan, founder & director of the DCU Water Institute, which recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary of research, innovation and impact in water science.
In the episode she speaks about environmental DNA, otherwise known as eDNA, and how this links to water quality around the coastal Ireland.
She also speaks about an oyster reef restoration project on the East Coast. Around 18,000 oysters were introduced more than two centuries after they were wiped out. By feeding on nitrates and plankton, they are helping to clear algae to improve coastal biodiversity and marine habitat.
It was an honour to welcome Fiona back onto the podcast, especially hearing her inspiration for the institute, including a passage from James Joyce’s Ulysses on water – we’re going to share this on our socials so make sure to check it out!
🔔 We hope you enjoy the episode and make sure to follow and subscribe to our channels to get alerts on the episodes.
We’re delighted you can join us on this voyage of discovery, as we journey down The Stream.
Special thanks to this season's sponsor, Raymond James.
And our charity partner, Frank Water.
And thanks to our knowledge partners: British Water, WWF, Water Alliance, DCU Water Institute, SurplusWater25, Earth and Environmental Science at Berkeley Lab, Water Foundry and Atlantean Media.
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In this episode, Will and Tom welcomed Professor Fiona Regan, founder & director of the DCU Water Institute, which recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary of research, innovation and impact in water science. In the episode she speaks about environmental DNA, otherwise known as eDNA, and how this links to water quality around the coastal Ireland. She also speaks about an oyster reef restoration project on the East Coast. Around 18,000 oysters were introduced more than two centuries after they were wiped out. By feeding on nitrates and plankton, they are helping to clear algae to improve coastal biodiversity and marine habitat. It was an honour to welcome Fiona back onto the podcast, especially hearing her inspiration for the institute, including a passage from James Joyce’s Ulysses on water – we’re going to share this on our socials so make sure to check it out! 🔔 We hope you enjoy the episode and make sure to follow and subscribe to our channels to get alerts on the episodes. We’re delighted you can join us on this voyage of discovery, as we journey down The Stream. Special thanks to this season's sponsor, Raymond James. And our charity partner, Frank Water. And thanks to our knowledge partners: British Water, WWF, Water Alliance, DCU Water Institute, SurplusWater25, Earth and Environmental Science at Berkeley Lab, Water Foundry and Atlantean Media.