HUNDREDS of jobs could be created as part of a plan to restore the once lucrative oyster fishing industry to the Solent.

As recently as 1978, up to 450 boats made a living from catching oysters in the Solent, employing more than 700 men at sea.

But fishing for oysters in the Solent was banned in 2013 amid fears of plummeting numbers. That ban remains in place two years on.

Now conservationists Blue Marine Foundation have unveiled plans to restore the population and restore the industry to its former glory by 2025.

Under its plans it hopes to hang bags of oysters underneath rafts and pontoons in Solent marinas.

This will allow them to breed and boost the number of baby “spats” which can then settle in rocks and gravel and grow into full sized native oysters.

There will also be 60 cages containing oysters in the Solent which can then be fished.

Charles Clover, chairman of the Blue Marine Foundation said: “We are very excited that people think it is feasible to bring back the oyster to the Solent.

“The loss of it has not only affected fishermen's jobs but it has deprived this busy waterway of the filtering power of these bivalves and the high levels of biodiversity associated with oyster beds.”

The plan was inspired by restoration efforts in New York harbour which plans to re-seed a million oysters by 2030.

A single native oyster can filter up to 200 litres of water a day. A one hectare oyster bed may remove and deposit more than 7.5 tonnes of suspended sediment.