Abstract
The North Sea is one of the busiest seas in the world. Biodiversity is impoverished due to overexploitation and several keystone species have nearly disappeared. This includes reef-building species such as the flat oyster Ostrea edulis. Offshore wind farms (Figure 1) are potentially suitable locations for such species as bottom-trawling is not allowed within their boundaries. However, in some areas of the North Sea environmental conditions are inhibitive to the establishment of reefs of such species. The project EcoFriend develops modelling tools and methods for site specific, effective Nature Inclusive Design (NID).