Whether you have a taste for them or not, the oyster is one of nature’s most amazing creatures.
These humble pearl-makers are not just a briny delicacy, they also keep our oceans clean as all-natural filters: an acre of oysters can filter 140 million gallons of water an hour, removing 3,000 pounds of nitrogen a year.
And after they’re shucked and slurped by the dozen, their empty shells also have a remarkable use. According to the Oyster Recovery Partnership (ORP), they are the best material to use when raising new oysters and restoring oyster reefs. As ORP executive director Stephan Abel says in the video below, “Each shell can be home to 10 new oysters when recycled and replanted.”
At the moment, the number of oysters being removed from the Louisiana coast is greater than what is being returned. To make up for this deficit, several restaurants in New Orleans are cutting down on their waste by returning the ones that patrons toss to the Gulf Coast, Good News Network reports.
“The main reason we want to be involved in recycling oyster shells is because we’re such a large user of the resource,” said Paul Rotner, chief operating officer of Acme Oyster House in New Orleans. “It’s in our best interest. We need the shells in order to enrich the life span of our current oyster beds and to build new reefs.”
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Thanks to a $1 million donation from Shell Oil Company, the state has kicked off its first formal oyster shell recycling program for New Orleans restaurants, according to a press release from The Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana (CRCL).
Considering the amount of oysters that seafood restaurants go through in a day, that’s a lot of shells being diverted from landfills. In a single weekend, the coalition collected more than 19,000 pounds of shells from Acme Oyster House, the Bourbon House, Redfish Grill, Peche Seafood Grill, Felix’s Restaurant and Oyster Bar and Lüke.
Hilary Collis, the restoration program director of CRCL told NOLA.com that the organization plans on returning about 1,500 tons of oyster shell to Louisiana’s coast each year. These shells will help strengthen existing reefs and build new ones, all while protecting the coast and provide habitats for a number of other ocean creatures, such as fish and crabs.
So the next time you find yourself down on the Gulf Coast, slurp away!
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Tag: Oysters
How the Oyster Is Cleaning Up the Chesapeake Bay
If you ever stop by a seafood restaurant around the Chesapeake Bay, you might want to try out the local oysters. Eating them not only means a delicious meal for yourself, but more business for local oyster farms, too. Plus, you’ll be helping to clean up the polluted waters in the process.
Interestingly, Chesapeake oysters weren’t even on menus until recent years. As the global news agency AFP reports, these formerly abundant mollusks were nearly wiped out 20 years ago due to over-harvesting and pollution. As NPR puts it, by 1990, the bay’s oyster population dropped to a mere 1 percent of what it was in the early 20th century.
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However, in the last decade, oyster rescue programs have significantly brought back this local delicacy. (Note: It’s still nowhere near its historic numbers.) The AFP reports that the Oyster Recovery Partnership (ORP) — a team of scientists, environmentalists, government groups and volunteers — has reintroduced 4.5 billion oysters to the waters over the last 10 years. Promisingly, the report found that these efforts have seriously paid off. Virginia collected 10,000 tons of oysters during the winter of 2012-13, which was double last year’s harvest and 20 times more than 15 years ago.
This is not only good news for shellfish lovers, but it’s wonderful news for the environment as well since these oysters are playing an important part in cleaning up the Chesapeake. How so? As Steve Allen, biologist and senior manager at ORP said, oysters are “the kidney of the bay.” An acre can filter 140 million gallons of water an hour, removing 3,000 pounds of nitrogen a year. AFP also mentions that oyster reefs provide habitats for other local (and delicious) sea life such as fish, mussels and blue crabs.
So what’s the bottom line? Slurp up!