New Orleans’ Residents Recycling Oyster Shells to Repair and Rebuild Reefs
While shellfish reefs may not be as picturesque as their beautiful coral reef counterparts, they have just as much to offer. These reefs, made up of oysters and mussels, provide a wide range of ecosystem assistance.
Recycled oyster shells, often in short supplies, are the most reliable natural material used to rebuild and repair oyster reefs. The US city of New Orleans has issued dedicated bins to allow residents to recycle oyster shells and help increase supplies.
Numerous coastal communities already reclaim shells from restaurants and other seafood businesses, but unfortunately, supplies are often limited. The New Orleans project hopes to increase supply by allowing the general public to participate by depositing their oyster shells in particular bins found outside their salvage store and paint recycling facility.
These recycling programs are exactly what their names suggest. The empty shell surfaces are cleaned, reused in oyster reef restoration projects, and sometimes treated with baby oysters before being placed back into the waters.
Habitat and Water Quality
Oysters begin their lives as miniature swimming creatures (free-floating larvae) before attaching themselves to a solid surface, such as wrecks, piers, and old shells, where they will grow for the rest of their lives.
These oyster reefs provide excellent shelter for hundreds of marine species and plants while at the same time filtering and cleaning the surrounding water.
Oysters feed by pumping large amounts of water through their bodies and removing algae and nutrients, making the water clearer and cleaner. A single oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water per day, and in 24 hours, an acre of oyster reefs can filter enough water to fill 36 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Unfortunately, outdated unsustainable harvesting methods, deterioration of water quality, erosion from development are a few of the significant factors contributing to the historic global decline in oyster populations and reef habitats.
A Firm Foundation
Without a firm substrate to settle on, the recruitment of “baby” oysters (spat) and the development of oyster reefs are limited.
Despite oyster shells being recognized as the preferred building blocks for rehabilitating degraded oyster reefs, including creating new ones. Most oyster reef restoration projects use an alternative substrate. This rigid structure is not native oysters, such as concrete, limestone, and other engineered materials, which are placed into a waterbody for oysters to recruit and grow.
These newly formed or restored reefs provide a healthy environment for hundreds of marine plants and fish species. At the same time, they are helping to improve water quality, increase biodiversity, and shield shorelines from strong winds and waves.
A Video Demonstrating Oysters Filtering Capabilities
The following time-lapse video shows the oysters’ filtration superpowers.
