Brevard Zoo, Restaurants Partner to Shuck and Share Millions of Oyster Shells
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Brevard Zoo, Restaurants Partner to Shuck and Share Millions of Oyster Shells

Brevard Zoo, Restaurants Partner to Shuck and Share Millions of Oyster Shells

Oysters are the perfect employees. They work hard 24/7, are extremely efficient and once they settle on the job, they never go anywhere else.

Mother Nature hired the bivalves long ago to help keep the Indian River Lagoon pristine, a wise move since one adult oyster can clean 50 gallons of water a day — more than 1,500 times their body volume.

“Oysters are amazing at filter feeding,” said Olivia Escandell, conservation restoration coordinator for Brevard Zoo.

Around the clock, their little oyster gills pull in particles such as muck and algae, which to an oyster, is a feast. After the oyster consumes all the available nutrients in the mix, it basically spits the water back, cleaner and clearer. Yes, it sounds vaguely gross, but it works, or at least it did until man got into the act with his penchant for tipping the balance of things.

Coastal construction, overharvesting, boat wakes and the overwhelming amount of chemical pollution introduced into the Lagoon decimated the local oyster population. That’s really bad news, since as a keystone species, oysters are critical for the lagoon’s survival. Not only do they perform the vital filtering gig, but they are as tasty to a variety of fish as they are to humans. The shells of these “living razor blades” additionally provide safe haven for fish fry and other small critters and serve as the first line of defense against erosion from damaging waves. We need these little guys back in action.

Enter Shuck and Share, Brevard Zoo’s initiative to reintroduce oysters into the lagoon. Local oyster gardeners, a.k.a. homeowners with property backing up to the lagoon, help grow baby oysters, called spats. Spats love nothing more than settling inside empty oyster shells, nice and tight and close.

 

“They’re a gregarious species that likes to live on top of each other,” Escandell said. 

The shells are provided by the millions by local restaurants and by Eau Gallie shucking facility Southeastern Seaproducts.

Aquaculture-quality mesh bags are then filled with 200 or more of these shells and stacked in strategic locations around the lagoon, where, eventually, an oyster reef will form.

“We’re creating the reef from the bottom up,” Escandell said.

In Brevard, oyster reef building had for years concentrated on oyster mats made by volunteers. The mesh bag concept is easier and even more successful in helping to grow new reefs.

Laurilee Thompson, ardent advocate for the lagoon and owner of the iconic Dixie Crossroads restaurant, was one of the first restaurateurs to join the Shuck and Share bandwagon. She credits Brevard Zoo for fine-tuning the logistics necessary to make the program run smoothly.

“At a recent Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association Board meeting, I asked a fellow restaurateur who owns four oyster bars in Sarasota County if he participated in a Shuck and Share program,” Thompson said. “He responded that he would love to be a part of the program if only he could get the oysters picked up. We certainly don’t have that challenge here, as Brevard Zoo got a grant to purchase their own truck for Shuck and Share (to pick up shells). Restaurant owners here know that they won’t be stuck with buckets of stinky oysters.”

The list of shell-donating restaurants reads like a who’s who of local seafood eateries and, besides Dixie Crossroads, includes River Rocks, Molly’s Seafood Shack, Bunky’s, Seafood Atlantic, Fishlips, Islands Fish Grill, Victorio’s, Bonefish Willy’s, Sun on the Beach, Beachside Seafood, Chart House, Sand on the Beach, Jazzy’s Mainely Lobster and Djon’s, and others. 

Even the Grant Seafood Festival participates. However, for sheer bulk of donations, the winner goes to wholesaler Southeastern Seafoods, which has donated more than 3 million pounds of oyster shells in three years.

“We love the program,” said COO Kathye Leedy.

With a truck purchased by the Tourism Development Council, Escandell does the rounds of restaurants weekly, depositing copious amounts of 65-pound trash cans overflowing with shells at a county-owned repository. The task is not for those with heightened olfactory sensibilities.

“It is a stinky job, particularly in the summer,” Escandell said.

The baby oysters needed to inhabit the shells are lovingly gestated for up to nine months by the docks of volunteer oyster gardeners, tasked with caring for spats until they are old enough to be placed in the budding reefs. To date, they have nurtured more than half a million oysters. 

Local homeowners with property along the lagoon can apply to have a Living Shoreline of oyster reefs. The interest is so great that a two-year waiting list exists.

Next time, as you dig into a plate of those addictive mollusks at your favorite restaurant, take pride that not only are you basking in gustatory delight, but you are also performing your environmental duty to help the Indian River Lagoon.

Shuck and Share

To volunteer as an oyster gardener or to have property evaluated for oyster reef restoration, email restoreourshores@brevardzoo.org.

Learn more: restoreourshores.org/shuck-and-share/

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