Rebuilding reefs one oyster at a time

When oysters are born, they float through the water looking for an ideal surface on which to fasten, where they’ll spend the rest of their lives. For these baby oysters, known as ‘spat,’ the shells of other oysters are the perfect place to make their home. This is how oyster reefs naturally grow.

The shells of discarded oysters, known as ‘cultch,’ are an ideal substrate for growing or rebuilding oyster reefs. By diverting the shell from a restaurant’s typical waste stream, we can collect essential material for replenishing oyster habitats while reducing land fill.

We facilitate the collection of shell from restaurants and the public and take it to a designated facility, where the shell ‘cures’ for a year to dry out and kill any harmful bacteria. After the year, we’ll lay the shell near existing oyster reef colonies to promote their growth or combine it with the oysters we’ve grown in our upwellers to start new colonies.

We’ve partnered with several restaurants throughout Cape Cod (check out our full list of participating restaurants below). But you can also recycle your own shells. We have 24/7 shell recycling stations at the following locations:

• Englewood Boat Ramp, 26 New Hampshire Ave, West Yarmouth, MA 02673

• Wilbur Park, 440 Highbank Rd, South Yarmouth, MA 02664