Scientists Recycle Oyster Shells to Aid Chesapeake Bay
29 November 2010
The Oyster Recovery Program plants more than two billion baby oysters in state protected waters.
This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.
Recycling programs usually give new life to materials like paper, metal, plastic and glass. But a program in the eastern United States is recycling shellfish to help the Chesapeake Bay.
Oysters are filter feeders which means they help clean the water. At the same time, generation upon generation of oysters form reefs. These structures provide homes for fish and crabs.
Oysters are a Chesapeake tradition. And they are good for the bay. But environmental damage and too much harvesting have cut the oyster population of the Chesapeake.
An organization called the Oyster Recovery Partnership started the recycling program earlier this year. Baby oysters need to attach themselves to a shell or other hard surface as they grow. Scientists are using recycled shells as part of an oyster reproduction program.
More than fifty restaurants, seafood dealers and other businesses have joined the Oyster Shell Recycling Alliance. Two states, Maryland and Virginia, are also taking part in the program.
One of the restaurants involved is in Washington, near the White House. Oysters are a specialty at the Old Ebbitt Grill, and manager Christian Guidi says that means lots of shells.
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