What Is Shuck and Share?
Shuck and Share, a Marine Discovery Center Program, was created in 2014 to provide oyster shells for shoreline restoration projects in the Indian River Lagoon.
The project was funded by a grant from the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program and allowed the Marine Discovery Center to collect over 50,000 pounds of shells from local restaurants in its first year. Since then, the program has grown to be one of the premiere sources of oyster shell restoration materials in the Indian River Lagoon and beyond.
Shuck and Share prides itself on creating and facilitating strong partnerships with neighboring oyster restoration programs in Florida to create a community working towards the same goal: to protect and restore Florida’s estuaries, rivers, and bays for years to come.
Putting Your Dinner to Work!
Every day, thousands of oysters are devoured in Florida seafood restaurants. Those shells are then discarded and added to our ever-growing landfills. Oyster recycling programs are popping up all over the state to recycle oyster shells back into the environment to create new habitats and restore damaged oyster reefs. By ordering a dozen at one of the participating restaurants, you’re doing your part to advance habitat restoration along the coasts of Florida
Oysters 101
Oysters start out as free floating larvae called “spat”. These spat float around in the water column looking for somewhere hard to settle on using a rudimentary eyespot. Once the oyster larva settles onto a hard substrate it begins to grow, however, if the oyster spat does not find a hard surface to settle on, it perishes.
Oysters have the ability to land on anything hard; dock pilings, concrete sea walls, tree trunks…but they prefer to land on other oysters as it is a good indicator that there is enough food and protection in the surrounding habitat to create a successful oyster reef.
Oyster beds provide habitat, food, and protection for a numerous species of animals that live in and around them, making them an important keystone species in Florida’s thriving marine ecosystem. Oysters are also known as ecosystem engineers because of their ability to create or significantly modify the surrounding habitat. Their interconnected reefs help to dissipate wave energy, which in turn reduces erosion along the shoreline.
As filter feeders, oysters help to remove particulate matter from the surrounding water and help to improve overall water quality. A single oyster can filter anywhere from 20 to 50 gallons of water a day!
However, oyster populations in Florida are quickly declining due to over harvesting, brown tide events, rising sea levels, and careless boaters. Globally over 85% of shellfish reefs are gone, and locally our oyster reefs are declining rapidly. By recycling oyster shell from local restaurants, we can help to create new oyster reefs to insure their success for years to come.
Get Involved!
We rely on amazing organizations, restaurants, and volunteers throughout the region, and we’re so thankful to all of our partners for helping to make this program a continuing success!
WANT TO VOLUNTEER? To find out how to get involved and learn more about your local oyster recycling project, find your county below – the first organization listed is the contact for that county. If you have any questions, contact [email protected]
Brevard • Broward • Citrus • Flagler • Indian River • Martin • Orange • Palm Beach • Seminole • St. Johns • St. Lucie • Volusia
Brevard County
Virginia C. Wine,
Conservation Field Technician &
Shuck & Share Coordinator
Restore Our Shores Program
[email protected]
Autumn’s Crab
Beachside Seafood
Captain J’s
Chart House Melbourne
Dixie Crossroads
Djon’s Steak & Lobster House
Djon’s Village Market
East Coast Shuckers
The Fat Snook
Fish Lips
Grant Seafood Festival
Indian River Bar & Grill
Islands Fish Grill
Jazzy’s Mainely Lobster
MB Seafood Company
Pineapples
Red Crab
River Rocks
Sand on the Beach
Seafood Atlantic, Inc.
Shells of Melbourne
Southeastern Seaproducts
Sunset Waterfront Bar & Grill
Victorio’s Oyster Bar
Broward County
Stacy Brown, Director
Urban Farming Institute
[email protected]
Stacy Brown, Director
South Florida Association of Environmental Professionals
[email protected]
Tiki Tiki
Citrus County
Jen Magradze
Fishcreek Glampground
[email protected]
Crump’s Landing
The Freezer Tiki Bar
Kelly’s Half Shell Pub
Florida Cracker Riverside Resort
Seagrass Waterfront Restaurant
Flagler County
Stephanie York, Park Ranger
Friends of Gamble Rogers
State Park
[email protected]
The Anchor
Flagler Fish Company
Golden Lion Cafe
Next Door Beach Bistro
Indian River County
No County Contact Available At This Time
Green Marlin
Riomar Country Club
Martin County
Orange County
Palm Beach County
Seminole County
St. Johns County
Jimmy Tomazinis, Biologist
Guana Tolomato Matanzas NERR
[email protected]
Cap’s on the Water
St. Augustine Seafoord Company
Velchoff’s Corner
St. Lucie County
12A Buoy
Chuck’s Seafood Restaurant
Cobb’s Landing
The Fort Steakhouse
Pelican Yacht Club
Volusia County
Tess Sailor-Tynes, Conservation Science Coordinator
Marine Discovery Center
[email protected]
Jose Abarca, Operations Manager
Waste Pro
[email protected]
63 Sovereign
The Baker’s Table
Chase’s On The Beach
City Market Bistro
Goodrich Seafood Restaurant
McKenna’s Place
McKenna’s Port Orange
Off The Hook Raw Bar & Grill
Off The Hook at Inlet Harbor
Outriggers Tiki Bar & Grille
Riptides Raw Bar & Grill
Stoney Farms Crab Shop
Partner Organizations
Marine Discovery Center
Brevard Zoo
Coastal Conservation Association Florida
Fishcreek Glampground
Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission
Florida Oceanographic Society
Florida State Parks
Friends of Gamble Rogers State Park
Guana Tolomato Matanzas NERR
Indian River Lagoon Aquatic Preserves
Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program
South Florida Association of Environmental Professionals
St. Johns River Water Management District
University of Central Florida
Urban Farming Institute
Waste Pro
Our Mission:
"To protect our coastal ecosystems through education, conservation, and exploration"