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.

Shuck and Share Volunteers

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]

BrevardBrowardCitrusFlaglerIndian RiverMartinOrangePalm BeachSeminoleSt. JohnsSt. LucieVolusia

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


Florida Oceanographic Society
Florida Oceanographic Oyster Restoration
[email protected]

Orange County


Dr. Linda Walters
Researcher & Pegasus Professor
[email protected]

Palm Beach County

No County Contact Available At This Time


The Parched Pig


The Twisted Tuna

Seminole County

No County Contact or Participating Restaurants Available At This Time

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

No County Contact Available At This Time


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"