Sink Your Shucks™: Oyster Reef Restoration Event

General
Starts
May 18, 2019
8:30 am
Ends
May 18, 2019
11:30 am
Venue
Goose Island State Park - Big Tree Unit
202 Palmetto Street
Rockport, TX 78382
Highlight
Free and open to the public. Large groups should RSVP to 361-825-2020

On Saturday, May 18th join us at the Big Tree Unit of Goose Island State Park to lay oyster shell along the shoreline. Beginning at 8:30am, volunteers will help bag oysters and transport them along the shoreline to prevent erosion. Participants should wear closed-toe shoes (old tennis shoes are perfect), clothes that can get wet and dirty, sunscreen, and a hat. Work gloves and shovels will be provided. Drinks and snacks will also be provided. In case of inclement weather, the event will be rescheduled. Volunteers will receive a free T-shirt for signing up.

The Sink Your ShucksTM program is the first in Texas to reclaim more than 1,000,000 pounds of shucked oyster shells from local restaurants and wholesalers and return them to our local waters, providing substrate to form new reefs and habitat for fish, crabs, and other organisms. The project is co-coordinated by Gail Sutton with HRI and Dr. Jennifer Pollack of LSCI. Pollack, along with Sutton and Dr. Paul Montagna, developed the first oyster shell recycling program for the Texas Coastal Bend in November 2009. Volunteers will bag up reclaimed oyster shells and carry those bags to the water to build an educational oyster reef. This innovative project recycles oyster shells back into the Gulf of Mexico waters and creates a habitat where young oysters can attach and grow, ensuring an abundance of the mollusks for future commercial harvests.

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