GULF SHORES — Several members from the Alabama Coastal Foundation gathered in the heart of Gulf Shores Thursday morning to announce a $5 million grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric …
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GULF SHORES — Several members from the Alabama Coastal Foundation gathered in the heart of Gulf Shores Thursday morning to announce a $5 million grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in support of oyster restoration, shell recycling and community engagement along the Gulf of Mexico.
The Mobile-based foundation, which is also celebrating the seventh anniversary of its oyster shell recycling program, will also receive support from Restore America's Estuaries (RAE) over the next three years as a part of the grant.
According to Chris Blankenship, commissioner of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the foundation's portion of the grant will go toward expanding the shell recycling program, which will aid in growing local restaurant participation, fund a deployment of cultch next August and support a peer-to-peer learning network with similar organizations along the Gulf Coast.
Mark Berte, ACF executive director, also announced that since it began in 2016, the program has successfully recycled over 22 million oyster shells, which are collected from participating restaurants, cleaned and returned back to the water to grow future oysters.
Additionally, Chandra Wright, director of environmental and educational initiatives for The Lodge at Gulf State Park, said the recycling program provides several ecological benefits and resources.
"Prior to this program, shells were being thrown away and sent to the landfill. Many people don't realize that for the first two weeks of life, oysters are free swimming creatures," said Wright. "After those two weeks, they begin looking for somewhere to settle, and their preferred habitat is other oyster shells."
Wright also said that recycling the shells also helps to replenish the natural oyster reefs, which can suffer significant damage from storms and erosion.
"Obviously, we have a huge cultural attachment to eating oysters here on the coast," Wright said. "But the oyster reefs also provide a valuable habitat for other creatures like crabs and are a great resource for birds."
Cecilia Mace, marketing director for Original Oyster House, said it has been a unique experience to watch the program evolve as one of the first participating restaurants.
"To watch this grow year after year has been amazing. To think it started with such a minute number, and now we are at 22 million," Mace said. "This grant helps people get involved and do something that creates a sustainable process for oysters. I know a lot of people have found us and come to our restaurant because they like our work, and I think more people will choose to eat at places that [recycle] oyster shells and sustain this culinary masterpiece."
About the oyster shell recycling program
In 2016, ACF established a recycling program so restaurants that sell oysters on the half-shell can recycle them back into Alabama waters.
The organization began educating local restaurants about the project and gauging interested participants. According to a March 2023 Gulf Coast Media article, each of the restaurants that take part in the program pay ACF to participate, which helps to fund the program.
"We ask the restaurants to recycle their shells into our carts, and then we send a contractor to collect them three times a week," Berte said in March. "Once we get the shells, we leave them outside for six months so they can get clean."
The program is currently collecting shells from restaurants located in both Baldwin County and Mobile County.
Participating restaurants include:
ACME Oyster House
Bayside Grill at The Grand Hotel
Bluegill RestaurantCobalt, The Restaurant
Cobalt, The Restaurant (Orange Beach)
