Oyster Mats
Step 1
Restaurants and
seafood distributors
collect and donate
oyster shells.
Step 2
Volunteers attach
shells to aquaculture
mesh with zip ties
to create oyster mats.
Step 3
Volunteers anchor
mats to the estuary
floor in the footprint of
damaged oyster reefs.
Step 4
The mats provide
habitat for new
free-swimming oyster
larvae to settle on.
Altogether, the Brevard Oyster Restoration program
has put several million oysters back into the lagoon.
Oyster Gardening
Step 1
Waterfront residents
receive scientific
training and supplies
at a workshop.
23
Step 2
These volunteers
bring home shells
covered in juvenile
oysters.
Step 3
Volunteers care
for oysters from
their docks,
submitting data
on oyster success.
Step 4
Data points to
the best locations
for building new
oyster reefs.