Contact: Patricia Smith
Date: June 10, 2008
Phone: (252) 726-7021

OYSTER SHELL RECYCLING PROGRAM TO RECOGNIZE PARTICIPANTS

MOREHEAD CITY – The N.C. Oyster Shell Recycling Program will hold ceremonies on the coast in June to recognize volunteers, government agencies and businesses for their support.

More than 62 participants in the Oyster Shell Recycling Program will receive plaques thanking them for their contributions.

“These are the people who make the program work,” said Sabrina Varnam, Oyster Shell Recycling Program coordinator.

They include members of conservation groups, civic organizations, schools and other interested individuals.

“These people spend hours of their own time and their own money because they believe North Carolina’s oyster population is worth saving for the many benefits they provide,” Varnam said.

They include restaurateurs who agree to separate their shell from trash so that they can be picked up for the program.

“Even though the majority of restaurants buy their oysters from the Gulf States, they are allowing us to use the shell to enhance North Carolina’s oyster resource,” Varnam said. “They do this in the hope that one day the majority of the oysters they serve will come from local waters.”

They also include county governments and solid waste businesses that are instrumental in providing collection sites.

Oysters are a food source for humans, birds and fish and serve as nature’s water filters. They clean pollutants from the water. Oyster reefs also provide habitat for baby fish and other marine life.

When oysters spawn, the larvae need a hard substrate on which to attach and grow. And oysters prefer to attach to shell material.

The state has, for years, used oyster shell in oyster rehabilitation programs. The Oyster Shell Recycling Program started in the fall of 2003 to establish public places where people could donate their shells. The program has grown from collecting 711 bushels of oyster shells in 2003 to more than 32,000 bushels in 2007.

Plaques will be given to those who have participated in the program for more than one year. Ceremonies have been scheduled as follows:

New Hanover County
10 a.m., June 17
Heck of a Peck Oyster Bar
4039 Masonboro Loop Road, Wilmington

Pender County
2 p.m., June 17
Mako's Raw Bar & Grille
55 Scotts Loop Road, Scott's Hill

Craven County
10 a.m., June 19th
Coastal Regional Solid Waste Management Authority
(Tuscarora landfill facility)
7400 Old Highway 70, Cove City

Pamlico County
1 p.m., June 19th
Gary's Downeast Seafood Restaurant
7630 N.C. 306 S., Arapahoe

Carteret County
9:30 a.m., June 20th
The Ice House Restaurant
109 South 6th St., Morehead City

Beaufort County
10 a.m., June 26th
Blackbeard's Restaurant & Lounge
1000 Washington St., Washington

Martin County
3 p.m., June 26th
Sunnyside Oyster Bar
1102 Washington St., Williamston

Columbus County
11 a.m., June 30th
Dale's Seafood of Whiteville
107 South Powell Blvd., Whiteville

Onslow County
10 a.m., July 1st
Hammock's Beach State Park
1572 Hammock Beach Road, Swansboro

A list of plaque recipients is below, including an additional 12 who were recognized in earlier ceremonies in Brunswick and Pitt counties. Additional ceremonies in other counties will be scheduled for later this year.

For more information, contact Varnam at (252) 808-8056 or Sabrina.Varnam@ncmail.net.