Fairfield to expand oyster recycling program at local restaurants

FAIRFIELD — Something as simple as ordering oysters at some local restaurants could mean increasing the chances for more adult oysters to grow under a recycling program run by the Fairfield Shellfish Commission.

More than 68,000 pounds of shells have been collected since the program began in 2015, which in turn have been cured and returned to Long Island Sound to bolster the natural oyster beds. That program, the first in Connecticut, is now serving as a model for a possible statewide effort to remove shells from landfills and help these natural oyster beds.

“It’s a pretty big impact, without a huge amount of effort,” said Tim Macklin, vice chairman of the Fairfield Shellfish Commission.

Oysters tend to spawn best on other oyster shells — one of the main reasons for the program. Adding these shells back onto the beds also provides habitats for other aquatic species and reinforces the beds along the shoreline, which in turn can help prevent erosion and improve water quality. Another possible environmental benefit is that an adult oyster can filter up to 30 gallons of water a day.

“That shell is critically important,” said Tessa Getchis, an extension educator with the Connecticut Sea Grant and the University of Connecticut Extension Program.

She said the state has been working on restoring Connecticut’s oyster beds for years with a restoration plan set to come out this spring. She said oyster farms are already great at recycling but, because there isn’t a statewide recycling program, a lot of shells aren’t returned to the oyster beds once they’re delivered to restaurants and then discarded.

“We realized there was a huge opportunity to recover those shells that were lost when they were sold,” Getchis said.

Fairfield has successfully run its program for seven years and so those volunteers, including Macklin and John Short, are sharing what they’ve learned as three other pilot programs look to come onboard in Stamford, Norwalk and Groton.

Short, Fairfield’s shellfish commission chairman, said they’ve seen a mix of oysters over the years.

“We know that it works,” he said. “It’s a proven method across the industry.”

Macklin said their commission is already working with Closed Loop Initiative Partners in Stamford to help the pilots in Stamford and Norwalk. He said one of the biggest challenges with these programs is storing the shells before they can return to the water. Fairfield has created a set spot for its program in a strategic area so that the smell doesn’t have much impact and is helping Closed Loop Initiative Partners with the storage.

Getchis said the state would like to develop a network in the long run and is using these programs, along with other states’ experiences, to see how it would work best and potential costs.

The state is also working on statewide regulations and guidelines to make it easier for a uniform approach across a potential network.

“We have a huge opportunity to capture shells along the I-95 corridor and transport,” Getchis said.

Under Fairfield’s program, the commission gives a five-gallon bucket to participating restaurants to collect discarded oyster shells. The buckets are then picked up by commission volunteers on the weekend and an empty bucket is left in its place. The shells are then cured for six months to ensure no invasive organisms are on them before they go back onto natural oyster beds in Connecticut waters, especially since the oysters at restaurants can come from all over.

Fairfield places the collected shells at Ash Creek, Sasco Beach, Pine Creek and Tide Mill at Southport Harbor.

The commission buys the buckets with some of its budget, making the program free for restaurants to participate in.

“Trying to make it easy on the restaurant is important,” Macklin said.

The group working on the statewide recycling effort is trying to get that restaurant support too and is issuing a survey through the restaurant association to identify the restaurants’ motives, interests and challenges.

Getchis sees it as a winwin because not only would restaurants support the environment by participating, but it would also remove the cost they pay to have the shells taken away.

Oysters are facing a series of threats, including construction, global warming, storms, sediment covering the shells, pollution and over harvesting, though restrictions have helped the last two.

“Right now, one of the major concerns in Fairfield is the building docks into our oyster beds,” Short said.

When Fairfield’s Shellfish Commission decided to launch the program seven years ago as a way to help the natural oyster beds, it discovered Connecticut was one of a few coastal states in the country that didn’t have something like this. They started by collecting shells on the beach, but realized they wouldn’t gather nearly enough and brought restaurants from town, Bridgeport and Westport on board.

“You need a generous supply of oyster shells,” Macklin said.

The amount of participating restaurants has fluctuated over the years with some of the Westport ones joining a program that was in the works there for a short time. Other restaurants have closed. The pandemic also impacted the collection because restaurants weren’t open for in-person dining for a bit.

The commission is trying to restore the number of participants now that things are opening up again, as well as working with oyster festivals to collect their discarded shells.

Members are also trying to increase awareness about the effort and asking restaurants to post flyers about the program so that people know more about it.

Education is a key part of the state effort too.

Getchis said oysters and other shellfish play a key part in both Connecticut’s economy and ecology but people don’t often think about it because it’s out of sight.

“It’s hard to recognize when it’s underwater,” she said.

She said talking about the recycling and restoration efforts and the importance of oysters themselves can be done in an approachable way at places where people are already enjoying oysters.

“We’re really excited to get people engaged in this program,” Getchis said. “It’s a creative way to start the conversation without bringing people into a workshop.”