Coastal Conservation Association is recycling oysters to improve the environment

Recycled oyster shells are being dumped into the Gulf of Mexico off the Charlotte County coast to help improve the life of sea creatures.

On Wednesday, crews followed a barge into Turtle Bay. On board were 40 tons of the shells hauled in from Lake County.

“Adding these recycled shells to create new habitat and add a large number of new oysters into the system to filter quality and help improve this water quality is key,” said Logan Kennovin with the Coastal Conservation Association.

The Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) calls oysters the estuarine ecosystem engineers, so each time they recycle them back into the water, they improve this ecosystem.