2 minute read
SINK YOUR SHUCKS offers tangible results
Brad Lomax sees the pioneering Sink Your Shucks™ program as something tangible showing how cooperation between business and science can produce results for the environment.
Sink Your Shucks™ recycles used oyster shells to restore oyster reefs and has been in place since 2009. Through the program, more than three million pounds of oyster shell has been recycled while building more than 45 acres of reefs along the middle Texas coast in the Gulf of Mexico.
Beyond those numbers, for a restaurateur such as Lomax, participation in Sink Your Shucks™ is a connection to HRI that not only makes good business sense, but also supports Lomax’s passion for conservation and the sustainability of the community he lives and works in.
“For me it’s tangible,” said Lomax, who founded popular restaurants in downtown Corpus Christi such as Water Street Oyster Bar and Executive Surf Club. “This is the real deal. You can go out there and walk on the reefs that have been restored through our efforts and efforts of other restaurants. I remember Mr. (Ed) Harte talking about bridging the gap between business, real world, and academia and I think this program does that beautifully.”
Lomax’s handful of restaurants are a portion of the eateries in the Coastal Bend and beyond that have Sink Your Shucks™ gather their spent oyster shells which are eventually used to build reefs.
From a scientific point of view, the reconstruction of oyster reefs is key for Texas’ bays and estuaries because oysters are essential for habitat creation, water filtration, shoreline protection, and nutrient cycling.
Meanwhile, a healthy oyster population supports commercial and recreational fishing industries that contribute to the local economy.
“It’s been good for business for us to be able to wrap ourselves in the Sink Your Shucks™ program,” Lomax said. “More and more these days when conventions and groups are booking in a community, they want to know what’s going on in that community that’s beneficial to the world.”
For more info on Sink Your Shucks, go to SinkYourShucks.org.
