Oyster Program

GBF's Oyster Program is a collaborative, community-driven initiative that partners with bayfront property owners, volunteers, restaurants, and contractors to restore oyster habitats throughout Galveston Bay.

Through oyster gardening, shell recycling, and reef-building efforts, we seek to revive this keystone species that is critical to the health and resilience of Galveston Bay.

• Oyster Gardening: We train bayfront volunteers each spring to grow baby oysters (“spat”) on recycled shells suspended beneath docks. By fall, these juveniles are transplanted onto restoration reefs to aid natural filtration.
• Shell Recycling: We collect used oyster shells from local restaurants, cure them to eliminate contaminants, and reuse them as foundational substrate on restoration sites—supporting new reef development.
• Reef Construction & Living Shorelines: We install oyster-shell “breakwaters” and place cured shells, rock, or rip‑rap on the Bay floor to form new linear reefs that support oyster growth, stabilize eroding shorelines, and boost habitat complexity
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• Monitoring & Outreach: Our team continuously monitors reef sites, trains volunteers, and collaborates with landowners and partners to track progress, improve methods, and raise awareness about oyster conservation’s ecological benefits.