ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. — Food for thought: Ordering oysters at a local restaurant could help the environment.

That is, if the restaurant happens to be participating in Tampa Bay Watch’s oyster shell recycling program.

Heidi Butler and her husband own The Helm: Provisions and Coastal Fare in St. Pete Beach. Open during lunch hours, she said the restaurant goes through about six bushels of oysters a week, which she recycles through Tampa Bay Watch.


What You Need To Know

  • The Helm is one of six restaurants currently participating in the Tampa Bay Watch program

  • Since the program launched last February, Tampa Bay Watch has collected more than 71,000 pounds of shells

  • Along with the installation of oyster shell bags, Tampa Bay Watch also makes and installs oyster reef balls

“I’m actually from South Carolina. In South Carolina, oyster recycling is very big,” Butler said. “It’s just kind of a given and when we got here and opened this restaurant, I just wanted to continue that because I know it’s so good for the environment.”

The Helm is one of six restaurants currently participating in the program. Two more are in the process of signing up. Butler and the other restaurant owners collect all of their used oyster shells in a bin provided by Tampa Bay Watch, which the organization picks up throughout the week.

“There have been a lot restaurants that have reached out and said we really want to participate," said Richard Radigan, the program coordinator. "So much so that we have to vet the restaurant for their volume and put them on a waiting list because there are only a couple of us that make the runs a week."

The shells are then used in oyster shell bags to make living shorelines, meant to prevent erosion and provide new habitats for living oysters.

Since the program launched last February, Tampa Bay Watch has collected more than 71,000 pounds of shells. They are kept in a shell pile near the Fort De Soto boat ramp, where they must cure in the sun for at least three months, to kill any bacteria.

“So the next time you’re at a restaurant and you want to order oysters, just ask them if they’re participating in our program,” Radigan said.  “Every oyster you order can actually help improve the bay.”

Along with the installation of oyster shell bags, Tampa Bay Watch also makes and installs oyster reef balls.  Made up of marine safe concrete, the sphere shaped structures are also used to stabilize shorelines and foster oyster growth in Tampa Bay.