Once destined for raw bars, 5 million oysters are being rerouted to coastal restoration efforts


The Supporting Oyster Aquaculture and Restoration initiative (SOAR), coordinated by the Pew Charitable Trusts, The Nature Conservancy, and various state agencies, NGOs, and universities, spent millions buying oysters from 100 farms in seven states to put back into the oceans for reef restoration. Working in areas that already have reef monitoring programs, SOAR is supporting 20 reef restoration projects to create habitat for more oysters and other marine species, clean the water, and mitigate coastal flooding. SOAR also helped mitigate potential losses for shellfish farmers due to COVID-19.

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