The first annual Halifax Oyster Festival presented by Costa sunglasses held recently in Daytona Beach, Fla. was a shucking success! The food and music festival was held to raise awareness for oyster reef restoration efforts in the area, as well as to collect as many shucked oyster shells as possible for use in building new oyster mats.
Oyster reefs provide habitat and refuge for a variety of wildlife, including shrimp, blue crab, redfish, snook and sea trout. To date, more 300 species have been identified as depending, either directly or indirectly, on oyster reefs. Oyster mats, constructed of empty shells, attract free-floating oyster larvae, which then settle and produce the backbone of a healthy reef within as little as a year's time.
Oysters serve an additional important purpose - they have been referred to as the ultimate water filter. They clean water by feeding on plankton and waterborne detritus (dead plant and animal material) while removing sediments, pollutants, and microorganisms from the water column
During this first Halifax Oyster Festival, an estimated 8,500 people in attendance shucked over 11,000 oysters and raised more than $25,000 for Oyster Reef Restoration through the Marine Discovery Center in New Smyrna Beach, Fla. For more information about the event, visit www.halifaxoysterfestival.com
