New Jersey Restores Mullica River Oyster Reefs
The state is scaling a shell-recycling program to mitigate storm impacts and restore 8 acres of vital coastal habitat.
Updated on Oct. 29, 2026 in Environmental
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In 2026, New Jersey officials completed the planting of 26,087 bushels of recycled oyster and clam shells to restore 8 acres of reef in the Mullica River estuary. This conservation program, which began in 2019, utilizes discarded shells collected from 20 restaurants across Atlantic, Cape May, and Ocean Counties.
Why it matters
Oyster reefs serve as critical natural infrastructure that filters water and provides shoreline stabilization to mitigate storm impacts. With 85% of the world's oyster reefs lost, these restoration efforts are vital for recovering ecosystem services in degraded coastal habitats.
The restoration project has secured $1.2 million in federal funding to support the deployment of 26,087 bushels of shell across 8 acres. The program adds significant substrate compared to the prior state of the Mullica River estuary, with current plans targeting an expansion of an additional 10 acres.
The players
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
The state agency responsible for overseeing the cleaning, drying, and deployment of recycled shells for reef restoration.
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
A hospitality and gaming operator that partnered with the state at the inception of the recycling program in 2019.
Sysco
A food distribution company that provides the logistics for collecting discarded shells from participating restaurant partners.
The details
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection manages the logistics, cleaning and sun-drying shells collected by Sysco from restaurant partners to ensure they are pathogen-free. Once processed, these shells are barged to the estuary and distributed across the riverbed using high-pressure water jets. This process creates a stable, calcium-rich foundation that encourages larval oysters to attach and grow, effectively rebuilding the reef structure.
Timeline
The shell recycling program began operations in 2019.
The state completed the planting of 26,087 bushels of shells in 2026.
The Tech Race
New Jersey is positioning its restoration strategy as a scalable model for coastal states facing the loss of 85% of global oyster reefs. The project demonstrates a replicable workflow that integrates municipal waste management with large-scale environmental engineering.
Residents in Atlantic, Cape May, and Ocean Counties may notice the program's presence through participating local restaurants that divert shells from landfills. While the direct restoration benefits accrue to the coastal ecosystem, the initiative serves as a blueprint for expanding similar waste-to-reef models in other states.
The takeaway
The program successfully validates a circular model for using restaurant waste to rebuild essential marine infrastructure. Readers interested in regional conservation can monitor future restoration updates from the state's department of environmental protection as they begin their next 10-acre expansion phase.
What happens next
The state program plans to expand the Mullica River restoration by an additional 10 acres of reef.
Further reading
Learn more about local habitat recovery efforts in New Jersey Environmental.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Economic Times.
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