The Brevard Zoo Restore Our Shores team is finishing up a new oyster reef on Dragon Point, just south of Mather’s Bridge. The installation uses a new type of oyster shell container, a gabion, that is plastic free and stackable for the basic structure. Experience shows that using shells alone is the best way to recruit viable spat (baby oysters) and a two year old reef adjacent to the build is thriving. The Save Our Indian River Lagoon (SOIRL) plan calls for construction of oyster reefs throughout the Lagoon.

The University of Florida Whitney Lab Center for Oyster Reef Enhancement (CORE) is dedicated to research and promotion of oysters in the Lagoon. Each oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water/day and the reef helps protect our shores from erosion by breaking waves in addition to creating habitat for plants and animals.