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Photos of recycled shells helping to restore oyster reefs

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Atlantic City restaurants and casinos save oyster shells discarded from their diners. They are collected and cleaned before being dumped onto the Mullica River oyster reefs.

High-pressure water cannons blast oyster shells off a barge into the waters of the Mullica River, where they help bolster the oyster population on reefs below.
High-pressure water cannons blast oyster shells off a barge into the waters of the Mullica River, where they help bolster the oyster population on reefs below.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer

The recycled shells help form new reefs or enhance the natural colonies. Free-floating baby oysters, known as spat, attach to the shells and begin to grow on them. The reefs are home to one of the last self-sustaining oyster populations on the Atlantic coast.

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