FULTON, Texas — Fulton Oysterfest began on Thursday and runs through this Sunday.
Last year's festival saw tens of thousands of oysters shucked. That is why the Harte Research Institute at Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi wanted to get involved this year to collect oysters and recycle them.
"We're going to take all of these shells that we collect from the festival, and these are going to go directly back in the water," HRI Sink Your Shucks Oyster Recycling Program Project Coordinator Michael Osier said.
Osier explained that after oyster shells are collected, they are quarantined for more than six months. Then, they are put back in the water to help rebuild oyster reefs and keep them out of landfills.
"We currently have a couple reefs going, and most of them are all in Aransas County. So, all these oysters are going right back in their backyard," Osier said.
There were at least 60,000 shells at last year's Oysterfest, according to HRI. It is the recycling program's largest source of oyster shells.
The Fulton Volunteer Fire Department runs the festival with about 40 firefighters. FVFD Fire Chief Cody Morales said it helps fund their fire stations and trucks.
"We have people come in from Alaska and Canada that come to this festival, so, we love seeing them every year," Morales said. "Everybody coming in, having a good time together, and knowing that it's going to a good cause."
Janie Baker visited Oysterfest from Wisconsin and said HRI's efforts to recycle oyster shells is a positive.
"That's a very good thing to keep the environment like it is," Baker said.
Osier also said rebuilding reefs with oyster shells can help curb shoreline erosion and provide a place for sea life to live.
"A year from now, when these go back into the water, this could be acres of reef that get put in with this amount of oyster shell," Osier said.
Osier invited the community to attend one of their bagging events to get shells back in the water. The next events are from 9 a.m.- 12 p.m. on May 4 and 11 at Goose Island.
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