Project team staff operate a water cannon to distribute oyster shells across the project area. Credit: Justine Lundsted/NOAA

New Jersey Exceeds Goals for Shell Recycling Program Expansion

12/16/2025 - By coast.noaa.gov, Published in coast.noaa.gov. Despite rising water temperatures, disease, and other challenges, an oyster reef in New Jersey’s Mullica River holds fast as one of the last self-sustaining populations along the state’s Atlantic coast. Historically abundant on the East Coast, oysters have experienced a major decline in the last… SEE MORE