A paste made from shell hash enhances oyster recruitment

Help restore oyster reefs by pasting!

The paste can be applied on any type of hard surface (stones/wood) where it functions as a temporary coating. The reef paste coating enhances shellfish recruitment. The paste consists of grinded oyster shells and natural binding additives and is 100% biobased and biodegradable.

Material & method

- BESE-reef paste consists of 80% grinded shell and 20% biobased binding additives.
- The BESE-reef paste slowly disintegrates in water and lasts 1-5 years, depending on local conditions.
- It can be applied on BESE-elements, stone, wood or other hard material.

Function

BESE-reef paste enhances shellfish recruitment rates, as various shellfish species prefer to settle on other shells, which consists mainly of calcium carbonate. Once oysters or other shellfish have colonised the structure, reef paste starts to disintegrate, leaving only the natural system behind.

BESE-reef paste replaces natural shell material, which can be beneficial in areas 1) where the amount of shell available is limited, 2) too dynamic to place loose shells on the sea floor (high chance of burial or too much movement) or 3) where artificial reefs are used for restoration purposes.

WE'RE GLAD YOU'RE INTERESTED IN OUR BIODEGRADABLE PRODUCTS

If you have any questions, would like to meet us or are interested in purchasing BESE-products, please get in touch.

CASE STUDIES

How it is made, BESE-reef paste with the help of a traditional mill in The Netherlands

We have been developing a special coating for oysters: the BESE-reef paste, a biodegradable product. The shells for the BESE-reef paste are crushed by...