Maryland Oyster Group Supporting 'No Shell Left Behind' Tax Credit

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A “No Shell Left Behind” bill before Maryland lawmakers would provide a dollar a bushel tax credit for recycled oyster shell, a move one conservation group hopes will increase supply of the empty bivalves needed by hatcheries.

“No shell should end up in a landfill,” said Stephan Abel, executive director of the Oyster Recovery Partnership, who testified on the bill Tuesday before the House Ways and Means committee.

The partnership organizes a shell recycling effort involving restaurants, wholesalers and others. Oyster shells are needed for restoration efforts because young oysters raised in hatcheries prefer to attach to adult oyster shells, which are in short supply.

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