Share Oyster shells given new life as reefs off Texas coast Tue, 5 January 2021 On the terrace of a seafood restaurant in Houston, Texas’ largest city, a few ladies are enjoying a local oyster dish: the breaded mollusks are slathered in mayonnaise and served in a sandwich. Sitting in the shade of a palm tree on a warm winter’s day, the diners have no idea that behind the restaurant a woman is busy giving the shells a second life. Thanks to Shannon Batte, they will soon form part of a reef in Galveston Bay, 10km away. Out of sight, the Galveston Bay Foundation employee loads seven trash cans each weighing 80kg onto her trailer.