AP TELEVISION

New Orleans, Louisiana - June 24, 2014

1. Various of oysters being shucked at P&J Oyster Company, an oyster dealer in the French Quarter

2. Various of P&J Oyster Company co-owner Al Sunseri, who is also a member of the Louisiana Oyster Task Force

3. SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Al Sunseri, New Orleans Oyster Dealer

"No one I think believed that we would have an issue like we have today in the Oyster business in Louisiana. Louisiana was a number one producer of Oysters in the country, we produced more than 30% of all Oysters consumed in the United States. 500 million pound of oysters use to come out of the Gulf of Mexico, with Louisiana producing 250 to 300 millions pounds of inshell oysters a year, we don't do anywhere near that anymore."

4. Various of oysters being shucked at P&J Oyster Company in the French Quarter

5. SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Al Sunseri, New Orleans Oyster Dealer

"Well I've been doing this for 35 years and I've seen lots of hurricanes, lots of spill way openings, you know the introduction of fresh water through man made diversions and there is nothing that has had an impact like this oil disaster, nothing."

6. Mid of "Oyster Bar" sign outside a French Quarter restaurant

7. Various of bar worker at the Bourbon House restaurant shucking oysters and serving patrons

8. Wide shot of Hilary Collis, restoration program director for the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana at presser

9. SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Hilary Collis, restoration program director for the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana

"60% of the shell that is removed from our coastal waters is not returned to help regrow reefs, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries works to supplement that loss, by adding other materials to help regrow reefs, they have other cultch material, but CRCL and Department of Wildlife and Fisheries have been very focused on trying to find ways to harness shell that is lost and return it to the coast. Oysters in essence love to grow on other oysters, they reproduce by producing larvae into the water column, which will settle on these hardened surfaces and grow into more reefs, by helping put more hard surfaces back in the coast we can keep adding, growing oyster reefs for years to come."

10. Cutaway of Recycling program sign

11. SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) Dickie Brennan, a New Orleans restaurateur and owner of the Bourbon House

"It makes all the sense in the world, we have so many of them here available, so we can get them back into the water, you know its just makes all the sense."

12. Various of bagged oyster shells on display at a media event at the Bourbon House

Restaurants and seafood industry officials in New Orleans are recycling oyster shells in hopes of revitalizing what dealers say is a depleted Gulf of Mexico harvest.

State officials said they don't have current figures on the size of recent harvests.

But dealers in New Orleans and Houma say production is down.

One says he's even had to import oysters from overseas to meet demand for oyster po-boys and oyster soup.

Dealers say there are multiple possible reasons for the lower production, including hurricanes in recent years and the BP oil spill of 2010.

The recycling program, organized by the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, returns shucked oyster shells to coastal waters to help revitalize public oyster seed areas.

The shells will also be used as material in coastal restoration projects.