J.J. McDonnell & Co. Forms Strategic Alliance with Oyster Recovery Partnership to Expand Shell Recycling Program and Improve the Health of the Chesapeake Bay

Online, November 17, 2010 (Newswire.com) - J.J. McDonnell, the leading distributor of high quality seafood products to the Mid-Atlantic region, has partnered with the Oyster Recovery Partnership (ORP) to collect used oyster shells, a limited natural resource, from participating restaurants and promote the expansion of oyster beds in the Chesapeake Bay.

Not only critical to the Bay's fishing industry, oysters contribute to the health and cleanliness of the water by filtering over 50 gallons per day per oyster. By collecting the used shells ORP is able to reseed them with spat (baby oysters) and help to repopulate the bay, which has been drastically reduced in the last 100 years due to historical overfishing and environmental causes.

J.J. McDonnell is the only seafood distributor in the Baltimore/Washington metro area participating in the program on this large of a scale and expects to greatly increase the number of shells available for reuse to ORP.

"Partnering with J.J. McDonnell is a fantastic opportunity as it allows us to leverage their existing relationships and delivery routes to maximize the number of shells collected and expand our reach," said Stephan Abel, Executive Director for the Oyster Recovery Partnership. "To meet our goals it is critical that a greater number of shells are returned for reseeding and we hope this alliance will encourage increased participation in the coming year."

"The partnership with ORP is a natural fit for J.J. McDonnell given our access to and relationships with restaurants across the Mid-Atlantic region," said George W. McManus III, President of J.J. McDonnell & Co. "We are eager to help organizations like ORP whose mission is to improve our Bay's natural resources and increase the availability of sustainable seafood items sourced in a responsible manner."

How it Works

ORP provided J.J. McDonnell with a supply of five-gallon buckets to distribute to participating locations. During their normal delivery routes, drivers drop the empty buckets, pick up the filled ones then return them to J.J. McDonnell's home office in Jessup where they are transferred to a special shell container. ORP collects the shells weekly and transports them to the Horn Point Oyster Hatchery near Cambridge, Maryland where they begin the drying process. More than 30 restaurants and catering companies currently participate in the Shell Recycling program.

About J.J. McDonnell

J.J. McDonnell is a leading provider of high-quality seafood to restaurant food service and retail establishments, with a strong focus on conservation and sustainability. J.J. McDonnell's expertise on a wide variety of seafood products, from exotic fish and shellfish to locally sourced and sustainable items, is unsurpassed, as is our commitment to quality and customer service. For more information visit http://www.jjmcdonnell.com.

About Oyster Recovery Partnership

Restoring Our Oyster. Cleaning Our Bay. Preserving Our Future. This is the mission of the Oyster Recovery Partnership (ORP) -- a 501(c)(3) non-profit based in Annapolis, MD. ORP actively promotes, supports and restores oysters for ecologic and economic purposes. We engage in numerous Chesapeake Bay-related projects by conducting science-based "in-the-water" and "on-the-land" recovery efforts, while conducting public outreach and education in our quest to protect our environment, our heritage, and our knowledge of the Chesapeake Bay, its marshes and rivers, and the life that it sustains. Since 2000, ORP, with its coalition of partners, have produced and planted more than 2.5 Billion oysters on 1,400 acres of oyster reefs, a majority of which are permanently protected or managed. In addition to major oyster recovery activities, ORP operates the Shell Recycling Alliance, supports the Marylanders Grow Oysters program, and provides aquaculture and wild fishery support services. For more information visit http://www.oysterrecovery.org/.