On a mission to create a more sustainable food and beverage operation, The Maine’s Joey Ghazal has been quietly working on a project that he believes will push his restaurant’s sustainability efforts to the next level.
He chatted to Caterer Middle East about The Dubai Oyster Project and explains why more restaurants need to join this initiative in order to really make a difference.
He said: “I’ve been working on this for so long and I just want to get it out there. Our restaurants have been around for six years. I grew up here and this city means so much to me, so we are always looking for ways to improve our community. We are always looking to make the world a better place. So in addition to some usual sustainability efforts like eliminating single-use plastic we wanted to do more.”
Ghazal met with Fadi Abu Ghali, a Dubai-based entrepreneur, executive advisor and friend of the Arbor school, a dynamic and forward-thinking school that prepares young people for a rapidly changing world.
He said: “Fadi and I were discussing this problem we had. Thousands of discarded oyster shells end up in landfills. We throw away over 50,000 oyster shells a month in our restaurants. So I just had to find a way to do something about it.”
According to Ghazal, Abu Ghali was intrinsic in advising and helping expand on the idea for this Oyster project. He was responsible for bringing in The Arbor School and the Emirates Marine Environmental group scientists and staff to the table to grow the vision and turn it into a meaningful CSR initiative
Together they came up with the idea of The Dubai Oyster Project. The initiative uses discarded oyster shells from The MAINE’s three outlets to rehabilitate reef systems off the coast of Dubai. The discarded shells from The MAINE are kept and donated to the Arbor School, where students, their families and school staff turn the shells into a natural reef at the EMEG reserve in Ghantout.
The project, in collaboration with the Emirates Marine Environmental Group (EMEG), is– the first of its kind in the Middle East. “Based on the success of The Dubai Oyster Project, we plan to expand it into different areas outside the reserve contributing to the betterment of the UAE’s marine ecosystem and the protection of the endangered Hawksbill Turtle” added Ghazal.
How the Dubai Oyster Project works
Ghazal explained the process: “Students at the Arbor School place the shells into discarded fish traps known locally as ‘gargoors’, which are funnel traps commonly used by fisherman and then discarded at sea when they get old. These traps pose a huge risk to local species as they lay empty on the seabed.”
Once filled with oyster shells the gargoors are transformed into a “biological building block” from which whole reefs are constructed, turning an environmental hazard into a benefit that directly impacts the water quality, biodiversity, and physical geography of the waters.
Ghazal said: “Every discarded oyster shell that is put back into the water and later regenerates into an oyster – filters 50 gallons of seawater per day. So the kids at the Arbor school are the ones building these blocks and monitoring the reef.”
Dine and donate
The more guests dine, the more we the restaurant is able to donate to this cause. “We’ve already donated 250,000 oyster shells and we aim to reach 1 million oysters within the next year to help build a biodiverse environment for marine life in the UAE. The goal of The Dubai Oyster Project is to get more restaurants and hotels on board and will start donating their discarded oyster shells.
“Who knows where it can go. We should all be asking ourselves what we can do for the environment. It sounds like a very simple thing, but it is a complex thing and it is an investment, but it is worth it.”