Royal Caribbean Cruise Ships Donate $35,000 in Three Years for Oyster Restoration in Mosquito Lagoon

Cruise ships donate staff time to prepare oyster shells for construction of new reef habitat

Altamonte Springs, FL — December 22, 2008 — Royal Caribbean recently donated $15,000 to oyster restoration work in Mosquito Lagoon being conducted by The Nature Conservancy and the University of Central Florida (UCF). This is the third year in a row the company has supported this project for a total of $35,000 in donations.

“The Nature Conservancy greatly appreciates the financial and staff support that Royal Caribbean has given toward our efforts to restore oyster reef habitat in Mosquito Lagoon,” said Anne Birch, The Nature Conservancy’s Indian River Lagoon program director. “Oysters are important for both nature and people. They filter water, stabilize shoreline, provide food and habitat for wildlife and are an important part of Florida’s seafood industry. With Royal Caribbean’s support, the Conservancy, UCF, thousands of volunteers and many other partners have restored more than 19 acres of oyster reefs.”

In 2005, The Nature Conservancy and UCF initiated the Oyster Reef Restoration Project in the Mosquito Lagoon with a goal of using science-based restoration to restore oyster habitat within the boundaries of Canaveral National Seashore. By 2008, 19 acres had been restored with the help of more than 9,200 volunteers. Volunteers helped restore oyster habitat by making “oyster mats” made of oyster shells attached to mesh material. The shells provide a stationary natural substrate on which oyster larvae will settle.

Royal Caribbean’s financial donations provide funding for a staff person with the Conservancy to organize community events to make and deploy the oyster mats. While out to sea, Royal Caribbean cruise ship staff on the Mariner of the Seas donated their time to drill holes in oyster shells, which are brought back to port to be tied to oyster mats. Royal Caribbean recognized the cruise ship Mariner of the Seas with its “Environmental Ship of the Year” award in 2005 and 2006. Both years, the Mariner of the Seas donated its $10,000 award to the Oyster Reef Restoration Project.

In 2007, Freedom of the Seas received the “Environmentally Innovative Ship of the Year” and “Environmental Ship of the Year” awards and donated its $15,000 award to the project. Its crew also plans to continue in the footsteps of the Mariner’s crew and donate staff time toward oyster shell drilling.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than 1 million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 18 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 117 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.