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Topic: Gulf Coast oyster farming and conservationSource: Houston civic articlePerson: Raz Halili, Prestige Oysters, San Leon TXReading time: About 2 minutesKey issue: Keeping Galveston Bay clean and productive
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Good first step: Share Friends or family who eat seafood or care about clean water
Hey, did you know a local family near Galveston Bay recycles oyster shells to keep our water clean? Check out this quick story about Prestige Oysters.
Raz Halili grew up on Galveston Bay in San Leon, Texas, where his family founded Prestige Oysters. Today he runs one of the largest oyster operations in the country — and he works just as hard to protect the Gulf Coast as he does to supply it. His story shows how one person can turn a deep love for a place into real environmental action.
Prestige Oysters is now the first and only Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)-certified private oyster fishery in the United States. MSC is a nonprofit that sets rigorous standards for fishing practices that protect — and even help restore — the environment. Prestige also practices shell recycling, returns undersized oysters to the water to mature, and has invested more than $10 million and roughly 400 million pounds of cultch (shell material used to seed new oyster growth) into reef restoration along the Texas coast. In 2023, the Halili family established Rett Reef, a 10-acre non-harvestable oyster sanctuary off San Leon — the first of its kind created by a private company in Texas. On the restaurant side, Halili opened Pier 6 Seafood and Oyster House in San Leon in 2020, revived Fish Company Taco in Galveston in 2024, and is set to open Parkwood American Grille in Friendswood.
You can support Gulf Coast ecosystems through everyday choices — where you eat, what you buy, and how you stay informed. Seeking out seafood from MSC-certified sources is one of the simplest ways to vote with your fork. Visiting local waterfront businesses like Pier 6 or Fish Company Taco also puts money directly into the hands of people actively restoring the bay. And if you want to go deeper, look into volunteer reef restoration programs along the Texas coast.
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Galveston Bay and the broader Gulf Coast are part of daily life for millions of Houstonians — for recreation, food, and flood protection. Oyster reef health connects directly to water quality, storm resilience, and the local fishing economy. Community members interested in coastal stewardship, local food sourcing, or small business stories will find Halili's work relevant across all three.
Oysters do more than end up on a plate. A single oyster can filter gallons of water every day. Oyster reefs reduce coastal erosion and soften storm surges — important facts for anyone living along the Gulf. Halili watched disasters like Hurricane Ike in 2008 and the BP oil spill in 2010 reveal how little most people understood about these ecosystems. His work is a reminder that the health of Galveston Bay affects the whole Houston region.
