cultch
/kʌltʃ/
noun
- The material, such as crushed oyster shells, gravel, or other hard surfaces, placed on the bottom of a body of water to provide a place for oyster larvae to attach and grow.
- Without enough cultch, oyster larvae cannot settle and develop into adult oysters.
- The oyster farmers spread fresh cultch over the seabed to encourage new oyster growth.
- They used recycled shells as cultch to restore the depleted oyster reef.