Hello, Adventurers! Welcome back to the Coastal Expeditions blog! If this is your first time visiting our blog, we’re happy to have you here. We are all about nature, adventure, and making the most out of the beautiful outdoors of South Carolina. If you enjoy all things hiking, paddling, kayaking, and spending time outdoors, you’ve come to the right place! Here on the blog, we dive deep into different habitats, excursions, conservation efforts, and nature programs. Our site is filled with interactive maps, destination guides, and educational resources. Since the weather is getting warmer, we want to help you get out there and take advantage of all that the Lowcountry has to offer! We offer guided tours of the beautiful Lowcountry by kayak, paddleboard, ferry, boat, and private charter. We also have hands-on workshops taught by highly-trained guides on wilderness skills, birding, identifying native plants, sustainability, and camping. Anything you want to learn about, we teach! If you haven’t already, we encourage you to take a look around our site to learn more about our offerings. In our last post, we discussed stingrays, which are fascinating fish that can be found in our coastal waters. Today, we’ll be discussing oysters and oyster shell recycling! If you are interested in learning more, you’re in the right place. Let’s get started!

South Carolina’s coasts are known for their beaches, and where there are beaches, there’s seafood– And where there’s seafood, there are oysters! The Lowcountry’s creeks, salt marshes, and riverbeds are filled with oysters. More specifically, the Eastern Oyster. Oyster season in South Carolina runs from September through April. It is throughout this season that you’ll see many festivals dedicated to this creature. The Eastern Oyster, also known as the Atlantic Oyster or American Oyster, is a bivalve mollusk. Bivalves belong to a class of marine and freshwater mollusks with laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a shell consisting of two hinged parts. The shape and weight of the shell vary depending on the oyster’s habitat. For example, oysters that live in subtidal areas do not form clusters and tend to have heavy shells, while intertidal oysters have typically thin and elongated shells. An oyster’s primary habitat is in shallow water, and in South Carolina, oyster reefs develop primarily in intertidal areas, with less abundance in subtidal areas. The majority of extensive oyster beds in the state develop within a short distance of sources of water with high salinity, which means there is a high concentration of salt. 

While oysters provide fresh seafood to the Lowcountry, they also have ecological benefits. Oysters are filter feeders, which means they are suspension feeding animals that feed by straining suspended matter and food particles from water. They filter these bits of food out by beating their small hair-like structures called cilia, which are located on the gills. This allows them to feed on things like algae and pollutants, keeping the water clean. In fact, adult oysters filter up to 2.5 gallons of water per hour, or up to 50 gallons per day! Additionally, oyster reefs provide habitat for many other species, including fish, shrimp, crabs, and other animals. There are nearly 120 different species that frequent oyster reefs. Another ecological benefit of oysters is the fact that they control erosion– Oyster reefs stabilize marsh edges because they are natural breakwaters that absorb wave energy.

The American Oyster is the only commercially important species of oyster on the East Coast of the United States. In South Carolina, shellfish harvesting requires a Saltwater Recreational Fishing License. The harvesting season generally runs from October 1 through May 15. Harvesting is done by handpicking clusters of oysters at low tide in designated and authorized areas. Every year, tens of thousands of bushels of oysters are harvested recreationally and commercially. Although the oyster population in the state is currently stable, the oyster population in the United States has drastically declined since the 1930s due to over-harvesting, pollution, and disease. At the same time, the demand for oysters has increased. Because of this, efforts have been made to replenish the population while satiating the culinary demand for oysters. The biggest of these efforts is through oyster shell recycling.

We’ve all heard of recycling: The process of converting waste into reusable materials. But did you know that oyster shells can be recycled, too? Oyster shells can be replanted to cultivate and restore oyster beds. The shells provide a suitable home for new, juvenile oysters, rather than ending up in landfills. Because the leftover shells from individual backyard oyster roasts and by-the-bushel retail sales have contributed to a shortage of oyster shells for sustaining oyster habitats. Because of this, South Carolina has been forced to purchase the majority of its oyster shells from out-of-state processors, solely for the purpose of replanting oyster beds. The South Carolina Oyster Shell Recycling Program aims to combat this. Let’s take a closer look at the recycling process. 

There are over 30 drop-off locations in South Carolina for oyster shells. These locations have been established in cooperation with local and county governments and businesses in coastal South Carolina. Some of the drop-off locations include restaurants and caterers, which provide convenient spots for locals to help with conservation efforts. Once shells are dropped off, they are quarantined for at least six months to remove any invasive species or harmful diseases. Then, the shells are loaded onto a barge and planted by the Department of Natural Resources back into local estuaries. In the summer months, oysters release free-swimming larvae known as spat. The spat are carried by the tide and current, seeking a suitable surface to attach to after about two weeks. Then, they began building their shells of calcium carbonate. Most oysters will spend the rest of their life cycle there, unless disturbed. So, once the shells from the recycling program are planted, the spat can attach themselves to the shells, grow their own shells, and thrive. After one to three years, the spat will grow into adult oysters and become an oyster bed. 

If you are interested in joining recycling efforts, there are a few things to keep in mind. These tips are directly from the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

• Check the website to locate your nearest drop-off location.
• Separate shell from trash. Any shell mixed with trash is not suitable for recycling. Keep shells and trash in separate containers.
• When you reach your chosen drop-off location, dump the shells into the bin, leaving only the shells– Not the bag or container they were stored in.
• Do NOT put live oysters in South Carolina waters. If the oysters you purchased were harvested outside of the state, it is illegal to place them in South Carolina waters. This can create environmental problems and may harm local oysters or other animals.
• Do NOT put freshly shucked oyster shells in South Carolina waters. This helps avoid contamination. Shells should be left at a drop-off location and quarantined for six months. 

Thanks to oyster shell recycling, oyster reefs have been constructed on more than 100 different sites since May 2001! These sites span 200 miles of coastline and were constructed by community volunteers. Since conservation efforts began, volunteers have recycled over 100,000 bushels of oyster shells. It is important to keep in mind that to properly recycle oyster shells, they must be dropped off at a designated drop-off location. Simply tossing oyster shells onto the beach or into the water is not helpful. 

We hope that you found this article informative and helpful. As always, we thank you for reading and we hope to see you back on our blog soon! If you have any questions about our guided tours, reach out to us! At Coastal Expeditions, we are committed to introducing people to the wonders of the ecosystems of the Charleston area by providing guided tours and educational opportunities. If you’re looking to explore all that the Lowcountry has to offer, check out our offerings on our website to find the adventure which suits you best! We also offer kid-friendly tours as well as kids programs, camps, and kayak lessons. Our tours are led by knowledgeable, approachable naturalists and sea captains who are eager to answer your questions! Until next time, readers. Get out there and explore! Adventure awaits!