State needs more shells to grow oyster reef program – Coastal Observer

State needs more shells to grow oyster reef program – Coastal Observer

Oyster shells discarded by diners in area restaurants aren’t making their way back into Murrells Inlet. Without them, a vital ingredient is missing in the state’s effort to restore shellfish habitat and improve water quality. Recycled shells are packed into galvanized wire mesh cages and used to create reefs.  “That oyster shell is really valuable and vital in the reproduction of oysters,” said Kevin Swain, a wildlife biologist with the state Department of Natural Resources.  The state and Georgetown County are working to expand the local oyster shell recycling program. As part of the agency’s S.C. Oyster Recycling and Enhancement Program (SCORE), Coastal Conservation League and Huntington Beach State Park teamed up to deploy 50 manufactured wire reefs this week. SCORE recycled about 64,000 bushels of oysters across the state last year, but the reefs in Murrells Inlet require more shells than are available locally. “We’re putting out more shells in the area than what’s being recycled,” he said. The reef site was a patch of pluff mud in the inlet, just a 10-minute boat ride north from the public landing. Mud snails and fiddler crabs hid once a boot sunk into the mud. It was a labor-intensive, all-morning affair with the help of more than 20 volunteers. The cages were constructed earlier by volunteers at Huntington. Each one uses about one bushel of oyster shells, along with a layer of coconut husk. The shells came from Charleston. They were placed in a checkered pattern with the coconut husk facing the marsh and the shells facing the open water. That allows the reef to cover as much surface area as possible, Swain said. Volunteers hammered in metal stakes to keep the cages in place. Oysters spend the first three weeks of life in a planktonic stage before they develop a foot and settle onto a hard surface.  They use chemo-sensory abilities to sense other oysters. Spats prefer to attach to other oyster shells. Once they settle, they’re there for life. A spat becomes an oyster in three years. Oysters are a keystone species, Swain said, due to their impact on more than 120 other species of finfish, crustaceans and worms. “If you were to take those away, all those animals would need to find somewhere else to feed, to hide, to live,” he said. Murrells Inlet has more than 3,100 acres of habitat suitable for shellfish, according to the state Department of Environmental Services.  An adult oyster can filter almost 3 gallons of water per hour. Improving water quality is one of the many benefits of deploying wire reefs, Swain said. One wire cage can recruit 7,000 oysters, he added. This week’s newly-installed habitat will filter nearly 1 million gallons per hour and create habitat for approximately 350,000 oysters. A wire reef cage can weigh more than 100 pounds once it’s covered in oysters. SCORE once used oyster shell bags as a way to restore habitats. It would have taken at least 500 bags to cover the surface area they did this week with 50 cages, Swain added. Reefs can also protect against and reverse erosion over time, Swain said. Sediment that builds up along the reef provides a place for spartina grass to grow, creating a “living shoreline.” “That is the best kind of shoreline you can have to help fight and reverse erosion,” Swain said. Some restaurants along the marsh, including Russell’s Seafood and The Claw House, are more dedicated to collecting and recycling oyster shells than others, he said. “Without that arm of the project going on, then we’re not doing all this stuff,” Swain said. “Once you have it established really well in a few places then it’s much easier to tack on and build on that.” SCORE’s recycling staff in Charleston collect the oyster shells from restaurants. The department is building volunteer bases to model the involvement here as they do in Charleston County, Swain said, who is part of SCORE’s restoration team. Georgetown County’s Stormwater Division is working to establish a local oyster shell recycling program. It will quarantine the shells and create manufactured wire reefs. “We’re still in the infancy of that coming to fruition here,” Swain said. Since oysters can come from other states, the shells may carry disease and bacteria. Shells are quarantined, usually in Charleston, for  at least three months and sometimes up to a year to rid them of debris and bacteria before going back into the marsh.  “We’re just trying to make sure what we’re doing is doing more good than harm,” Swain said. Shells often end up in the landfill. Less than 20 percent of shells are recycled in the area, according to Becky Ryon, the North Coast director for the Coastal Conservation League. She was told that Greenville County recycles more oyster shells than Horry County.  The nonprofit is working to get oyster shell collections at all of Horry County’s recycling centers, Ryon said. The lack of recycling is due to a lack of awareness, she added. “We have a long way to go,” Ryon said. “That shell really does need to go back into the estuary.” Swain said his team have hosted seven events this year in the area, including installing a wire reef along the seawall at Belin Memorial United Methodist Church. The newest oyster shell recycling station is at the Murrells Inlet Boat Landing parking lot. There’s another station at the Oyster Landing off Highway 17. “The word is spreading. People are kind of seeing this happen and wanting more and more of it. That’s the goal,” Swain said. Go to volunteerscdnr.galaxydigital to find upcoming volunteer opportunities.