Making the Botany Island Oyster Reef – March 17

The Nature Conservancy is building an Oyster Reef on Botany Island, on the south side of the Edisto River across from Seabrook Island. They are looking for 40-45 volunteers to assist with this project, which will provide a surface for young oysters to attach and grow and also provide a habitat and feeding area for over 100 species of fish, crab and shrimp.

Oyster reefThe date is March 17, 2018, from approximately noon to 5 pm. The meeting site is Bohicket Marina. Volunteers will be ferried to the site by boat and returned to the Marina at the conclusion of the work on Saturday.

Oyster reefs are a critical component of the South Carolina coast, providing structure that serves as habitat for a wide variety of fish and other marine life, maintaining healthy water quality, mitigating shoreline erosion, and serving as a buffer from storm surge. One oyster filters 50 gallons of water per day! Additionally, oysters are an important economic component of South Carolina fisheries valued at $1.2 million, but there has been a significant decline in oyster populations due to over-harvest, disease, and habitat loss. The Conservancy is committed to large-scale restoration of oyster reefs to re-establish the suite of ecosystem services they provide.

Please email: to sign up as a volunteer for this important project.

-Submitted by T. Ernstrom for The Nature Conservancy

(Photo Credit: Charleston Angler)


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