Replanting Oyster Shells to soon after an oyster roast is NOT GOOD per the folks at DNR - they stockpile them for 6 months first to allow the contaminants, bacteria, etc to die, decompose and or be eaten by wildlife - then they spread them out in the sun to cure before bagging them for new oyster shell habitat.
RE “My” previous conversations with:
Michael D. Arendt, Wildlife Biologist
SCDNR/MRD/MRRI
217 Fort Johnson Road
Charleston, SC 29412
(843) 953-9097
I thought they did that because of out of state oysters. I thought if you got them out of these waters it was ok to put the shell back.
Good info.
Both Just Goofin and Fishb8 are correct. DNR quarantines all oyster shell before replanting back into state waters, but you don’t need to necessarily quarantine local SC oysters. Quarantining allows any tissue to die-off that may harbor different/more prevalent strains of oyster disease than what we may see in our local waters. This also prevents any aquatic hitchhikers from being introduced into our waters. We would prefer that people drop off their shells at one of our shell recycling drop-off sites. Those can be found at http://saltwaterfishing.sc.gov DNR will replant these shells on state beds for harvest or in non-harvestable waters so that they may provide uninterrupted ecosystem services and serve as brood stock for surrounding areas. Most people put oyster shells in the wrong place on the intertidal shoreline (either too high or too low). Oysters are pretty particular about the location of the shoreline that they find favorable. Also, putting oyster shells out in small amounts will not prevent them from moving with the first passing boat wake or wind driven wave.