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shellfish
Sustainability
South Carolina DNR hosts largest one-day oyster castle reef build
June 18, 2025
By Hatchery International Staff
Oyster castles are concrete structures that provide a base for oyster reefs. They can be used on shorelines with higher wave action than other materials. (Photo: SRS/SCDNR) On June 21, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) staff and friends will build its largest ever single-day oyster castle installation on Parris Island.
Staff, volunteers, and partners from the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, The Town of Port Royal, Global Eco Adventures, and Coastal Carolina University will install 500 feet of oyster castles along the island’s shorelines, SCDNR wrote in a press release.
“This is a prime example of legislative support, public volunteerism, and muiltijurisdictional cooperation at the highest level,” said SCDNR South Carolina Oyster Recycling and Enhancement (SCORE) biologist Michael Hodges. “This kind of work reinforces the notion that we are all part of one community dedicated to being superb environmental stewards for the State of South Carolina.”
According to the press release, the day before the build, a barge will place pallets of oyster castles at predetermined locations along the shoreline. The day of the event, volunteers will move the material from the pallets about five feet to their appropriate spots.
Oyster castles are concrete structures that provide a base for oyster reefs. They are a proven way to restore oysters, the press release explained. They stabilize the shoreline, provide an essential fish habitat, and filter the water. SCDNR’s SCORE program has been providing oyster reef and living shoreline construction for the past 25 years.
This event is funded by the South Carolina Department of Veterans Affairs Military Enhancement Fund.
