FOR SEVEN SEASONS I HAVE WORKD as a commercial oysterman along the waters of the South Carolina Lowcountry. Current mapping shows that there are 4,664 acres of wild oyster beds that grow between the limits of high and low tide here. I am responsible for 4.8 of them.
I lease my oyster beds from the state, which gives me exclusive use of “intertidal portions of Inlet Creek, Swinton Creek, unnamed creeks, and tributaries near the Intracoastal Waterway … for the purposes of commercial shellfish culture.” In exchange, I pay a nominal fee every year and commit to restoring more than I take.
South Carolina’s wild-oyster season opens when the waters cool and closes when the waters warm—a window that seems to be getting smaller every year. The season usually
