SOUTH CAROLINA’S FIRST OYSTER MARICULTURE INDUSTRY OUTLOOK ASSESSMENT

The shellfish mariculture industry in South Carolina, specifically off-bottom oyster production, has been steadily growing in recent years. With 139,178 single mariculture oysters produced in 2014, growing to over 1.19 million in 2019 (an increase of 758%). Figure 1 shows the yearly trend from 2014-2019 (SCDNR, 2021).  

A team of researchers and extension specialists from Clemson University and the South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium conducted the state's first ever  Oyster Mariculture Industry Outlook Assessment , similar to other states' efforts (e.g. VIMS). This included implementation of surveys with shellfish mariculture producers throughout the state of South Carolina. Producers were asked questions about their 2019 production year, including how many oysters they produced, how much they sold, average price received, production costs, how much seed they bought, whether seed was sourced in-state or out-of-state,  how many people they employed, and their perceived barriers and challenges to sustainable industry growth in South Carolina.  Revenue and expense data were then entered into IMPLAN to estimate the total economic contribution of the off-bottom oyster mariculture industry in South Carolina. In order to increase accuracy of model results, the IMPLAN sector related to aquaculture (Sector 14) was adjusted  based on producer surveys results related to production costs across different expense categories  to better reflect production costs associated with  average oyster mariculture operations in South Carolina. The model was also designed to capture additional supply chain economic co ntributions (producer investment and restaurant sales of locally produced oysters). Preliminary results are shown in Table 1 below, indicating that the total economic contribution of South Carolina's off-bottom oyster mariculture industry, including production, investment, and restaurant sales is estimated at over $8.6 million in 2019.