He also counts the number of boat trailers at boat landings and notes how many boaters fished and how many simply enjoyed a few hours on the water. Only a small percentage of fishermen refuse to talk to him.įor those fishermen returning without any catch (about 50 percent), Floyd asks them what they might have caught and released, and why.

'We do not enforce laws, we just want catch and effort information,' said Floyd, who approaches incoming anglers with a smile and an easy going manner. When they encounter a fisherman with undersized fish or a catch over the limit, they explain the law and pass out a DNR Rules and Regulations booklet and a fish ruler. They carry neither a badge nor a ticket book. One of three creel clerks deployed from Georgetown to Beaufort, Floyd wants to know what saltwater anglers catch.Ĭollectively, the three clerks interview about four hundred anglers per month and measure seventy-five to one hundred fish.

Creel Clerks Take the Pulse of Saltwater Fishingīrad Floyd sits patiently on the tailgate of his state pickup, waiting for fishermen to return to the Folly River Boat Landing in Charleston County. So not only does SCORE enhance habitat, but by involving thousands of volunteers it also raises public awareness and encourages active stewardship of coastal resources.įunding for SCORE comes entirely from granting organizations including NOAA's Community-based Restoration Program, the FishAmerica Foundation, the Atlantic Coastal Fish Habitat Partnership and the Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership. Since threats to oyster habitats and other estuarine resources result primarily from human activity, education and outreach programs such as SCORE have the potential to change behaviors that reduce these negative impacts. 'Informed citizens become better environmental stewards and can apply political pressure for stronger protection and management and increased funding to address environmental issues.' 'Initially we recruited volunteers from various organizations, now they come to us after learning about the program,' said Hadley. Volunteers also come from fishing clubs, environmental organizations, homeowners groups and college service organizations. Volunteers have come from more than 150 groups, including 10,000 K-12 students, all learning hands-on the value of the state's estuary ecosystem. SCORE reefs also stabilize shorelines, slowing or reversing erosion and allowing expansion of adjacent salt marshes.Įqually important, the SCORE program has involved and educated 18,000 volunteers to the importance of the marine environment. These new reefs now support millions of mussels and crabs, and provide nursery, refuge and foraging habitat for eighty-three species of fish and invertebrates including shrimp, blue crabs, red drum, flounder and spotted seatrout.įishermen know that oyster reefs provide some of the coast's most productive angling and that more reefs equal more and better fish habitat. 'We don't necessarily need oysters nearby, but that helps,' said Hadley.īiologists estimate that by now, twelve million oysters, capable of filtering 300 million gallons of water per day, have established themselves on these mesh bags, which also greatly reduce erosion from boat wakes. Using hand labor, volunteers place the shell in mesh bags and have now anchored them at fifty-one sites from Murrells Inlet to Hilton Head, creating two-hundred new oyster reefs using 33,000 bushels of shell - 755 tons.Īccording to DNR Shellfish Manager Nancy Hadley, potential sites require foot access with a gentle slope in the intertidal zone near a boat landing on public property. SCORE volunteers collect many of the shells, but they also come from restaurants, caterers and coastal residents. SCORE uses shell from the agency's shell recycling program and trains volunteers to construct high quality oyster reefs. In 2001, the division launched a public interactive program called SCORE - the South Carolina Oyster Restoration and Enhancement program. For decades, the DNR's Marine Resources Division has enhanced inshore habitat and helped protect the saltmarsh nurseries of many marine species through the restocking of public shellfish grounds with discarded oyster shell, providing an increased solid substrate for the settlement of oyster spat. Habitat protection and enhancement have perhaps even greater importance than improving populations of individual species, such as red drum. Mar/Apr 2013Habitat Restoration by Pete Laurie, photography by Pete Laurie, Phillip Jones

Homeowner oyster spat collection