South Carolina Oysters

South Carolina SC Gifts SC Food SC Oysters

"R" is for Oysters Any month with an "R" in it means oyster season is here, so pull out your favorite shucking knife and dive into our South Carolina Oyster Guide. If you live along the coast, or like to visit, you know that oyster roasts are as integral to fall as football, fairs, harvest moons, and the coming holidays. Below you'll find delicious recipes, fun festivals, oyster shell recycling information, and a history of our state's once-great oyster industry. As SC author and oyster expert Vic Burrell aptly explains, an oyster roast is "always a crowd pleaser and follows the theory of entertainment that if you are standing up and eating with your fingers, you’ve got to be having fun."

Bull Island Oysters © Lynda Bouchard (2012)

SC Oysters & Oyster Roast Sponsors

Charleston Shucker Co. Charleston, SC  |  843.819.9070 The Charleston Shucker Co. was founded in 2007 by native South Carolinians who were looking for a perfect oyster knife to give as a gift. When they were unable to find any, they decided to establish their own business. This is a great place to order everything you need for your next successful Lowcountry oyster roast. Feature your South Carolina oyster company or product here

SC Oyster Festivals & Oyster Roasts

Abbeville Oyster Roast and Low Country Boil - contact Abbeville Chamber of Commerce for info Beaufort Twilight Run & Oyster Roast Drayton Hall Oyster Roast & Picnic - Charleston Hilton Head Oyster Festival Lowcountry Oyster Festival - Boone Hall, Mount Pleasant Music & Oysters for Wildlife - Awendaw, Charleston County

SC Oyster Recipes

• Oyster recipes from around SC - PDF - Sandlapper Magazine presents recipes from local restaurants and cookbooks
  

SC Oyster Companies

• Bluffton Oyster Company
  Shucking May River oysters continuously for nearly a century, the Bluffton Oyster Company now operates on land purchased by the Open Land Trust and the Beaufort and Bluffton governments for preservation. This is the last remaining oyster company on the SC coast.
  

History of SC Oyster Industry

• The Life of an Oyster Company - PDF - Article about the Bluffton Oyster Company speaks to both the pitfalls and rewards of running an oyster company

• The Salty Dogs: Would You Notice if South Carolina's Commercial Fisherman Disappeared? - PDF

• Sea Science: Oysters and Clams - SC DNR explains oyster fishery

• Can Daufuskie's "Oyster Homes" Be Saved? - Article looks at how the homes of oyster pickers that used to live on the island could be used as affordable housing in Daufuskie's community preservation district

• South Carolina Oyster Industry: A History by Victor G. Burrell, Jr - A wonderful book about the history of South Carolina's oyster industry. It can be read online thanks to the University of South Carolina.
  
  

Steaming Hot Oysters © Barry Gooch		A Lowcountry Oyster Roast © Barry Gooch

SC Oyster Recycling & Oyster Bed Restoration

• Oyster shell recycling locations - plus program details, scroll down for drop-off locations
  
• Harvesting Leads to Dwindling SC Oyster Beds - gradual decline of SC oyster habitat and what is being done
  
• Rebuilding of Oyster Beds Under Way - article about the effort at Murrells Inlet
  
• South Carolina Oyster Restoration and Enhancement - SCORE - community volunteers work with scientists to restore and monitor oyster habitat along the SC coast

Related SC Oyster Resources

• Little known facts about oysters
  – How to have an oyster roast
  
• SC seafood stores - Places you can buy fresh SC oysters

Photos and Videos of SC Oysters

• DNR shows oyster cycle - Planting shells, eating oysters, then recycling oyster shells
  
• Oyster Man Mike - 7-minute video follows a day in the life Johns Island oyster harvester - make sure to watch all the way to the end for great lesson on the anatomy of an oyster