Local organizations build manufactured wire reefs, protecting marine wildlife

JAMES ISLAND, S.C. (WCBD) – Volunteers worked for several hours Wednesday building manufactured wire reefs, which will later be deployed into Lowcountry waterways.

Casual Crabbing with Tia and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources hosted a large group on James Island during Lowcountry Earth Month. Hundreds of recycled oyster shells went into use as volunteers collaborated to build oyster wire reefs.

“We take these MWRs, we put some coconut husk in them to retain sediment for spartina grass to grow behind these. Then we also put oyster shells inside of them and that’s going to recruit young larva oysters to attach onto the galvanized wire and the oyster shell itself and ultimately grow a reef on top of these,” Nick Plaisted, wildlife biologist at SCDNR SCORE, said.

According to the SCDNR, one adult oyster can filter 50 gallons of water. The organizations continue to improve our marine environment, as these wire reefs produce habitats, feed wildlife, and protect grasslands from erosion on the shoreline. Clark said these instruments are crucial to operating her business and protecting the environment.

“Me being a small business owner and being a Charleston native, I thought there was no way for that business to exist without this work,” Tia Clark, owner of Casual Crabbing with Tia, said. “Because we have to find a way for the crabs and marine life to thrive in the water as well as being able to hunt them.”

Both organizations rely on volunteers for these events, which officials said they have grown over the years. Some companies even join every month to contribute to building 25 to 75 wire reefs, on average.

“We use volunteers for every step of the process. We like to use people power that way we’re minimally invasive when we go out into the marshes. That way we’re not taking a bunch of heavy equipment out there,” Plaisted said. “We’re really involving people to build that sense of place and stewardship of a resource.”

These MWRs can stay in water permanently and are always in need around the Lowcountry. Clark added that it is rewarding for her to see them while she’s out on the water.

“Where I placed mine, you can see now the musk grass growing through those cages and some are in front of where we put the cage. For me that is amazing and mind-blowing like I didn’t know anything about this world. To see a pile of oyster shells, then to put them in that cage, then to put them in the water and see the impacts there. I mean it’s immediate gratification, it’s just so amazing,” said Clark.

The next event is expected to be on May 21, occurring every third Wednesday of each month.