Roofing company in Murrells Inlet, SC

A cacophony of power tools whirring, rubber mallets slamming, and oyster shells tumbling saturated the scene of local volunteers constructing manufactured wire reefs to restore oyster beds along South Carolina's coast.

As spring approaches, oyster shell recycling in the Myrtle Beach area transitions to constructing and deploying manufactured wire reefs in the continued effort to establish living shorelines.

South Carolina Oyster Recycling Enhancement, a program in Charleston with the S.C. Department of Natural Resources, coordinates with state agencies and nonprofit organizations to create living shorelines.

SCORE biologist Nick Plaisted said living shorelines are the ultimate goal of oyster shell recycling.

Living shorelines are oyster beds in the front, with spartina grass in the back. Restoring these with manufactured wire reefs provides great benefits to ecological processes, improves water quality, promotes biodiversity and resists erosion.

Boat wakes can erode vulnerable banks without oyster beds.

“As that boat wake comes in and hits that oyster bed, it actually dissipates all that wave energy,” Plaisted said. "Instead of erosion, we actually see the opposite when we deploy these. We see the increase of our sediment, which is awesome. It starts to build up behind the MWRs and we can go in and plant spartina grass."

South Carolina Coastal Conservation League is a nonprofit that aims to maintain a balance between human development and preservation of natural resources.

SCCCL Wildlife biologist Trapper Fowler said the nonprofit organizes efforts with state agencies throughout the year to help raise awareness about volunteer opportunities with oyster shell recycling.

Oysters start spawning when water temperature hits 68 degrees Fahrenheit, usually around the end of March. At this time, the wire reef cages are ready to be deployed along the coast. Once oyster larvae settle into shells, the “spat” start filter feeding, and grow their own shell at the rate of about an inch a year. Plaisted added a single oyster filters 2.5 gallons of water per hour.

Huntington Beach State Park employee Stratford Abbott worked his first manufactured wire reef construction at Nature Center at the state park in Murrells Inlet on March 20. He said a separate event takes place to deploy MWRs onto shorelines.

SCDNR identifies spots along the coast to place them and volunteers arrange the MWRs into a U-shape along shorelines.

“It’s fun, you get covered in pluff mud. It’s really neat when you see the ones they put out from a few months ago to see how much they’ve grown,” Abbott said.

Abbott, a recent graduate of Socastee High School, grew up in the inlet and watched firsthand how natural processes and human development shift and change the sandbars, coastlines, barrier islands and maritime forests. He said contributing to efforts that aim to restore the environment is a way to reciprocate the boat rides and oyster roasts the marsh provided throughout his life.

“Seafood is a big industry here. A lot of people fall in love with this area because of our coastal wetlands, our marshes and our seafood and it kind of ties it all together. Oysters are a really cool part of our history,” Abbott said.

He said volunteering at these events is a great way for residents new to the coast to become more in tune with the area and give back to it.

Beth Milne and her husband volunteered their services at the MWR construction at Huntington State Park in Murrells Inlet on March 20.

“I had no idea what an oyster reef cage is,” Milne said. “I mean, personally, I’m not a real oyster fan when it comes to eating them, but my daughters are. We’ll see these little signs ‘oyster recycling center’ and I'm like, why are they doing this?”

The couple moved to South Carolina from northern Virginia a couple of years ago and Milne said they were motivated to learn more about the history of the area and how to preserve the environment.

In a group of about six people, the volunteers used wire gridwall panels, a large clamp, mallets and power tools. They use the clamp to shape the wire gridwall panels into two cages, the smaller is placed into the larger, leaving a space for recycled oyster shells and coconut husks.

This creates interstitial spaces — nooks, crannies, cracks and crevices for small creatures like invertebrates and crabs to live. Interstitial spaces attract other invertebrates and fish that want to feed on them, bringing more fish that bring birds.

Plaisted, the biologist, said this cascading effect on the food web builds an ecosystem of animals congregating around an oysterbed simply because oysters provide hiding spaces for little critters.

Power tools are used to seal the cage and mallets are helpful to mash the shells down if the cage will not shut.

Milne said she has always enjoyed volunteer efforts and contributed to building houses out west when she was younger, but her fingers now lock up and limit what she can do. She could not participate with the equipment, but Milne enthusiastically filled the borders with coconut husks and oyster shells. (Coconut husks are biodegradable and act as a substrate for oyster larvae and reinforces stability of the manufactured reefs.)

Oyster shell recycling is the first step in the journey to living shorelines. Well, second step accounting for South Carolina’s pastime of oyster roasts throughout the fall and winter.

“That’s part of our culture. There’s nothing like standing around a fire at an oyster roast with friends and family,” Fowler said.

Oct. 1 marks the beginning of the harvesting season. Individuals and seafood retailers trudge through marshes gathering oysters for friends, family and restaurants along the coast to host festive outdoor events for oyster roasting, shucking and chowing down.

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Unfortunately, shellfish grounds for harvesting in the marshes along the Grand Strand are largely restricted by SCDNR due to poor water quality.

SCCCL North coast office director Becky Ryon said fecal bacteria is primary cause of poor water quality and DNA sourcing determined birds are not the cause, but rather pet waste in water runoff from not picking up after dogs.

Boardwalk Billies Manager Whitney Prince became interested in oyster shell recycling when he saw time lapse videos of oysters filtering a tank of bacteria filled water compared to one without. He recruited SCORE to participate in the Roast for the Coast event March 11 to raise awareness about the importance of oyster shell recycling. They filled a 165 bushel trailer on the day of the roast and recycled about 25,000 oyster shells.

However, Prince said there is not currently a feasible recycling option for daily operations.

“It’s not the prettiest job in the world. It’s oyster shells and you would want them picked up on a regular schedule for a large scale restaurant. As much as I’m an oyster enthusiast, I wouldn’t be consistent at taking the oyster shells to the dump all the time,” he said.

Prince said he has been in touch with SCORE’s main hub in Charleston to learn how they organize their operations and would like to see an equally developed network established in Myrtle Beach.

There are different drop off bin locations to bring oyster shells to be recycled along the coast. SCDNR released a bulletin in February seeking volunteers to retrieve restaurants’ oyster shells and bring them to recycling centers.

SCORE takes recycled oyster shells from drop off locations to Charleston to quarantine. The shells sit out in the sun attracting bacteria and insects that decompose organic matter. Any other bacteria, viruses or pathogens will cook off in the sun. After about six months, the shells are clean and MWRs are constructed.

“We could not do the work we do without volunteers. I love that we use people power. That's what we do. We take people out there, we put in the sweat, we put in the hard work and we deploy this stuff with humans instead of using large equipment,” Plaisted said.

Loris High School’s Future Farmers of America program has coordinated three field trips with Horry County Stormwater Department since spring 2024 as an ongoing oyster restoration project. About 35 students from the FFA program spend five hours at the Stormwater Department’s south strand office constructing the MWRs.

FFA President at Loris Mason Jacques said the field trips are fun and the students work hard, stopping only for lunch.

“We knew what our goal was and had our goal in mind and just kept pushing forward,” he said. Jacques added so many students signed up for the field trip they had to tighten eligibility restrictions like age and class grades.

The upcoming field trip at the Murrells Inlet marsh on April 7 will be the first time the FFA students deploy the MWRs into shorelines.

Sazie Eagan is a reporter for MyHorryNews. Reach her at 802-558-1758 or sazie.eagan@myhorrynews.com.

Widow Angela Anthony and widower Eric Richter met in a New Jersey grief support group four years ago. Now partners in business and love, the engaged couple aims to bring what Richter calls a “true sports bar” down to Murrells Inlet.

Gator Zone Sports Bar & Grille recently opened with a full kitchen and bar, more than 20 draft beers and more than 30 TVs at 3453 Highway 17 Business in Murrells Inlet.

“Her parents owned a diner in Patterson, New Jersey, for almost 44 years, so [Angela] comes from the service industry,” Richter said. “And I just always had an itch, so to speak, to possibly own a bar, restaurant or combination of both.”

Originally from New Jersey, Anthony and Richter live in Murrells Inlet and took inspiration from the reptilian inhabitants of South Carolina swamps.

“There’s alligators all over the place, and as a matter of fact, I have pictures here at my home where they’re crossing right across my front lawn, because of the way the ponds are and everything in the community here,” Richter said. “You really can’t go anywhere around here without seeing an alligator at some point.”

Located between Beaver Bar and Suck Bang Blow, Gator Zone also has an irreverent mascot to match its neighbors: Master Gator. The sunglasses-wearing reptile appearing on Gator Zone’s logo will “be plastered everywhere,” according to Anthony.

Richter first began toying with the idea for a local spot called The Master Gator years back. While plans for the restaurant’s name changed, Master Gator has evolved into one of Anthony’s nicknames for Richter.

“With all the hard work he’s put in and his vision coming to life, the name suits him perfectly,” Anthony said.

Gator Zone offers pub favorites like burgers, pizzas, wings and more, as well as a full bar. In addition to liquor and signature cocktails like the “swamp water” and the “mighty gator,” the bar has 24 draft options, including beers, hard cider and even prosecco.

“We’re all about putting the local beer, whether we have Grand Strand, whether we have Southern Hops, whether we have Tidal Creek,” Anthony said. “I mean, we want to support the locals as well, so we’re trying to do everything we can out of the business to support the locals.”

From 4 - 7 p.m. everyday, customers can enjoy happy hour specials including $2 off appetizers, which Gator Zone calls warm-ups, $1.50 off drafts and $1 off wines and cocktails.

For sports fans who don’t want to miss a play, Gator Zone is equipped with more than 30 TVs to broadcast games from the NFL, MLB, NHL and more.

“There really isn’t anywhere you’ll be in the building where you won’t be able to see what you’re looking for when it comes to sports,” Richter said.

If watching sports isn’t your thing, Gator Zone will feature video games and even a golf simulator in a private room, which Richter estimates will be available next month.

The restaurant will also host various social events, like trivia, karaoke, bingo and live music.

Whether you want to socialize, catch a game or just grab a bite to eat, Anthony and Richter say they’re excited to welcome visitors seven days a week.

Gator Zone is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Thursday and from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

“The support from everyone, I mean, just walking on the MarshWalk and just talking to people about it, they’re very excited as well, so that gives us the energy and excitement,” said Anthony. “It’s a little bit of nerves, but it’s also a lot of excitement, so just talking to everyone makes me feel better, because everybody supports everyone here, which I truly, truly love about the area.”

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Maria Elena Scott writes about trending topics and what you need to know in the Grand Strand. She studied journalism at the University of Houston and covered Cleveland news before coming to the Palmetto State.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WMBF) - The South Carolina Forestry Commission issued a statewide Red Flag Fire Alert on Friday that is effective until further notice.

SCFC says the alert discourages people from burning outdoors due to the elevated risk of wildfire from weather conditions.

“In addition to dry fuels resulting from the lack of significant rain, forecasts are calling for very low relative humidity values – below 30% – and gusty winds across much of the state through the weekend," a statement read from the commission.

According to the commission, a Red Flag Fire Alert does not ban outdoor burning, but it does trigger certain county or local ordinances that restrict outdoor fires.

Several bans were instated across Horry and Georgetown counties on Thursday, as crews battled several fires.

“Much of it’s unavoidable, but a lot of it is human caused, and a lot of that human cause involves carelessness. That’s why, you know, our message is, you know, when the weather’s like it is right now...wind, low relative humidity, and dry....we just ask people to postpone their burning,” said Doug Wood, Director of Communications for SCFC.

One area that’s no stranger to wildfires, or burn bans-- the north strand, which took a hit during the Highway 31 fire back in 2009.

“Once it burned through the Barefoot community, it continued right back into the wooded areas. It impacted the unincorporated parts of Horry County, so that was something that we dealt with for a couple weeks off and on,” said Billy Floyd, chief of the North Myrtle Beach Fire Department.

Floyd told WMBF News after that devastating fire, the Barefoot area has become a ‘fire wise’ community, where residents have to follow a list of regulations.

The city of North Myrtle Beach also bans most types of outdoor burning, but Floyd said even in places with less strict burn bans, residents should still be cautious.

“Just because the burning may be allowed, you really need to make sure that the weather is appropriate before you go out and do things like that, so we don’t run into these situations that we’ve seen happen in Horry and Georgetown these weeks, where the fires are getting out of control real quickly,” said Floyd.

Wood said SCFC is a proponent of controlled burns, and doesn’t want to call a burn ban, but if risky conditions persist, they may have no other choice.

“The dangerous conditions we’re going to see over the next few days make a good portion of the state vulnerable to fires that can spread rapidly and be difficult to control,” said SCFC Fire Chief Darryl Jones. “These kinds of spring weather patterns are what make this time of year the traditional peak of our wildfire season.”

To check local restrictions, residents can contact their local fire departments.

The agency statement says SCFC firefighters responded to 183 wildfires in January alone, nearly double its five-year average for the first month of the year. The agency has already recorded more than 300 wildfires in February, and more than 100 in the state’s coastal region alone.

Stay with WMBF News for updates.

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