At the end of each year, SCDNR’s divisions tally up their data from the previous year and report their accomplishments to the SCDNR Board, our seven-member governing body. Below you’ll find a summary of the Marine Resources Division’s highlights in 2019. Our division serves as the advocate for and steward of the state’s marine resources and is home to approximately 200 biologists, educators, fisheries managers, and support staff.

In 2019…

• Our biologists collected and archived over one million samples from the marine species they work on for current and future research.

• Biologists hatched, raised, and stocked approximately 800,000 young fish into local estuaries in order to help supplement the wild populations of popular species such as red drum and cobia. Our aquaculture biologists also began research on four new fish species, including tripletail.

• Recreational anglers tagged and released 7,472 saltwater gamefish and reported the recovery of 1,158 tagged fish.

• Shellfish biologists and volunteers replanted 41,000 bushels of oysters and 50,000 marsh plants along the shoreline. In addition staff also collected a record-breaking 1.6 million pounds of recycled oyster shells from participating restaurants and the community.

• Staff completed 17 artificial reef deployments, adding new, productive fish habitat on the seafloor.

• Biologists and volunteers counted and protected over 8,800 sea turtle nests on South Carolina beaches — the largest number of nests observed since record-keeping began in the 1970s!