South Carolina Mariculture Siting Tool
A GIS-based siting tool for South Carolina shellfish growers. This tool provides information for current and prospective shellfish growers to inform mariculture siting decisions in preparation for pursuing a mariculture permit.
Using the Mariculture Siting Tool
Access the mariculture siting tool below, and learn how to navigate and use the tool with the tool guide tab. Use the coastal water quality data tab to access more detailed temperature and salinity data for SCDES monitoring stations.
Understanding the Layers
Permitting layers display whether an area is available for potential shellfish aquaculture establishment. This includes information and points of contact for respective permitting agencies, indicating water space that may have a use-conflict and when to consult an agency for further information.
- South Carolina Department of Environmental Services (SCDES): Shellfish management area and harvest classification.
- South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR): Areas of concern and shellfish lease/permits.
Suitability layers offer information on how suitable an area is for shellfish aquaculture to thrive. This includes salinity, public boat access, spring orthoimagery, rivers, and streams.
Project Background
With a burgeoning demand for local products, the South Carolina shellfish aquaculture industry is expanding, though siting new leases and completing the permitting process have been identified by industry stakeholders as barriers that hinder the expansion of the industry. When developing an operation, prospective growers must identify areas that avoid environmental hazards, mitigate other user conflicts, identify economically and environmentally feasible locations, and site within boundaries where regulatory permits can be obtained.
In South Carolina, spatial data concerning regulatory requirements is publicly available through GIS-map applications, but there is a paucity of readily available information concerning the remaining siting factors, which increases difficulty and uncertainty in selecting a location to develop an aquaculture operation. Therefore, a tool that can integrate these multi-factor considerations will significantly reduce the burden and enhance equity for industry stakeholders. Several other states such as North Carolina and Maryland have developed Geographical Information Systems (GIS)-based web applications to predict feasible siting areas, which may then be verified by on-site visits.
In an effort to offer multi-perspective information consolidated to a single web location, the Consortium has partnered with the University of South Carolina Geography Department to develop a GIS-based siting tool. This tool was last updated in March 2025.
Goals of the Project
This project aims to create an online GIS-based tool to facilitate the process of selecting an appropriate shellfish mariculture lease location in coastal South Carolina with the overall goal of supporting siting decisions that will bolster the healthy and sustainable growth of the South Carolina shellfish aquaculture industry. The tool will be used by shellfish mariculture industry entrants and current growers to successfully locate usable, environmentally and economically beneficial sites as they work through the regulatory process.
Stakeholder Engagement
The Consortium has engaged with shellfish aquaculture stakeholders (shellfish growers, SCDNR, SCDES, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, shellfish researchers, etc.) to identify essential site selection factors broadly stated to encompass regulatory requirements, environmental factors, economic factors, and social aspects. Through this study, researchers created a GIS-based siting tool to display identified data layer needs derived through the shellfish aquaculture stakeholder engagement.
Project Partners
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and the University of South Carolina.
Contact
For questions related to aquaculture, please contact Josh Kim, Shellfish Aquaculture Specialist, or Kate Chatman, Shellfish Aquaculture Graduate Assistant. For questions related to the tool and its development, reach out to Shu-Mei Huang, Coastal GIS Specialist.