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Oyster harvesters gather the last crop of the season today

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Enjoying cold weather, a frosty beer and some freshly roasted oysters is a favorite Lowcountry tradition, which, unfortunately for oyster lovers, ends today.

Harvesters have the rest of the day to finish gathering the crop that state officials report has been healthy and successful due to a mild winter and a strong shellfish replanting program. The season runs from September through May.

Larry and Tina Toomer, who operate the Bluffton Oyster Co., the only surviving shucking facility in the state, said it was a normal year for production. But they have seen an increasing demand among residents for the marine mollusk due to population growth in Bluffton.

"Once new people move here, once they taste them one time, they agree they are the best and they've got to have some more," Larry Toomer said. "We're selling more and more on our premises than other years."

Though the traditional oyster season is ending, the Toomers continue to sell frozen ones year-round.

"It doesn't have to be cold to enjoy a May River oyster," Tina Toomer said.

The Toomers have not tallied their oyster harvest figures for 2008, but said one employee picked more than 482 bushels during January, when the season first starts to slow. The company has eight harvesters.

Joey and Donna Lyons, who harvest near St. Helena Island, said this season was the best production year they've had. They sold between 200 and 300 bushels a week. Joey Lyons attributes his success to the shellfish replanting program, which the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources manages.

DNR encourages residents and caterers to recycle their oyster shells. Later this summer, state officials will collect, clean and replant them in local waterways.

So far, the state has collected a record 14,736 bushels of recycled shells, weighing more than 884,000 pounds, said state shellfish manager Bill Anderson.

DNR began its recycling program in 2000 to replenish the shell supply and maintain natural oyster habitat. The shells will be replanted from June through August.

Now that oyster harvesting is over, the Lyons will go to Georgia for its year-round clam harvesting season. South Carolina's clamming season ends May 31. The Toomers are in the midst of the crab season and just began shrimping.

On Monday, the state opened shrimp trawling three miles offshore. General trawling in inshore waters begins later this month, once DNR determines adult shrimp have had ample time to spawn.

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