Marine Policy + Mariculture Governance
Research
My work asks a question that sounds technical but is fundamentally political: why is South Carolina's shellfish mariculture industry still struggling to grow, despite thousands of acres of viable coastal waters and a federal mandate to expand domestic seafood production? The answer is not biological or ecological — it is regulatory. A systematic evaluation of what is biophysically capable, policy possible, and ecologically responsible can help reframe domestic mariculture expansion and turn the tide for rural working waterfronts. The framework I am developing is designed to be transferable to every coastal state facing the same administrative bottlenecks and permitting pressures.
Thesis
Mapping the Blue Economy: A Spatial Suitability Assessment and Policy Gap Analysis of Shellfish Mariculture in South Carolina College of Charleston | Merit Research Assistantship | Defense target: December 2026
My thesis applies two governance frameworks to shellfish mariculture in South Carolina, combining spatial suitability analysis with regulatory gap analysis to identify where policy change is both feasible and overdue. The findings are striking: 71 percent of the state's monitored coastal stations score excellent on my novel composite index for mariculture suitability, yet less than 0.25 percent of waters eligible for permitting carry active leases. South Carolina's coastline can grow oysters. The industry isn't struggling because the environment is wrong; it's struggling because the regulatory system makes it extraordinarily difficult to get started. Permitting is distributed across three state and federal agencies with overlapping jurisdiction, unclear timelines, and no single point of accountability. The result is a process that discourages new entrants regardless of how good their site is. If a permit is obtained, there is no in-state hatchery access for seed purchase, further complicating business operations. Wholesale licensing to sell your products requires further dual agency coordination and licensure. This thesis documents that gap with spatial precision, explains why it persists using coalition and administrative burden theory, and translates the findings into policy recommendations aimed at the people who can actually change it.
Methods include:
Spatial suitability modeling (ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Online)
Salinity Stability Index development (26-year statewide water quality dataset) — a novel four factor composite index for understanding salinity in estuary environments
Stakeholder network analysis (R: igraph, visNetwork) — 103-node interactive map across four industry sectors
Semi-structured interviews with commercial growers, agency staff, and regulatory personnel
Regulatory gap analysis comparing SC permitting structure against precedent from other coastal states
Two peer-reviewed manuscripts are in preparation, targeting Aquaculture and Ocean and Coastal Management.
Other Products
Wild Oyster Harvest and Consumption | SC Sea Grant Consortium
This fact sheet, produced in for SC Sea Grant Consortium in partnership with Clemson Cooperative Extension, walks recreational harvesters through everything they need to know before heading out — permitting requirements, harvest limits, how to find safe beds, and food safety practices. It's designed to be practical and accessible for anyone new to harvesting wild oysters along the South Carolina coast.
A Novel Salinity Stability Index Methodology | College of Charleston
South Carolina's coastline is overwhelmingly suitable for oyster farming but until now, no one had mapped that suitability with the rigor that holds up in a policy conversation. The Salinity Stability Index uses 26 years of water quality monitoring data from over 500 coastal stations to measure not just whether conditions fall within the range oysters need, but how stable and predictable those conditions are over time. The result is the first comprehensive, empirically grounded picture of where South Carolina's coast can reliably support mariculture — and where emerging climate pressures may threaten that capacity in the years ahead. I created a public StoryMap to detail my methodology.
SC Shellfish Aquaculture Stakeholder Network Analysis | SC Sea Grant Consortium
Interactive dashboard A 103-node network map visualizing relationships and information flow across four sectors of the SC mariculture industry: commercial growers, state agencies, federal agencies, and research institutions. Published via Posit Cloud and GitHub.
South Carolina Native Plant Restoration Tool | College of Charleston
An interactive ArcGIS Experience Builder application that maps soil characteristics and native habitat potential statewide, giving municipalities, conservation organizations, and land managers spatial guidance for restoration site selection. Designed to make complex environmental data accessible and actionable for decisions that affect water quality, erosion control, and biodiversity across South Carolina.
Policy Work
My policy work is grounded in a simple conviction: technical rigor is only valuable if it reaches the people who need it. Every product I have built has been designed with that in mind, from spatial tools legible to a first-year leaseholder to regulatory analyses aimed at committee staff drafting amendment language.
Shellfish Aquaculture Research Graduate Assistant | SC Sea Grant Consortium
June 2024—Present
My Sea Grant work has been defined by the challenge of making complex spatial and regulatory data actionable for the people who depend on it. Beyond the Salinity Stability Index and the Mariculture Siting Tool, I have coordinated public outreach for multi-institutional research projects, produced extension materials for commercial harvesters, and created the SC Sea Grant Student Connections Network — a professional development community for Sea Grant-affiliated graduate students.
The most meaningful translation in this work is not from technical to plain language. It is disciplinary to personal: helping a harvester understand what the data says about their site and their future, in language that is honest about uncertainty and useful despite it.
Citizen Science Project Assistant | South Atlantic Fishery Management Council
March 2026 — Present
I support the SAFMC's Release program, a citizen science initiative that collects shallow-water grouper and snapper release data from recreational fishermen across the South Atlantic. My role sits at the upstream end of a data pipeline that feeds directly into stock assessments and ultimately into Fishery Management Plan amendments under the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
Day-to-day work includes QA/QC review of participant submissions, R scripting for data cleaning and management, and direct communication with program participants — fishermen who are contributing scientific data while continuing to fish. The partnership between recreational fishers and federal management is exactly the kind of science-to-policy connection the Magnuson-Stevens framework was designed to build.