The James M. Waddell Mariculture Center. just inland of Hilton Head in Bluffton, is one of the country’s largest and most-sophisticated facilities for mariculture research. It was built in the early 1980s to develop propagation and farming techniques for marine and brackish-water species of finfish, mollusks, crustaceans and plants.
In addition to developing techniques for commercial aquaculture, the center produces juvenile fish for use in fishery management and stock evaluation by the S.C. Department of Natural Resources’ Marine Resources Division.
The Waddell Center did the pioneering work on pond production of red drum. Extremely high yields were achieved before emphasis was shifted away from red drum farming research. Product prices have never drawn much commercialization interest in red drum farming in South Carolina. However, the Waddell Center still produces large numbers of red drum juveniles for stock enhancement and fishery management projects along South Carolina’s coast.
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