june-2011

THE WORLD
FACTS TRENDS NEWS
*
JAMIE WESTENDORF, FOR 35 years the
owner of Charleston Outdoor Catering,
does barbecues and luaus, but he’s best
known for his traditional oyster roasts.
When he gets the fi re going, locals stick
around for hours, just feasting on oysters.
“As fast as you’re shucking them,
they’re eating them,” he says.
Westendorf hopes to hand his business
down to his children and grandchildren,
but the future of the wild oyster is far
from assured. Between the demise in the
1980s of the local canning industry, which
was once responsible for maintaining
* * *
*CONDITION OF THE WORLD’S OYSTER BEDS, ACCORDING TO THE NATURE CONSERVANCY
CHARLESTON, S.C.
Shell Game
state-owned shellfish grounds, and a
rising demand for decorative shells used
in landscaping and construction, oyster
beds in the Charleston area have been
decimated (as elsewhere: see above).
Enter the South Carolina Department
of Natural Resources. It works
with the food industry and citizen
volunteers to return thousands of
tons of discarded shells to the reefs in
spawning season, when millions of tiny
oyster larvae are seeking something
hard and genetically familiar to a ach
to. Since 2001, when the eff ort began, 37
acres of oyster beds have been rebuilt.
Westendorf is one of the program’s
most avid participants, providing so
many bushels over the years he’s been
given his own storage trailer.
Westendorf has been celebrated for
his charity work in Charleston, but
his oyster eff orts may prove to be his
most lasting contribution. A er all, it’s
a cause that hits close to home in more
ways than one. His family has lived in
the same house for eight generations,
he says. “And we ain’t got the sucker
paid off yet.”—RUTH TOBIAS
ILLUSTRATION BY GAVIN POTENZA HEMISPHERESMAGAZINE.COM • JUNE 2011 17