104 actors and 275 documented relationships (423 directed edges after bidirectional expansion), coded from statutory
documents, public records, organisational materials, and a January 2024 working group survey.
Every tie carries an evidence tier and source note.
Structural brokers — betweenness centrality
name
actor_type
betweenness
degree_in
degree_out
SC Sea Grant Consortium (SCSGC)
science-extension
0.3673
31
31
South Carolina Shellfish Growers Association (SCSGA)
advocacy
0.3581
29
27
SCDNR Shellfish Management Section
regulatory
0.2805
19
48
SCDNR MRRI / Shellfish Research
regulatory
0.0835
13
14
SCDES Shellfish Sanitation Section
regulatory
0.0747
6
37
Matt Gorstein
science-extension
0.0634
10
10
College of Charleston (institutional)
science-extension
0.0525
6
6
South Carolina Aquarium
advocacy
0.0377
4
4
Trey McMillan
industry
0.0376
8
1
Caitlyn Mayer
industry
0.0233
8
4
Brokerage roles
Gould & Fernandez (1989) distinguishes five forms of mediation by the sector membership
of the broker relative to the actors being connected. Betweenness identifies who
brokers; this identifies what kind of brokerage they perform, which carries different
policy implications.
Gatekeepers — control access into their own sector
name
actor_type
Gatekeeper
SC Sea Grant Consortium (SCSGC)
science-extension
231
South Carolina Shellfish Growers Association (SCSGA)
advocacy
165
SCDNR Shellfish Management Section
regulatory
70
SCDNR MRRI / Shellfish Research
regulatory
19
Matt Gorstein
science-extension
19
Peter Kingsley-Smith
regulatory
13
Susan Lovelace
science-extension
7
College of Charleston (institutional)
science-extension
5
Andrew Richard
regulatory
5
SCDES Shellfish Sanitation Section
regulatory
4
Liaisons — bridge otherwise disconnected sectors
name
actor_type
Liaison
SCDNR Shellfish Management Section
regulatory
219
South Carolina Shellfish Growers Association (SCSGA)
advocacy
163
SC Sea Grant Consortium (SCSGC)
science-extension
44
SCDES Bureau of Coastal Management
regulatory
24
SCDES Shellfish Sanitation Section
regulatory
18
Caitlyn Mayer
industry
14
Matt Gorstein
science-extension
12
Susan Lovelace
science-extension
6
Jeff Massey
industry
5
Thomas (Tom) Bierce
industry
4
Coordinators — broker within their own sector
name
actor_type
Coordinator
SC Sea Grant Consortium (SCSGC)
science-extension
258
SCDNR Shellfish Management Section
regulatory
113
SCDNR MRRI / Shellfish Research
regulatory
95
South Carolina Shellfish Growers Association (SCSGA)
advocacy
56
College of Charleston (institutional)
science-extension
18
Matt Gorstein
science-extension
16
SCDES Shellfish Sanitation Section
regulatory
15
Clemson University (institutional)
science-extension
14
Lauren Faulk
regulatory
12
South Carolina Aquarium
advocacy
12
Corrected 29 July 2026. Earlier versions of this dashboard transposed the Gatekeeper and
Itinerant brokerage roles, an artefact of assigning sna::brokerage() output columns
by position rather than by name. Coordinator, Representative and Liaison values were unaffected.
Edge width now reflects mandated interaction frequency rather than documentation confidence.