We will be lined up hand-in-hand to show our support against anymore offshore drilling in the Atlantic.

Not sure if you have time? Checkout this short video – it’ll probably change your mind.

From the Shem Creek blog.

Leave the oil in Texas; South Carolina prefers clean beaches.

Wanna participate?

1. Just go to the beach at 11 AM for one hour, rain or shine.
2. Join hands for 15 minutes at 12:00 forming lines in the sand against oil drilling in our coastal waters.
3. That’s it!

It sounds like a small deal, but if enough people come out, hopefully big media’s helicopters will be flying around filming it all – just like they did back when the Hunley was raised (an incredible event btw!).

The Hands Across the Sand web page for SC has locations listed already, be sure to visit them and sign up today!

From the Shem Creek blog.

Do you oppose expanding offshore drilling in the Atlantic Ocean too?

In it, photographer Brian Skerry shoots life above and below the waves – as he puts it, both the horror and the magic of the ocean. Sharing amazing, intimate shots of undersea creatures, he shows how powerful images can help make a change with people’s habits.

Well worth a few minutes!

At the end, Brian says, “the ocean is willing to give to a point, but we need to be better stewards”. Hopefully the world is listening.

From the Shem Creek blog.

The ocean is not our supermarket

The S.C. Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism issued a statement in its most recent newsletter saying “experts continue to predict little chance for the ongoing leak to present a future problem for the South Carolina coast. For their predictions to change, a significant alteration in the Gulf currents would need to occur.”

Hamilton Davis, energy and climate director for the Coastal Conservation League, said his group is encouraged that the state’s General Assembly has responded to the possible threat, but also anticipates lobbying this year to get legislation passed preventing the oil industry from operating near South Carolina – and encouraging the federal government to do the same.

So, if you’re planning a vacation to Charleston, come on down, we’d love to see you again, and of course, stop by Shem Creek for the freshest seafood in town!

From the Shem Creek blog.

Southern hospitality and oil don’t mix

Jay and his fellow workers are busy cleaning up any marine life they can rescue from the Gulf oil spill.

In this video, he says oil-drenched pelicans first become hypothermic (since the water will no longer roll off their feathers), and then if they sit in the sun, they can overheat, because their skin can’t breathe under their matted feathers.

I’m sure the local U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service personnel are trained in this procedure, but hopefully we won’t see any oil-doused pelicans, turtles, or other marine life here in Shem Creek or elsewhere on the east coast like they have down at the Fort Jackson Rehabilitation Center in Louisiana.

If we do though, here’s a great before-and-after photo of their great work!

For more information, see Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Response.
IMG SRC: flickr

btw: I’m sure Dove appreciated Jay’s quick plug!

From the Shem Creek blog.

Got oily feathers? Give that bird a bath!

Topics will include implications of chronic erosion, gradual sea level rise, increased shoreline development and comprehensive beachfront management planning. A public comment period began 5:30 p.m. yesterday.

Organized by DHEC in 2007, the Shoreline Change Advisory Committee is an advisory committee of a broad cross-section of stakeholders including scientists, coastal managers, municipal officials, developers, conservationists and legal professionals. The committee’s purpose is to organize existing shoreline research, identify research priority needs and consider policy-related issues concerning management of South Carolina’s estuarine and beachfront shorelines. A report of the committee’s findings is planned for late 2009.

The Charleston Community Leaders’ Forum on Shoreline Change is organized by DHEC’s Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management in partnership with S. C. Sea Grant Consortium, the College of Charleston and the City of Folly Beach.

For more information on the Shoreline Change Advisory Committee visit http://www.scdhec.gov/environment/ocrm/science/shoreline_comm.htm

From the Shem Creek blog.

Charleston Community Leaders’ Forum on Shoreline Change

DHEC has already closed about 1/3 of the state’s 3,000 acres of oyster beds to harvesting because of pollution.

On top of that, commercial fishermen take about 100,000 bushels a year, SCDNR biologist and SCORE manager, Nancy Hadley said. SCDNR usually replants about 1/2 that much, using revenues from saltwater fishing licenses and volunteer help through SCORE (South Carolina Oyster Restoration and Enhancement), but it’s necessary to do that and more to help oysters thrive in nature.

“We’ve got 20 years of not quite enough being replanted every year… Each little deficit might not be all that much, but over 20 years, we are a bit behind… so we need to play some catch-up.”
– Nancy Hadley.

SCDNR hopes to get a $1 million grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act so it can restore about 9 acres of oyster reefs along our coast, but that proposal is only #77 among R-Okla. Sen. Tom Coburn’s list of the 100 worst examples of waste amongst stimulus projects – fortunately for us, it was the only S.C. project on his list!

South Carolina isn’t the only area with depleting oysters though – although as much as we eat, that may have something to do with it. Out West, Pacific wild oysters haven’t successfully reproduced since 2004! They suspect water that rises from deep in the Pacific Ocean may be corrosive enough to kill baby oysters.

If carbon dioxide is the culprit dramatically affecting the ocean, it’s one more incentive for us to do something now to protect the environment and our planet’s healthy future.

So in the end, the goal of having sustainable oyster reefs needs to be looked at more closely, because the question is, “what actually caused the oysters to start dying off” – was it global warming, ocean acidification, pollution, or something else?

A stranded pygmy sperm whale on Sullivan’s Island.
Credit: NOAA

Speaking of water pollution and debris in the ocean, just the other day a pygmy whale and her calf were stranded on the beach – dead because they mistook a plastic bag for food that somebody threw in the water, according to SCDNR officials, something that happens pretty often.

Come on guys, do the right thing and put trash where it belongs!

From the Shem Creek blog.

They may be muddy, but oysters will survive – if we let them!

There is plenty of information on the NOAA site for those interested, but what I found particularly interesting with respect to our own Large Marine Ecosystem – LME#6 covers the SouthEast – are two points:

1. NC’s Albemarle-Pamlico Sound is one of the largest and most productive aquatic systems in NA.
2. The SE US Continental Shelf is one of a few LME’s that have experienced long-term cooling since 1957.

From the Shem Creek blog.

NOAA: World’s large marine ecosystems are heating up

We can all feel a little safer now when heading out on the water from Shem Creek and beyond – new data sets from NOAA give the Coast Guard the ability to track probable paths of victims and drifting survivor craft, thereby improving search and rescue efforts for the Coast Guard along the U.S. coast.

NOAA says the new data sets include surface current maps from high frequency radar systems. The technology measures speed and direction of ocean surface currents in near real time, which the Coast Guard can then use to guide its search and rescue operations with greater accuracy. The maps can also be used to support other scientific work, such as oil spill response, harmful algal bloom monitoring, and water quality assessments.

“The Coast Guard is continuously striving to enhance its Search and Rescue capabilities by obtaining the latest operational environmental products that NOAA has to offer. Better data means search efforts can be focused on smaller areas, saving more lives by allowing us to locate and assist distressed persons more quickly,” – Jack Frost, USCG’s Program Manager for

From the Shem Creek blog.

NOAA, Coast Guard pool SAR resources together

]]> http://shemcreeksc.com/blog/noaa-coast-guard-sar-resources-together/feed/ 0 http://shemcreeksc.com/blog/ocean-water-quality-monitoring-begins-may-15/ http://shemcreeksc.com/blog/ocean-water-quality-monitoring-begins-may-15/#comments Tue, 05 May 2009 17:01:13 +0000 Charleston Native http://shemcreeksc.com/blog/?p=1941 From the Shem Creek blog.

Ocean water quality monitoring begins May 15

]]> May 15 will mark the beginning of the sixth summer the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control has sampled ocean water quality under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s BEACH Act, DHEC announced.

“The BEACH Act authorizes the EPA to award grants to states, tribes and territories to implement beach water quality monitoring programs at coastal and Great Lakes recreational beaches,” said Shannon Berry, beach monitoring coordinator in DHEC’s Bureau of Water. “These grants also support programs to inform the public about the risk of exposure to disease-causing microorganisms in the waters at beaches. South Carolina is one of 35 states receiving the EPA grant.

“DHEC monitors the quality of water at the state’s beaches every year. When bacteria levels in the water are too high, the public is notified of beach advisories,” Berry said. “Signs, written in both English and Spanish, are placed on the beach until water quality returns to acceptable levels.”

“This study will help the EPA find faster analytical methods to test surf water samples,” Berry said. “These studies begin in early June and conclude after Labor Day. We advise beach-goers to look for the survey tents, especially on weekends.”

“Surfside Beach is hosting the EPA’s study of rapid beach water testing methods.”

Berry urges people to help enhance beach water quality by following these reminders:

• * Use sunscreen.
• * Remove all items brought to the beach with you.
• * If the beach allows pets, please clean up after them.
• * Do not swim in the ocean during, or immediately after heavy rain.
• * Do not swim or allow children to play in swashes or near stormwater pipes. These areas are more likely to have higher bacteria levels.
• * Avoid swimming in areas under advisory. Walking, wading, and collecting shells are safe unless you have open sores or lesions. Bacteria can get into open sores and cause infection.

For more information about beach monitoring and swimming advisories, visit DHEC’s Web site at: http://www.scdhec.gov/beach, or contact Shannon Berry at (803) 898-3541, or e-mail at: berrysk@dhec.sc.gov.

From the Shem Creek blog.

Ocean water quality monitoring begins May 15

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