Shem Creek fisherman – along with a lot of other ones – are traveling to Washington this month to attend a nationwide rally protesting new fishing regulations that limit bottom fishing.

That’s fine, but I consider it a waste of gas on their part. If all the fish are gone, what would they do then? Once there’s proof things are okay, the government will loosen their restrictions, and we’ll all be able to enjoy fishing again.

Legare Smith, captain of a private sport fishing boat, says “What if they come back and say dolphin or wahoo numbers are down?” I’m assuming it’s because their population numbers are too low to sustain themselves – surely they’re not trying to drive away our tourism dollars…

Don’t forget: NOAA declared four fish stocks fully rebuilt as a result of international fishing pressure, so they’re on the right track with their regulations.

Overfishing is going to be the death of the fishing industry unless steps are taken to curb our ferocious appetites for seafood, and I for one, am 100% behind the government regulations, because I love seafood so much and want it to always be here – if you do, you should be encouraging their sustainability efforts.

For more information on new fishing regulations, visit South Atlantic Fishery Management Council website, where you can read the current Snapper Grouper Recreational Regulations Summary.

That ‘United We Fish’ rally will be held Feb. 24, from noon to 3 p.m. in Washington. For more information, go to unitedwefish.blogspot.com.

The EPA’s Watershed Central website provides a variety of tools and information to aide watershed management.
Credit: EPA

The basic idea behind the EPA’s new Watershed Central website is to assist us develop and implement effective watershed management programs. The site includes guidance, tools, case studies, and data sets to help share information, analyze data, and identify opportunities to initiate or strengthen our watershed efforts.

On the site, you can look at any body of water across the country and see some interesting facts that everyday citizens probably aren’t familiar with: pulling up S.C. data shows that
61% of impaired coastal S.C. water is because of fecal coliform

Checking to see whether or not Shem Creek has fecal coliform shows:
Waterbody Name: SHEM CK AT BRDG ON US 17.

So from the Watershed Central website, now I’ve learned something I really would rather have not known – thanks EPA!

Last week, somebody asked if dolphins swim in Shem Creek – besides the high diesel content, now they have fecal matter to worry about too!

UPDATE: Shem Creek is clean according to the EPA.