Conference Discusses Coastal Issues

Living on the coast means pleasure and beauty for all to enjoy – but it also comes with its fair share of problems. Chief among them is erosion.

“You know, three hundred years ago – sure you erode back the shoreline like half a mile, big deal,” says Dr. Martin Posey. “But if its your house that’s in between where that ocean is now and where it wants to be in twenty years, then it’s a problem.”

Beach communities up and down our coast have used expensive nourishment projects to keep sand on their beaches. A new debate lies with terminal groins – structures beach towns want, but scientists generally do not.

UNCW associate professor Tom Lankford says, “There is broad opposition to the placement of hardened structures along the shoreline and I am generally opposed to that practice. I think that beach nourishment in most cases is a preferred alternative.”

In the fishing industry, a six-month ban on fishing snapper and grouper have put the squeeze on local fishermen’s bottom line. But there’s a reason for the rules.

“We should all bear in mind that the management efforts are aimed at restoring these important populations,” says Lankford. “There may be sacrifices that must be made in the short term to achieve these longer term goals.”

But its not just fish populations that are suffering from overfishing, oysters are as well. To help this problem, UNCW will open its new shellfish hatchery – another facility to boost its already stellar marine science program.