Southern Tides January 2016

Gray’s Reef

Ocean Film Fest

Artist Amber Angeloni’s Saltwater Dreamscapes

Jekyll Island’s

Green Sea Turtle Nest

January 2016

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CONTENTS

08 12 18

Artist Amber Angeloni, of St. Marys, shares her unique sea creatures on cypress wood in Saltwater Dreamscapes

04 05 06 07 10 16 17 20 22 23

Gray’s Reef Ocean Film Fest is Making a Splash this month with a great line-up of films being presented in Historic Savannah.

A green sea turtle nest is rescued from an extreme tide in Mystery of the Green Sea Turtle Nest

also in this issue

Contributors

Editor’s Note Community Updates Welcome to Amelia Dence Youth Ocean Conservation Summit Sand Resources Did You Know?

Microplastic Research The Bitter End Ocean Film Fest Promo About the Cover:

Jean-Michel Cousteau and hammerhead shark.

Photo copyright 3D Entertainment.

SouthernTidesMagazine.com January 2016

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Contributors

Captain J. Gary “Gator” Hill is a born Virginian but claims to be a native of Savannah by osmosis. Captain Gator is an avid naturalist and historian; he describes himself as one part story teller, one part educator, and one part entertainer.

He works as a boat captain and as a camera operator for Broken Chain Productions; if not at work you will find him doing aerial videography around the lowcountry.

Lisa Olenderski lives in the South Carolina lowcountry and works with the University of Georgia Marine Extension on Skidaway Island, Georgia. As the Assistant Curator and PreK-4th Grade Coordinator at the marine education center and aquarium, she gets to have a hand in education, as well as aquarium science and husbandry. It’s never a dull moment!

Breanna Ondich is a Park Ranger at Jekyll Island State Park. She has worked with the Jekyll Island Authority - Georgia Sea Turtle Center since 2011 conducting applied wildlife research and education and is also a wildlife and nature photographer.

Regular staff

Michelle Riley is the communications and public outreach coordinator for Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary. She worked in the international humanitarian sector for almost 20 years, including as a communications officer for former President Jimmy Carter at The Carter Center. A native of Galveston County, Texas, she has lived in Savannah for 12 years.

Michael Sullivan has been the external affairs manager at the UG Skidaway Institute of Oceanography for more than 10 years and is responsible for communications, public relations and governmental relations.

He previously served as a television news director at five television stations, most recently at WTOC-TV in Savannah. Sullivan is a graduate of the University of Florida.

He and his wife live on Wilmington Island.

Contributing Writers/Photographers Captain J. Gary “Gator” Hill Lisa Olenderski Breanna Ondich Michelle Riley Michael Sullivan

Publisher/Editor – Amy Thurman Editorial Assistant - Amelia Dence Editorial Assistant – Jack Gandolfo Creative Director – Bridgette Thurman

Copyright © 2015 All content herein is copyright protected and may not be reproduced in whole or part without express written permission.

Southern Tides is a free magazine published monthly and can be found at multiple locations from St. Marys, GA, to Beaufort, SC. PO Box 30724 Wilmington Island, GA 31410 (912) 484-3611

info@southerntidesmagazine.com www.SouthernTidesMagazine.com Visit us on Facebook at facebook.com/pages/southern-tides-magazine MAILED SUBSCRIPTIONS ARE AVAILABLE – CALL OR EMAIL FOR DETAILS.

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SouthernTidesMagazine.com January 2016

E ditors N ote

I

don’t make New Year’s resolutions anymore. According to some polls, only about 32% of Americans still do, and only about half of those made are actually kept. There’s a page on the U.S. State Department website dedicated to this tidbit of American culture – if you teach grade school it might be of interest to you.

New Year’s resolutions can be traced back to ancient Babylonians, who would make vows to the Gods with the hope of winning favor in the coming year. These promises were typically to pay off debts or return borrowed items, rather than modern promises of weight loss or giving up bad habits.

SouthernTidesMagazine.com January 2016

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In Medieval times, knights would often reaffirm their commitment to chivalry. I like that one. While I could write chapters on the concepts of chivalry, a quick summation would be to say that chivalry is a code of conduct with a basis in honor, ethics, piety, and manners. Not a bad way to conduct oneself, no matter how you look at it, with benefits to the individual as well as the community.

So what if, instead of making a bunch of doomed-to-fail resolutions, we start the year off by making a commitment to a chivalrous code of conduct? This is the South. We have better manners than the rest of the country combined; we were raised to have integrity, to do the right thing. It doesn’t require us to change who we are, but to simply conduct ourselves the way we know we should anyway.

Don’t toss that wad of tangled fishing line overboard, stuff it in your pocket and put it in the trash when you get back to the dock. Don’t just stare at that plastic grocery bag as you motor past it, snag it with your boat hook and keep it out of a sea creature’s intestines. Put your cell phone away when driving (car or boat) so you don’t endanger your life and the lives of those near you. Be patient with people on the water with you and use mistakes as learning opportunities rather than screaming opportunities. Look at the frustrations you face in your daily life and make an effort to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem.

You may find it doesn’t take much effort at all.

Give up a Saturday morning once a month and volunteer with one of the organizations in the area that support a cause you care about. Don’t have time?

Cull a few dollars from the budget and donate to them instead. Visit our Facebook page for a list of organizations that could use your help.

No daunting resolutions required to make this a better year. Just be the person you know you should be. I vow to do my best!

Southern Tides Magazine wishes all of you a happy, healthy, chivalrous 2016!

Amy Thurman Editor in Chief

Georgia Shrimp Season Closed The Georgia food shrimp harvest season closed at 6:15 p.m. on Thursday, December 31, 2015.

This closure includes all food shrimp harvesting activities, including commercial trawling, commercial and recreational food shrimp cast netting, and shrimp seining on the beaches. Anglers and commercial bait shrimp dealers can still harvest shrimp for use as bait.

“Although December water temperatures were above normal, our coast wide trawl survey showed shrimp abundance in the coastal waters of Georgia to be significantly below the long-term average. Additionally, many of the shrimp remaining inside the estuaries were small and not of marketable size. Therefore, based on our data and input from the Shrimp Advisory Panel,

we recommended to Commissioner Mark Williams that the food shrimp harvest season closed,” explained Jim Page, marine biologist with the Coastal Resources Division.

“It’s uncommon for our Shrimp Advisory Panel to reach such a clear consensus on season openings and closures,” said Patrick Geer, Chief of Marine Fisheries. “However, given the poor catches recently observed, many of the members felt that extending the season was not prudent. Given the results of our independent trawl survey, the Department was in full agreement with allowing the season to close at the end of December.”

For more information on the closing of the food shrimp season, please contact the Coastal Resources Division office at (912) 264-7218.

Georgia Whelk Season Opens Georgia’s whelk trawl harvest season opened at 6:30 a.m. on Friday, January 1, 2016 and will close at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 31, 2016. The DNR will continue its policy of requiring those who possess or fish for whelks with trawl gear in Georgia waters to have a no-charge letter of authorization, the original of which must remain onboard the vessel during fishing activities.

Individuals possessing or fishing for whelk with trawl gear must adhere to all requirements in the letter of authorization, possess all proper licenses, including a Georgia commercial fishing license, and adhere to all gear regulations for whelk trawls, including the use of minimum 4-inch stretch mesh trawl gear and a certified Turtle Excluder Device (TED).

Whelk fishermen are reminded that a limit of no more than two (2) bushels of blue crabs may be retained at any time on their vessel, regardless of the number of crew onboard. All retained blue crabs must be of legal size and sponge crabs may not be kept. Operators of whelk trawling vessels must also maintain and report records of harvested crabs.

Individuals interested in whelk trawling must contact Julie Califf with the Coastal Resources Division at (912) 264-7218 to request a letter of authorization. For more information on regulations associated with the whelk fishery, please call the Coastal Resources Division at (912) 264-7218.

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Live knobbed whelk. Photo by Amy Thurman.

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SouthernTidesMagazine.com January 2016

Introducing: Amelia Dence Southern Tides Magazine is pleased to welcome Armstrong State University student Amelia Dence to our staff as an intern for the spring semester. She’ll be serving as an editorial assistant and many of you will get to know her as she delves into our coastal community to bring great content to our pages.

Dence moved to Savannah with her husband when he was stationed at Hunter Army Airfield. She has worked as a veterinary technician with Innovative Veterinary Medicine for the past five years and will graduate from Armstrong in July with a degree in English Communications. Combining her love of writing with her love of the water “is a dream come true!” Dence said.

“As a kid, I was known to check out all the marine biology books in the library while my peers were checking out the latest Judy Blume books,” she said. She and her husband both love fishing and get out on the water as much as possible.

The couple also foster animals through One Love Animal Rescue and Dence will be happy to share more information about that organization.

Her work with Southern Tides will be multi-faceted in nature. In addition to writing event coverage and features each month, she’ll also assist with editing sections such as Community Updates and the events listings Additionally, she’ll become the magazine’s social media guru, keeping up with Facebook and setting up Twitter and Instagram accounts.

Editor Amy Thurman couldn’t be happier to have her aboard. “Amelia is warm and outgoing so our readers will love her, and I’m thrilled to have someone so knowledgeable, capable, and talented on our staff!”

To contact Amelia with story ideas, event information, or just to welcome her aboard, email her at: amelia@southerntidesmagazine.com.

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Saltwater Dreamscapes with Amber Angeloni

T

here comes a point in the creative process when the urge strikes to show your creation to others. In the early days of developing your craft, this urge triggers a war within. On one side of the battle is your pride in what you’ve created, the feeling that maybe, just maybe, it’s good enough that others may like it too, and the understanding that keeping it to yourself defeats the purpose of your creativity. On the other side of this internal battle is fear of rejection. That’s really the only

By Amy Thurman

thing that holds us back and at times it can be as powerful as any positive motivation you may be able to dig up.

After spending time painting and putting together a small body of work, Amber Angeloni began to consider showing others. “I started to get that itch … but I immediately quashed those feelings. The art world is full of rejection!” she says, with a laugh. So she started instead by joining a local art league, then approached Evelyn Hill with Olde Towne Gallery in St. Marys. Hill was pleased with her work and offered her gallery space. In August 2015 Angeloni was featured as the gallery’s Artist of the Month.

She has done a variety of different things including watercolors and acrylics on various objects (featuring mostly marine life) but at the moment, her focus is mostly on 8

SouthernTidesMagazine.com January 2016

painting with acrylics on pieces of cypress wood dredged from rivers.

“It gives a sense of place, of being part of the landscape here,” Angeloni says of the wood. After selecting a piece, she then decides what to put on it.

“It’s part emotion and part practicality – the painting has to fit. But it also depends a lot on the shape and texture of the wood.”

Her birds and animals seem very lifelike, though she doesn’t strive for exact replicas – she merely paints what she sees. Not formally trained in traditional painting techniques, Angeloni describes her painting methods as obscure and “a different technique that no one else does. It’s kind of a mixture of painterly style and some photo-realism.”

Now with her work in multiple galleries in Georgia and the Jacksonville area, several upcoming shows, commission work, and sales from her website, Etsy, and her Facebook page, she stays busy. But she has a new project on the horizon as well. Wood carver Chad Bridges will carve sea turtles, whales and other sea creatures and Angeloni will paint them, in a collaborative effort that will showcase both of their talents.

Look for more from this talented artist in the future. Her passion for the coastal region and her art shines through in her work.

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SouthernTidesMagazine.com January 2016

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Students Invited to Attend Youth Ocean Conservation Summit

By Lisa Olenderski

M

iddle and high school students (grades 7-12) are invited to attend the second annual Youth Ocean Conservation Summit (YOCS) on Saturday, January 30.

The summit will be held from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the University of Georgia Marine Education Center and Aquarium on Skidaway Island, near Savannah, GA. YOCS empowers students with the knowledge, skills and resources necessary to successfully implement ocean conservation projects in their local communities. This is a great opportunity for students to develop their interests, gain professional skills, and connect to the nationwide network of youth conservation leaders.

Last year, fifty middle and high school students participated in the state’s inaugural Youth Ocean Conservation Summit and spent the day fully engaged in thinking about and discussing science issues ranging from marine debris and plastic pollution to habitat restoration and keystone species.

This year, participants will learn about ocean conservation topics from keynote speakers, panelists and workshop 10

presenters. Student teams will brainstorm and develop plans for community projects addressing ocean conservation challenges. The event is currently being organized by Georgia Sea Grant Marine Education interns Kayla Clark, Jessica Hernandez, Caitlin Shea-Vantine and Yesenia Feliciano.

Along with representatives from UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant, the second annual YOCS will also include speakers from the coastal Georgia nonprofit environmental organization One Hundred Miles, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, Sapelo Island National Estuarine Research Reserve and the O’Pake Institute for Ethics, Leadership, and Public Service. Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant are units of UGA Public Service and Outreach, serving coastal Georgia.

Registration for the event is $10. For additional information, call 912-598-2496 or visit http://marex.uga.edu/yocs/.

Above: Students brainstorm ideas about ocean conservation challenges.

Right top and middle: Guest speakers present information.

Right bottom: 2015 student participants.

All photos provided by UGA Marine Extension.

SouthernTidesMagazine.com January 2016

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Gray’s Reef Ocean Film Fest Makes a Splash

By Michelle Riley

A mother humpback whale and her calf.

Copyright Brandon Cole.

The little boy’s eyes widen with excitement as the humpback whale rises from the depths and seems to shoot from the sea, making a huge splash as it crashes down into the waves. The breaching whale is bigger, closer than ever before – almost close enough to touch.

Could it be? Yes, it’s “Humpback Whales 3D,” playing this year at the Gray’s Reef Ocean Film Festival!

Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary celebrates the Wonders of the Ocean January 29 and 30 at the Trustees and Lucas Theaters in Historic Downtown Savannah. A wide range of offerings pack the two-day festival, featuring everything from turtles and whales to sharks and surfers.

“We can’t wait to show the fantastic movies we have on deck this year, and we have new attractions, too,” said Sarah Fangman, superintendent of Gray’s Reef. “We’re especially excited to present 3D films for the first time, and we are grateful to be able to show some stories about the healing power of the ocean, in appreciation of our military men, women and families.”

In addition to “Humpback Whales 3D,” which is directed by two-time Academy Award® nominee Greg MacGillivray, Gray’s Reef also will screen “Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Secret Ocean 3D,” a beautiful gem from the famous Cousteau family. Festivalgoers will receive 3D glasses, and after the lights come up, one of America’s premier whale rescuers, Ed Lyman, will speak and take questions. Lyman is known far and wide for disentangling whales from fishing line, a dangerous and breathtaking feat.

In addition to offering a visual feast, the Gray’s Reef Ocean Film Festival also illustrates the connection between people and the ocean. Even as the viewer delights in exploring our world beneath the sea, he or she also discovers the fragility of the marine ecosystem and the pride we can take in sanctuaries like Gray’s Reef.

A fine example is “Journey to the South Pacific,” a movie for all ages that takes viewers along to the island of West Papua, home to more than 2,000 species of sea life.

There, narrator Cate Blanchett invites us to join Jawi, a

young island boy who encounters sea turtles, manta rays, whale sharks and other creatures that highlight the importance of living in balance with the ocean.

“In Georgia, we are fortunate to have 100 miles of beautiful Atlantic Ocean coastline,” notes Fangman. “These movies show us the amazing marine animals that share our oceans, and remind us to cherish and care for our natural surroundings.”

The Gray’s Reef Ocean Film Festival also honors Georgia’s military personnel and families. “The Current” is a short film of perseverance and healing, directed by Kurt Miller and narrated

by Fabien Cousteau. U.S. Army Corporal Jesse Murphree, a veteran of the Afghanistan War, is featured in the film as he learns to scuba dive and snorkel and while experiencing the healing power of the ocean.

Another much-loved facet of the festival is the emerging filmmakers segment, which is open to college students, and awards First, Second and Third places to young filmmakers, including the sought-after Dr. Robert O. Levitt Emerging Filmmaker Award. Judges this year include Keenan Smart, a producer from National Geographic Television and Film, as well as Savannah’s own documentary filmmaker, Jody Jenkins.

The Emerging Filmmaker Award is supported by Kathryn Levitt, widow of Dr. Robert O. Levitt, who was a pioneer in dive medicine and spent time diving with the Cousteau family.

Dr. Levitt was also a co-founder of the dive show “Our World Underwater.”

Gray’s Reef is now receiving additional assistance from a foundation that was created to support ongoing initiatives and research. Called the Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, the organization is headed by Chairperson Cathy Sakas and Executive Director Chris Hines, a primary organizer of the festival. “I love all the 2016 film festival selections,” said Hines. “I have to admit that “The Crystal Labyrinth” really got my adrenaline going! I was on the edge of my seat as the divers traveled deeper and deeper into underwater caves.

Whew!”

Many of the films allow non-divers to share ocean experiences that marine scientists routinely undertake. In Guy

Harvey’s two films, viewers can follow an expedition to tag oceanic whitetip sharks, which Jacques Cousteau described as “the most dangerous of all sharks.” Viewers can also learn about the invasive lionfish. “We recently observed our first lionfish of 2015 in Gray’s Reef,” said Becky Shortland, the resource protection coordinator for the sanctuary. “Lionfish are not native to the Atlantic Ocean, and they are voracious eaters. As their population continues to grow, lionfish can do immense harm to the Atlantic Ocean and to Gray’s Reef. We want everyone in Georgia to be aware of this Atlantic invader and are delighted to offer this film!”

And of course, no ocean film festival is worth its saltwater without a National Geographic film. Saturday is National Geographic Night, when Gray’s Reef will screen “The Secret Lives of Predators,” which will show sharks and Orcas in action. The movie will be followed by a one-of-a-kind session with Emmy Award®- winning cinematographers Paul and

Left: Ed Lyman untangling a whale. Photo provided by N Center: Crystal labyrinth. Copyright RBMH. Right: Humpback whale breeches in Alaska. Copyright Above: Journey to the South Pacific poster.

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Grace Atkins. The Atkins will show film clips and take questions about how they “got the shot,” in a rare behind-the-scenes treat for movie lovers of all stripes. The festival will end with an onstage Wrap Party at the Lucas Theatre.

Suggested donations are $10/day for adults and $5/day for children and students. Most proceeds will benefit the Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, with a portion going to benefit military families at Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Air Field.

Suggested donation to benefit Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary Foundation is $10/day adults and $5/day for children and students.

To reserve seats, visit the foundation website at www.graysreefNMSF.org.

2016 Gray’s Reef Ocean Film Festival Line-Up: Friday Night, January 29 – First-Ever 3D Night!

Trustees Theater 7:00 PM: Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Secret Ocean 3D Humpback Whales 3D by Greg MacGillivray After-Movie Honored Speaker: Ed Lyman, Humpback Whale Rescuer Saturday, January 30 – Full Day of Film Fun! Lucas Theatre 10:00 AM: Children’s Program (kids are free!)

Journey to the South Pacific by Greg MacGillivray Lost and Found by Philip Hunt 11:30 AM: Emerging Filmmakers Competition 2:00 PM: Guy Harvey Expedition Films: The Oceanic White Tip Shark Aliens of the Deep: Lionfish 3:30 PM: Appreciation of our Military, featuring adrenaline and ocean-healing films: Earth is Blue (NOAA) Red Bull adrenaline film The Crystal Labyrinth by David Pearson The Current by Kurt Miller and narrated by Fabien Cousteau SUDS in Action (Soldiers Undertaking Disabled Scuba) 7:00 PM: National Geographic Night!

Secret Life of Predators by National Geographic After-Movie Honored Speakers: Paul & Grace Atkins, Emmy Award®- Winning Filmmakers

NOAA. John Hyde & Pacific Stock

9:30 PM: Wrap party on the stage!

Beaches like Glory Beach on Jekyll Island may potentially benefit from the sand resource study. Photo provided by www.GoldenIsles.com.

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UGA Skidaway Institute

researchers study sand resources near the Georgia coast

I

By Michael Sullivan

f a hurricane hits the Georgia coast, a major priority for coastal communities will be finding sand to rebuild beaches destroyed by erosion.

University of Georgia Skidaway Institute of Oceanography scientist Clark Alexander has received funding approval from Georgia Sea Grant for a two-year study to collect and analyze new, high-resolution data to identify the sand resources available near the Georgia coast.

In 2012, Hurricane Sandy caused billions of dollars in damages to communities along the east coast. Coastal communities in Georgia are vulnerable to future storms, and some have begun to develop strategies to increase their resilience to such storms and to speed their recovery from one. When it comes to restoring storm-eroded beaches, those communities will require a detailed understanding of the locations and characteristics of the available sand resources they will need.

“Sand resources are needed to rebuild beach and dune systems to provide the same or better levels of protection to lives and property,” Alexander said. “These sand resources data are critically needed in Georgia, as the sand resources in our state waters are the most poorly known of all the states along the East Coast.”

The study will focus on three developed barrier islands that have not 16

SouthernTidesMagazine.com January 2016

been renourished – Sea Island, St. Simons Island and Jekyll Island. The project will gather new samples and data on seabed sediment texture and composition from the beach out to the state-waters boundary, three nautical miles offshore. The researchers will merge that data with existing samples from the beaches and the sea bed and integrate all the samples to determine where sand deposits are located that would be suitable for beach renourishment.

“Typically, we find a wide range of sand, and not all of it is beachquality,” Alexander said. “We need to locate sand deposits that have similar size and composition to the natural beach.”

The team will collect beach grain size samples during both the summer and winter to assess the differences in texture and composition in the beach in response to changing storm, tide and wave conditions.

The sea floor in the study region has not been comprehensively surveyed since the 1930s. Another part of the project will be to use an echosounder to collect data on the depth and morphology of the sea bed.

This data will be used to create bathymetric maps of the ocean bottom.

These maps will also identify regions of thicker sand deposits, which indicate greater volumes of sand.

The researchers will then combine the new information with existing data in a Geographic Information System tool to integrate the sand resource and bathymetry information and model the extent of beachquality deposits in the Sea Island to Jekyll Island region. The results of the project will be made available online to government officials, the management community and the general public on a number of websites, including the Georgia Coastal Hazards Portal (http://gchp. skio.usg.edu/) developed by Alexander.

The Piping Plover is not a lowcountry native but migrates here each winter.

Did You Know?

• The scientific name is Charadrius Melodus • They nest in the northern U.S. and Canada in the summer, then migrate to spend winters along southern coasts

Contributed by Breanna Ondich, Park Ranger, Jekyll Island Authority

• This small bird is federally listed as endangered in the Great Lakes area and threatened everywhere else in the U.S. • Major threats to their population are habitat loss or degradation, nest disturbance, and predation Jekyll Island has spotted a banded piping plover chick that has recently arrived to spend the winter.

According to the bands, the plover hatched just this year at Illinois Beach State Park. It’s from the Great Lakes population and is from the first brood hatched in Illinois in many years. This bird migrated nearly 1,000 miles – impressive for an animal that weighs an average of two ounces!

SouthernTidesMagazine.com January 2016

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Mystery of the Green Sea Turtle Nest

By Breanna Ondich

O

n the Atlantic coast, sea turtle nesting activity typically trails off by the beginning of August each summer. This was not quite the case for a lone green sea turtle mother, who surprised us all by laying Jekyll Island’s 160th nest of the season on September 2. If you recall from the article in the October issue of Southern Tides Magazine, this was the first time a green sea turtle has visited the island since 2007.

We know that the average time it takes for loggerhead sea turtle nests to incubate is approximately 60 days, and green sea turtle nests should be about the same. This incubation time is determined by a number of factors, but temperature is by far the most influential. When the eggs incubate at warmer temperatures, they tend to take less time than those that

incubate at cooler temperatures. This means that nests laid either early or late in the summer when temperatures are cooler, incubate slower than nests laid during the heat of summer. Since this nest was laid in very late summer, we fully expected it to take quite a while longer to incubate.

On October 27, the green sea turtle nest had been incubating for 55 days – the point at which the embryos

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Green sea turtle next excavation.

Photos provided by Georgia Sea Turtle Center, Jekyll Island Authority.

Jekyll Island nest laid only one other nest in Georgia during the summer of 2015, while a second green sea turtle was responsible for the four other nests in the state. To further add to the mystery of the lonely green sea turtle, once we finally inventoried the nest after 70 days of incubation, we found that none of her eggs showed any visible signs of development at all. Usually almost all of our un-hatched nests can be explained by things such as flooding from high tides or plant roots that absorb all of the moisture in the nest, but not this time. Instead, it could be that these eggs were not even fertile when she laid them, either due to fertility issues with the father, mother, or both. While we may never know why this nest was unsuccessful, it fostered a large public following and provided a rather serendipitous educational opportunity for our sea turtle nesting research on Jekyll Island.

Support for research conducted on Jekyll Island’s sea turtle nesting beach comes largely from the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, AmeriCorps, the Jekyll Island Foundation, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, and the Applied Wildlife Conservation Lab. If you would like to help support sea turtle nesting research by donating, volunteering, sponsoring a nest, and/or participating in one of our exciting summer beach programs, visit http://gstc.jekyllisland.com.

should be almost fully developed. I wasn’t planning to check on the nest until late morning that day, but circumstances led me to wander out to the beach much earlier than I’d intended. An extreme high tide was in, what we refer to as a King Tide, and after wading through waist-deep water, it was clear that our green sea turtle nest was about to be in big trouble. I made a phone call for back up assistance as I watched waves start to erode the sand under signs and stakes that secured a protective screen over the nest.

Normally, sea turtle eggs are only relocated from unsafe habitat within twelve hours after the mother lays them, in order to avoid potential harm to the developing embryos. This particular situation, however, called for breaking those rules and performing an emergency relocation. We carefully and diligently raced against the rising tide, and barely made it in time. All 83 eggs found in the nest were successfully moved to a safer location farther back in the dunes, literally minutes before the sea would have claimed them.

Though we didn’t see the green sea turtle who laid nest number 160, we did find out her genetic identity, thanks to collaborative research efforts with the Sea Turtle Genetics Project, led by Dr. Brian Shamblin of the University of Georgia. It turns out that the mother responsible for this

Above: Teachers participating in a summer workshop sift through the sand of Tybee Island in search of microplastic particles. Photo provided by Skidaway Institute of Oceanography.

Below: Samples of microplastic particles collected off the Georgia coast. Photo provided by Skidaway Institute of Oceanography.

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UGA Researchers Study

Microplastics on Georgia

I

Coast

By Michael Sullivan

mages such as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch have attracted much attention to the problem of large-size marine debris, but another serious issue has garnered less visibility—marine microplastics. University of Georgia Skidaway Institute of Oceanography scientists Jay Brandes and Thais Bittar and UGA Marine Extension educator Dodie Sanders are hoping to change that and have received funding from Georgia Sea Grant to examine the extent of the microplastics problem along the Georgia coast.

Microplastics are particles smaller than five millimeters in size (about one fifth of an inch). They have many sources, from manufactured particles like microbeads, used in cosmetics and skin cleaning creams to plastic pieces formed from the breakdown of larger debris. Microplastics are often consumed by marine organisms and can cause them significant harm.

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SouthernTidesMagazine.com January 2016

Until now, there has been no study on the possible extent of microplastic pollution in Georgia estuarine waters and the organisms that live there.

The project has three primary goals: Researchers will quantify the amount of plastics found in the stomach contents of shellfish, fish and shrimp; determine the types of plastic pollution ingested by Georgia estuarine organisms; and educate stakeholders, the public, educators and their students about the issue of microplastic pollution.

The research team will collect marine organisms through trawls routinely conducted by UGA Marine Extension and will separate, identify and measure the microplastics they find in the fish. As a part of its regular K-12 educational programs, Marine Extension conducts nearly 60 trawls annually and collects fish, shrimp and other organisms to assess the composition and health of local food webs.

“With this information, we expect to get a pretty good idea of how serious the microplastics problem is here in Georgia,” Brandes said.

The team will integrate the entire process into the UGA Marine Extension’s ongoing education programs. They will involve regional educators and their students in both sampling and counting efforts as part of overall marine debris educational programs. The trawls will be conducted with the assistance of visiting school groups, composed of roughly 20 students each. During the trawls, the various species will

be identified and counted by the students. In addition, discussions of microplastic pollution and the potential of ingestion by marine life will be incorporated into the yearround education programs at Marine Extension, such as a fish dissection lab, the invertebrate lab and the plankton lab. The researchers also plan to enhance an existing marine debris exhibit at the UGA Aquarium by adding a microplastic component.

Photo by Captain J. Gary Hill.

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Cleaning Up the Marshes of Glynn

By Captain J. Gary Hill

GLOOMS of the live-oaks, beautiful-braided and woven With intricate shades of the vines that myriad-cloven Clamber the forks of the multiform boughs,— Emerald twilights,— Virginal shy lights, Wrought of the leaves to allure to the whisper of vows, When lovers pace timidly down through the green colonnades Of the dim sweet woods, of the dear dark woods, Of the heavenly woods and glades, That run to the radiant marginal sand-beach within The wide sea-marshes of Glynn;

— Sidney Lanier, The Marshes of Glynn I’ll readily admit, a poet the likes of Sidney Lanier I’m not, but his words abide deep within my soul, like a still pond. For those who may not recognize the name, Mr. Lanier was many things: musician, lawyer, poet, teacher and the list goes on. Lake Lanier outside of Atlanta as well as Lanier County are both named in his honor.

However, it may be for his poem, “The Marshes of Glynn” that many Lowcountry dwellers know him. Not far from the Sidney Lanier Bridge, in Brunswick Georgia, there stood an old live oak under which he penned those very verses. Though both the tree and Lanier have long since passed, his words of love and passion for those pristine waters still remain. Sadly, Lanier would likely feel great angst about the state of the marshes he loved.

Glynn County today is much different than it was during the latter part of the 19th century when Lanier lived, and there are areas where the waters aren’t so 22

pristine any longer in the marshes of Glynn.

Industry from the last century has left its toxic mark on many places up and down our coastline, primarily in the Brunswick and Savannah areas. In Glynn county there are nearly two dozen hazardous waste sites of which four are superfund sites, and six are actively producing waste.

Please don’t take this as me slamming Glynn County; this is written as an eye opener for all of us. Many places throughout the country suffer the same plight. The following is sort of an outline of the processes for cleanup and dealing with the fallout of man’s greed.

Step one is the remedial phase which consists of studying and testing the sites for the potential risks to human life and health, as well as the impact on plants and animals. Once completed, these studies will determine if the risk is greater than what is currently allowed and a list of cleanup options will be made.

Step two moves us to a feasibility study, which becomes more complicated as it considers factors for both clean-up and future impact. Also considered is which process is best suited for each particular site.

Once the feasibility study is completed, a proposed plan is published, then a Record of Decision is completed that will detail the clean-up and long term monitoring.

As we know all too well, the wheels of progress grind very slowly sometimes.

For example, in June of 1998 the Brunswick Wood Preserving site Remedial Investigation Report was filed. It wasn’t until March of 2014 that seven wells were installed to monitor ground water contamination, and it will still be some time before a final remediation is enacted. Also, the LCP Chemical site was discovered in 1980 and only last year was a proposed plan submitted for clean-up. The Terry Creek/ Hercules Outfall seems to be moving along very well, but bear in mind these sites have been there since the 1920-1940s.

To sum things up, man is a creature prone to soiling his own nest, but with the proper attitudes we have the ability to overcome the ignorance of the past and try and use these examples so the same mistakes can be avoided in the future.

SouthernTidesMagazine.com January 2016