They won't make you sick, there's just not much to them. The spring oyster spawn pretty much uses the creatures up leaving a watery tissue shell of their former selves. It is through the "R"less summer months of feeding on rich plankton and detritus soup that they rebuild themselves.
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Bob Bender
curator for the Lowcountry Estuarium in Port Royal
I don't bait shrimp and wouldn't anymore than I would shoot dove in a baited field or kill a deer over a saltlick block. To my mind shrimp are an earned reward for those willing to learn their ways and work for them. It may be argued that bating disrupts the natural movements of the species by enticing them to remain in a area longer than under normal conditions. Also, the biggest, strongest and most aggressive shrimp (desirable traits for a healthy gene pool) are concentrated on the bait balls and taken in disproportionate numbers. If we are able to develop and maintain the perspective that the shrimp and other species we humans exploit for our pleasure and profit are a gift that is earned and not an entitlement, we will go a long way in assuring those resources will be available for future generations.
Bob Bender
curator for the Lowcountry Estuarium in Port Royal
When you stroll the beach, you are walking on the ancient remains of mountains. The sands of the Coastal Plain are the erosional deposit of ancient river systems that once carried, bit by bit, Upstate mountains to the sea over the eons. That mountain-to sea transport system is largely no longer in place due to the damming of rivers, which is a contributing factor to present-day beach erosion. Our beaches are no longer replenished by natural forces. While granite quartz from the Appalachian mountains is by volume the greatest constituent of local beach sand, the pulverized shells of marine mollusks and organic detritus, or dead stuff, are also in the mix.
Bob Bender
curator for the Lowcountry Estuarium in Port Royal
The Beaufort County litter control office occasionally schedules free document shredding for the public, but no date has been selected yet this year. However, Advanced Document Shredding, the company that does the shredding, can make arrangements to help you. Give them a call at 812-3963.
Robert Holquist
Director, River Smart
Next to the water, the marsh grass (Spartina alterniflora) is single most important component of the estuarine salt marsh environment. It, along with planktonic plants and animals, are at the very center of the food web. The grass dies back in the fall, is broken off by wave action and enters a process of decomposition fueled by bacteria and other small organisms. The end product of this decay is called detritus. Detritus is a slurry mixture of pureed plant fiber and bacteria. Tidal currents provide year round distribution throughout the system and to near shore waters. Many species feed almost exclusively on detritus and are called detritivores. Detritivores are generally rather small creatures, mullet being an exception, which are consumed in great numbers by larger predators. Finger mullet are on the menu of most game fish and larger mullet are an important part of the diet of osprey, dolphin and sharks. The detritus that has accumulated in the salt marsh through the winter months is baby food for the newly arriving little white shrimp and blue crabs in the spring. So, no marsh grass, no detritus. No detritus, no shrimp, no crabs for the pot.
Bob Bender
curator for the Lowcountry Estuarium in Port Royal
For those who like to catch and eat boiled crabs, keep this in mind. A bigger shell after molting does not equate to a bigger crab inside. It's like buying shoes for kids: you buy them with room to grow. Same with the crab. You may have had the experience of cracking into a large crab to find little to eat inside. That was no doubt a crab that had recently molted. If you catch a crab with bright intense colors like it just came off the showroom floor, it probably did. You want what are called "rusties." They have brown algae growing on them and maybe a barnacle or two, that's a full crab.
Bob Bender
curator for the Lowcountry Estuarium in Port Royal
The water in the river and creeks tends to run clearer in the winter because it's relatively devoid of life. Cold water is not conducive to phyto (plant) plankton and virtually nothing is spawning in winter. As spring begins to bloom so will local waters, with life.
Bob Bender
curator for the Lowcountry Estuarium in Port Royal
The common name is gill louse. It is one of a myriad of parasitic isopods tormenting a wide range of species in any number of ways. Other species of isopod invade the scales and mouths of fish while still others parasitize crustaceans.
Bob Bender
curator for the Lowcountry Estuarium in Port Royal
Arenophilia – People who collect and study sand are arenophiles, or sand lovers.
