After lobbying, letter writing, cajoling and presentations, “one-woman crusader” Debbie Swick of Southern Shores has seen her efforts to ban balloon releases become a bipartisan-supported senate bill.
marine debris
Carteret’s litter-free program needs volunteers for cleanup
Carteret County’s Litter Free Land and Sea, a collaborative initiative between the county and community, needs volunteers for its annual cleanup April 26 taking place at seven sites across the county.
Coastal Federation’s lost fishing gear recovery underway
The 2025 project to collect displaced crab pots is focusing on Marine Patrol Districts 1 and 2, the waters between the Virginia-North Carolina border and N.C. Highway 58 bridge to Emerald Isle.
Another Rodanthe house crumbles into ocean, more at risk
Cape Hatteras National Seashore officials have temporarily closed the beach at Rodanthe as hazardous debris from the sixth fallen oceanfront house this year spreads.
Coastal Federation hires help to retrieve lost fishing gear
The nonprofit organization pays commercial fishermen and women to collect crab pots and other gear in January, when internal coastal waters are closed to all crab, eel, fish and shrimp pots north and east of the Highway 58 bridge over Bogue Sound to Emerald Isle.
Whales that use echolocation mistake plastic for prey: study
A Duke University doctoral candidate in a new study found that deep-diving whales that rely on sound to forage for food are mistaking plastic for prey.
Online survey to help guide coastal management strategies
North Carolina Division of Coastal Management officials are in the process of determining priority areas for the 2026-2030 cycle of the Section 309 Assessment and Strategy, and are asking for public input.
Researchers begin marine debris survey of US coastlines
The survey is to create a scientifically valid assessment of marine debris, with the findings going toward developing tools to communicate and compare regional debris estimates across the nation’s shorelines.
Groups who joined to take on marine debris assess progress
Five years into a coastwide plan to address marine debris in North Carolina waters, those behind the plan met last week to judge their effort and consider the message going forward.
Another house collapses in Rodanthe; 8th since 2020
The collapse of the house at 23001 G A Kohler Court early Friday morning is the eighth house collapse in Rodanthe on Cape Hatteras National Seashore beaches over the past four years, and the third this year
Cleanup continues after beach house collapses in Rodanthe
Contractors were still working Monday to remove debris from Cape Hatteras National Seashore beaches after the collapse of a multilevel home into the ocean Friday, the seventh oceanfront Rodanthe house to fall since May 2020.
NCDOT needs volunteers for fall litter sweep Sept. 14-28
“Each season, volunteers from all corners of the state come together to clean up our roads, making a tangible difference in the environment and in the lives of their neighbors,” state transportation officials said.
Resident’s fight leads to balloon bans on 80 miles of beach
Debbie Swick of Southern Shores, who’s passionate about marine life, led an effort that has made it illegal to release balloons from Duck to Hatteras Village.
Public can adopt a beach at Cape Hatteras National Seashore
Groups must commit to four cleanups of each 2-mile section of beach per year under the new program.
Rodanthe house 6th in 4 years to collapse into Atlantic
The unoccupied structure on Hatteras Island likely collapsed around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday, said Cape Hatteras National Seashore officials, who are asking for volunteers to help remove debris Wednesday.
Carteret set to discuss abandoned, derelict vessel ordinance
County commissioners are expected to discuss the proposed ordinance during their meeting at 6 p.m. Monday at 302 Courthouse Square in the Administration Building in Beaufort.
