The Coastal Resources Commission Science Panel’s recently presented analysis and recommendations regarding proposed fixes for the Outer Banks’ severe beach erosion were not the messages that commissioners opposed to the state ban on breakwaters and other hard structures on the oceanfront wanted to hear, nor was the chair’s sharp rebuke.
science
Fisheries ruling sets up likely yearslong state response
Now that a judge has ruled that the state has failed to rebuild and maintain healthy fish stocks and protect key habitats as required by law, fisheries officials must turn to the remedy phase, which is unclear at best.
NOAA’s Beaufort Lab to get new facility
NOAA’s Beaufort Laboratory on Pivers Island is getting a new multi-million facility, the agency announced Thursday.
Recent rains help but heat has amplified long-dry conditions
“Heat Wave,” “The Heat is On,” “Burning for You”: Song titles that may suit the sweltering summer that has left most of coastal North Carolina parched, and the state climatologist says the rainfall deficits much of the state is seeing began in August 2025.
Five barrier islands find five ways to keep herds wild, healthy
On barrier islands from the Delmarva Peninsula to North Carolina’s Outer Banks, five horse herds share the same Colonial Spanish ancestry, but differ in how they’re managed.
‘150 years of negative impacts’ to New Jersey coast: Corbett
The longstanding state law banning permanent erosion control structures in an ocean shoreline was based on extensive studies and data documenting their detrimental effects and temporary protection, Dr. Reide Corbett said during a recent talk at Harkers Island.
‘Delivery is imminent’: UNCW awaits new research vessel
The University of North Carolina Wilmington is eagerly anticipating delivery of its new $7.5 million, 78-foot-long, 27-foot-wide, aluminum research vessel purpose-built with an array of equipment and sensors, including those for enhanced geophysical surveys.
Nonprofit that cares for Shackleford’s wild horses turns 30
The Foundation for Shackleford Horses is commemorating three decades of advocacy with a special program on Harkers Island featuring behavioral ecologist Dr. Dan Rubenstein, who has studied the herd for decades and helped draft the legislation approved in 1998 to protect the wild herd.
‘Ask an Advocate’ discussion to focus on coastal policy issues
Ask an Advocate is held quarterly by the North Carolina Coastal Federation’s southeast office and offers residents a chance to ask questions about coastal policy and other issues.
‘If there’s magic’: Coastal Federation honors water’s guardians
The North Carolina Coastal Federation honored more than a dozen individuals and groups this year during the 23rd annual Pelican Awards held Saturday in Morehead City.
Secretaries’ Science Advisory Board to meet Wednesday
The North Carolina Secretaries’ Science Advisory Board, which assists, consults and advises the state’s human health and environmental agencies, is scheduled to meet virtually on Wednesday.
‘Peering into the black box of nutrition’: Study tracks diets
Dr. Rachel Noble of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Institute of Marine Sciences and colleagues used technology developed to track COVID-19 in municipal wastewater to now track populations’ dietary habits so their nutritional health may be studied and improved.
Find a special bottle in the water and you can help scientists
Deploying trackable floating bottles, researchers are working to better understand how litter gets into waterways and travels downstream, with an effort to pinpoint litter hotspots and identify correlations between storms and the volume of trash that enters individual streams during those storms.
North Carolina’s seagrass habitat continues to decline: Study
The Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Partnership has found that the extent of seagrass meadows in the Albemarle-Pamlico estuary decreased by at least 16,000 acres over a 14-year period, “despite suitable habitat available for expansion.”
Work begins for periodic update of state coastal habitat plan
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality staff are to present outlines for the new issue papers for the 2026 update to the Coastal Habitat Protection Plan, the state’s long-term strategy to protect coastal habitat, a necessity for a sustainable seafood industry.
State wildlife officials launch coastal animal watch survey
Wildlife viewers visiting North Carolina’s southern coast are asked to take a five-minute online survey to help officials better understand the correlation between animal watching’s economic contributions to coastal communities and the state.
