Brunswick County is asking residents and visitors to “diligently use water wisely” after declaring a stage 1 water conservation alert.

The alert, which was announced Tuesday afternoon, places water use restrictions on all Brunswick County Public Utilities customers, including those in unincorporated portions of the county, Boiling Spring Lakes, Bolivia, Calabash, Carolina Shores, Caswell Beach, Navassa, Northwest, Sandy Creek, Shallotte, Southport, St. James, Sunset Beach, and Varnamtown.

Utilities customers of Bald Head Island, Holden Beach, Oak Island, and Ocean Isle Beach are also under the water restrictions since those utilities get their water from Brunswick County Public Utilities.

“Demand for water has exceeded 80% of the available production and distribution capacity,” according to a county release. “As Independence Day approaches, water demands are expected to increase.

Under a stage 1 alert, water customers are asked to voluntarily adjust their water usage habits to help significantly reduce peak demands.

The biggest way customers can cut back on their water usage is by limiting irrigation, which is the bulk of non-essential water use.

Ways in which customers can specifically reduce water use in and around their homes include:

• Avoid watering lawns between 5 a.m. and 11 a.m. and on Mondays. Residents with odd address numbers may irrigate Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Those with even address numbers may irrigate Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
• Irrigate lawns between midnight and 4 a.m.
• Avoid overwatering lawns.
• Follow the 1-inch rule for grass (one inch of water per week).
• Use drought-tolerant plants.
• Do not water pavement.
• Regularly maintain landscapes by replacing mulch around shrubs and garden plants to help them retain moisture, removing weeds and thatch, and aerating soil.
• Limit the use of clothes washers and dishwashers, operating them only when fully loaded, and before 5 a.m. and after 11 a.m.
• Scrape food from dirty dishes into the trash before placing dishes in the sink or dishwasher.
• Do not leave faucets running while shaving, brushing teeth, rinsing or preparing food.
• Keep drinking water in a container in the refrigerator to avoid running water from a faucet until it is cool.
• Replace showerheads, toilets, faucets and appliances with water-efficient models.
• Bathe in a shower rather than in a bath and limit shower time to no more than five minutes.
• Clean showerheads and faucets regularly to remove mineral buildup and debris.
• Test toilets for leaks and replace old or worn-out toilet flappers.

“A unified application of voluntary water reductions by all water system users in Brunswick County can help to avoid mandatory water restrictions,” the release states.

The water conservation alert does not apply to Brunswick Regional – H2Go customers. Residents on private groundwater wells or those using highly treated reclaimed wastewater, including St. James, Winding River, Sea Trail and Sandpiper Bay golf courses, are also not included in the water conservation alert.

Residents will be notified of any necessary conservation measures and when conditions dictate that restrictions are no longer required.

Questions should be directed to water service providers or Brunswick County Public Utilities at 910.253.2657 or utilityadmin@brunswickcountync.gov.

A Leland man holds the new state record for the graysby grouper.

Wyatt Rabon’s 3-pound, 8-ounce catch on May 16 about 45 miles offshore of Southport was recently certified by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of marine Fisheries as the state’s largest on record.

Rabon, his father, and friends were fishing aboard their personal vessel using live pinfish for bait when he reeled in the grouper on 100-pound test with a Shimano Trevalla rod and Shimano Torso 30 reel.

“The crew nearly filleted the fish once they got home before realizing they might have a potential record,” according to a division release.

Rabon’s fish was weighed in at the Intracoastal Angler in Wilmington. It measured a little more than 17 inches long from the tip of the nose to the stretched end of the tail and had girth of 13 inches.

The previous state record for graysby grouper was a 3-pound, 0.8-ounce fish landed in 2022.

The fish unofficially ties the currently certified International Game Fish Association All Tackle World Record graysby grouper landed in 2023 off Georgetown, South Carolina.

Distinctive physical characteristics of graysby grouper include a rounded caudal, or tail, fin, uniform red dots over a tan or beige body, and nine dorsal spines. They are a small species of shallow water grouper that start life as female, then transition to male around 4 years of age, or 9-10 inches in length, after their first spawning season.

There’s something almost poetic in how Thomas Marcinowski describes his plans for his final farewell.

Whenever that time comes, the U.S. military veteran wants to be cremated and put to sea.

“That way my ashes touch every continent my boots walked on,” Marcinowski said.

That long-carried thought surfaced when Marcinowski, on a commercial flight returning to Wilmington from an organizational event in 2019, read an article about people taking the ashes of their loved ones to be interred in an artificial reef off the Miami coast.

By that time, several years had passed since he’d retired from service, rounding out a military career spanning more than 20 years that began when he enlisted in the Air Force as a teenager and ended after becoming an officer in the Army National Guard.

Marcinowski, a physician assistant at Wilmington Veterans Administration Health Care Center, wasted no time after reading the article. He began bouncing an idea to friends and colleagues about a nonprofit organization that would build a living legacy beneath the waves where those who’ve honorably served would be memorialized, their stories preserved and their mission of service continued.

“The motto that I like to use is, ‘Those who served continue to serve,’” Marcinowski said. “They’ve passed away, but yet they’re still giving back to the nation and to the world by being out there to create something even greater and protect for future generations.”

Just two years after he first pitched his idea around, Veterans Memorial Reef held its first ceremony honoring veterans whose cremains were interred in eco-positive reef modules that were placed on the seafloor about 5 miles off the coast of Carolina Beach.

The nonprofit hosted its sixth annual three-day event this past weekend at the Fort Johnston Museum and Visitor Center in Southport, interring the ashes of nine people – six veterans and three spouses of veterans – in memorial markers to be lowered into the sea on Monday.

Those memorialized Saturday joined 30 others whose cremated remains are preserved in aquatic urns that are sealed into the square-shaped markers, each of which has a plaque engraved with the name, branch of service, and birth and death dates.

Veterans whose cremations are interred in the reef represent every branch of service – Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard. Some served decades. Others, like Marine Corps Pfc. Ethan Eldrige, who died at age 21, served only a matter of months.

Several served in combat, veterans of World War II, Korea, Vietnam and Desert Storm.

Then there’s Felix Bigalke, a Coast Guard service K-9, also memorialized at the reef.

This is Marcinowski’s passion project, one that goes beyond recognizing veterans to educate the general public about the military, rehabilitate and protect natural ocean reef ecosystems, and provide researchers opportunities to study how the environment and the organisms that live within it respond to an artificial reef.

“Working at the VA, just hearing the stories and having served in battle, having lost me of my own in battle, brings it home for me because I see the internal scars that they bear. It’s moving to me because I understand those scars,” Marcinowski said. “So, to be able to give them honor and share their stories that they may never have told their families, it is very rewarding.”

And, for the veterans memorialized at the reef who either have no family or are estranged from family, “It becomes really important that they not be forgotten,” he said.

The Veterans Memorial Reef website includes a Fallen Heroes tab where viewers can read veterans’ biographies, along with any medals awarded to them. Users can simply scroll over a ribbon bar or medal and click to learn more about that award.

“Those are things people don’t understand the meaning behind what they do, the risks they take to earn something like that or to be recognized for that,” Marcinowski explained.

Today, fewer than 1% of the country’s population serve as active-duty military.

“It’s dwindling,” said University of North Carolina Wilmington Director of Military Affairs Bill Kawczynski. “As our population grows and less and less folk either consider going in the military or even qualify for the military, it’s getting worse each year. And so, as director of the office of military affairs it gives me great satisfaction when I can connect students and others to things such as VMR or other military and veteran resources.”

On Saturday, Armed Forces Day, the nonprofit hosted in Southport a “Fallen Heroes Ceremony” for those whose remains will be placed in the sea. The honors-packed military tribute typically includes honor guards, the presentation of a 13-fold American flag to one member of each veteran’s family, taps, and a bagpipe rendition of “Amazing Grace.”

In a final sendoff, usually two days after the ceremony, families are invited to board the Vonda Kay, a 72-foot head boat based in Carolina Beach, to watch their loved one’s memorial marker get submerged and placed onto the Veterans Memorial Reef.

To honor and to serve (research)

The North Carolina Division Marine Fisheries determines where the memorial markers will be placed on a large, open sandy bottom anywhere below 30 to 50 feet of water.

Veterans Memorial Reef has partnered with Raleigh-based Natrx that creates artificial reef structures called ExoForms, which are designed to promote habitat growth and ecological benefits and produced using 3-D printers.

The memorial reef is in what Troy Alphin, a senior research associate with the University of North Carolina Wilmington’s Center for Marine Science, describes as a dynamic environment with strong currents. Alphin was one of the people Marcinowski initially contacted for validation of his memorial reef idea. The two have known each other for several years and Marcinowski knew Alphin had studied the effects of underwater structures on the environment off other coasts.

Alphin thought an offshore monument for veterans a novel, innovative idea, one that not only honors veterans, but also offers a host of research opportunities.

“This is a passion project to meet the needs of veterans that’s providing us with an opportunity to address some questions that are really relevant for local marine science and in our coastal area,” he said. “This provides an interesting palette for researchers to come in and propose different questions. Are fish going to be attracted to it? Are other organisms going to be attracted to it? What’s that development through time? The Center for Marine Science and UNCW are well positioned to address a lot of those questions.”

This year, students in the university’s coastal engineering program launched a capstone research project to try and answer the question of what the wave energy is like around the Veterans Memorial Reef.

Students used the university’s wave flume, 9,500-gallon-capacity glass and steel tank that can be programmed to imitate varying degrees of wave energy, to collect data that will help in future studies of the artificial reef site.

“We’re going to put some sensors on some of these monuments that are being deployed and start gathering data on what that looks like in the real word,” said Alphin, who sits on the Veterans Memorial Reef board of directors. “We want to know what that flow environment around these structures is really going to be.

“We’re really at the very beginning,” he continued. “There’s a lot of potential right now. I’m hoping that we’ll get a lot of students in the future and a lot of researchers that will be able to go out there and do some work around these structures.”

North Carolina Department of Transportation’s Ferry Division is expanding the schedules of four ferry routes to accommodate the increase in spring traffic.

As of Tuesday, the Hatteras-Ocracoke route increased daily departures from 36 to 52, and the Swan Quarter-Ocracoke and Cedar Island-Ocracoke schedules both increased from four to six daily departures.

The Southport-Fort Fisher route moved to its spring schedule, increasing daily departures on weekdays only from 28 to 32, but the weekend schedule will remain unchanged.

The Cherry Branch-Minnesott Beach, Bayview-Aurora and Currituck-Knotts Island routes will all remain on their year-round schedules.

Spring ferry schedules as of Tuesday, March 31, were the following:

Hatteras-Ocracoke

• From Hatteras: 5 a.m., 6 a.m., 7 a.m., 8 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 9 a.m., 10 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 11 a.m., 11:30 a.m., noon, 1 p.m., 1:30 p.m., 2 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 3 p.m., 4 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 5 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 6 p.m., 7:30 p.m., 8 p.m., 9 p.m., 11 p.m., and midnight.
• From Ocracoke: 4:30 a.m., 6:30 a.m., 7:30 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 10 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., noon, 12:30 p.m., 1 p.m., 1:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 3 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 4 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 6 p.m., 6:30 p.m., 7 p.m., 7:30 p.m., 9 p.m., 9:30 p.m., 10:30 p.m., and midnight.

Cedar Island-Ocracoke

• From Cedar Island: 7:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 4:30 p.m.
• From Ocracoke: 7:30 a.m., 1 p.m., 4:30 p.m.

Swan Quarter-Ocracoke

• From Swan Quarter: 10 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m.
• From Ocracoke: 7 a.m., 10 a.m., 1:30 p.m.

Southport-Fort Fisher weekdays

• From Southport: 5:30 a.m., 7 a.m., 7:45 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 9:15 a.m., 10 a.m., 10:45 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 12:15 p.m., 1 p.m., 1:45 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 3:15 p.m., 4 p.m., 4:45 p.m., 6:15 p.m.
• From Fort Fisher: 6:15 a.m., 7:45 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 9:15 a.m., 10 a.m., 10:45 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 12:15 p.m., 1 p.m., 1:45 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 3:15 p.m., 4 p.m., 4:45 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 7 p.m.

The full 2026 schedule is available for download. For real time text or email notifications on schedule adjustments and other ferry information, sign up for the Ferry Information Notification System at www.ncdot.gov/fins​.

North Carolina Department of Transportation’s Ferry Division has scheduled four career events along the coast to recruit temporary and seasonal employees to staff its ferries, terminals and shipyard.

Officials said that the seasonal employees are a key part of the ferry system’s service, and they are often the first considered for permanent roles.

“In fact, a majority of last year’s temporary hires transitioned into permanent roles,” Ferry Division Director Jed Dixon said in a statement.

The career events are all from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on the following dates:

• Jan. 14 at NC Works Career Center, 3813 Arendell St., Morehead City.
• Jan. 21 at Hatteras Ferry Operations Center, 59063 N.C. 12, Hatteras.
• Jan. 28 at Southport Ferry Operations Center, 1650 Ferry Road, Southport.
• Feb. 4 at Pamlico River Ferry Operations Center, 229 N.C. 306 North, Bath.

At the events, applications will be accepted for temporary, seasonal employment at all experience levels, from general utility worker to experienced boat captains.

Those looking for permanent employment can learn more about open positions and how to obtain a Transportation Worker Identification Card or a Merchant Mariner Credential for the application process. 

Benefits of year-round, full-time permanent employment with the division include competitive salaries, health insurance, retirement benefits, and paid vacation, holiday and sick leave.

For a list of the Ferry Division’s current job openings, visit the state jobs website​ to create a profile and apply for permanent positions. For more information, call 252-370-5573.

Hatteras-Ocracoke, Cherry Branch-Minnesott Beach and Southport-Fort Fisher ferry routes will be on an adjusted schedule for the Christmas holiday.

All other state-run ferries will be on their regular schedules over the Christmas holidays, North Carolina Department of Transportation officials said Wednesday when the revised schedule was announced.

The routes will adhere to the following schedule:

Hatteras-Ocracoke Dec. 24-25

• From Hatteras: 5 a.m., 6 a.m., 8 a.m., 9 a.m., 11 a.m., noon, 2 p.m., 3 p.m., 6 p.m., 9 p.m., midnight.
• From Ocracoke: 4:30 a.m., 6:30 a.m., 7:30 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 1:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m., 10:30 p.m.

Cherry Branch-Minnesott Beach Dec. 25

• From Cherry Branch: 5 a.m., 5:45 a.m., 6:45 a.m., 7:45 a.m., 9 a.m., 10 a.m., 11 a.m., noon, 1:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 6:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m., 8:30 p.m. and 10 p.m.
• From Minnesott Beach: 5:25 a.m., 6:15 a.m., 7:15 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m., 4 p.m., 5 p.m., 6 p.m., 7 p.m., 8 p.m., 9 p.m. and 11 p.m.

Southport-Fort Fisher Dec. 25

• From Southport: 5:30 a.m., 7 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 10 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1 p.m., 2:30 p.m. and 4 p.m.
• From Fort Fisher: 6:15 a.m., 7:45 a.m., 9:15 a.m., 10:45 a.m., 12:15 p.m., 1:45 p.m., 3:15 p.m. and 4:45 p.m.

To get a sense of just how severe Battery Island’s shoreline is changing, look no farther than its trees.

As waves lick away at the fringes of this little island in the middle of the Cape Fear River near Southport, trees rising off its shores are toppling.

“The mature trees that the birds nest in are being lost along the shore,” said Lindsay Addison, coastal biologist with Audubon North Carolina.

Each tree that plops into the river is one fewer on an island that is globally significant for nesting white ibis and home to one of the largest wading bird colonies in North Carolina.

To Battery Island’s east rests Shellbed Island, a large marsh system edged by elevated banks of old oyster shells called shell rakes.

In good condition, these rakes do not flood at high tide or during storms, making them a crucial and rather niche nesting habitat for American oystercatchers.

“The Cape Fear River supports almost 30% of the state’s nesting American oystercatchers. And about half of the American oystercatchers that nest on the Cape Fear River nest in these types of habitats. So, it’s a very important habitat type for American oystercatchers and they are a state listed species,” Addison said.

Like Battery Island, waves have altered Shellbed Island’s edges, where the elevated shell rakes have been flattened out and pushed back into the marsh by coastal storms.

In an effort to protect the threatened bird habitat on these islands, Audubon and its partners, Sandbar Oyster Co. and the North Carolina Coastal Federation, have teamed up to design and install two pilot living shoreline projects and test their effectiveness at protecting the low-lying islands on the river.

The Coastal Federation, which publishes Coastal Review, is contributing $13,800 in cost share for the $51,500 projects. Of the Coastal Federation’s contribution, $5,250 has been set aside for Battery Island and $8,550 for the project at Shellbed Island.

Georgia Busch, a coastal specialist in the Coastal Federation’s Wrightsville Beach office, said these projects, “align with our mission for preservation of critical habitats in our coastal and estuary systems.”

“But, particularly in the lower Cape Fear River, there’s a need for some extra reinforcement of those habitats there. Historically, the birds have used this area for a long, long time and we just want to make sure that stays intact. These sites were chosen for both their exposure and their critical points in the river,” she said.

Battery Island’s shores have for years been battered by waves from large vessels that navigate the river to and from the Port of Wilmington, recreational boats that skim the waters around Southport, and the Bald Head Island ferry.

“What makes Battery Island special for the nesting birds is it’s relatively small, it’s far enough away from the mainland that it doesn’t have any mammalian predators on it, and so that allows this colony to have a lot of success,” Addison said.

There’s also little human disturbance on the island. The island, which is managed by Audubon, is closed to people March 1 to Sept. 15 each year.

A test section of about 70 linear feet of living shoreline will be installed along the roughly 100-acre island’s southwest corner, which has experienced some of the most severe erosion.

A reef constructed of Sandbar Oyster Co.’s Oyster Catcher reef building substrates, which are made with plant-fiber cloth, infused with different cement mixtures, and molded into different shapes to promote sediment accumulation and marsh growth.

The test project at Shellbed Island has been designed to prevent shell rakes from washing away.

Power hurricanes, including Florence in 2018 and Dorian in 2019, pushed the shell rakes back into the marsh and flattened them out. And the oyster reefs that at one time provided an abundance of oyster shell in the river are not as plentiful because of overfishing, pollution and habitat degradation.

“There’s still plenty of spat, larval oysters, in the water, but there isn’t a lot of substrate for them to settle on because oysters typically grow on other oysters,” Addison explained. “When you put in a living shoreline-type of material, or almost any hard substrate, you’ll get oysters recruiting onto it. What we would like to do is to help jumpstart some oyster populations in areas of these shell rakes.”

The project at Shellbed Island includes installing roughly 67 feet of living shoreline in front of the shell rakes and material behind the shell rakes, “so that when nature moves those loose shells around, it can build back up into a more sustainable nesting habitat where the oystercatchers are not losing so many of their nests to overwash,” Addison said.

Audubon has a received a grant for a separate project to place loose oyster shell directly on the existing rakes.

Busch explained the test projects are a first-of-their kind because they will be at isolated islands “where we’re really only looking at habitat and this will be really helpful for testing out the strength and feasibility of the Sandbar Oyster Company’s products and of living shorelines.”

“These sites were chosen for both their exposure and their critical points in the river,” she said. “We want to see how this product will work somewhere where we get a lot of wave energy. We’re going to find out.”

Addison said she has “high hopes” for the living shorelines in curbing erosion at the islands.

“If it turns out to look like it’s working well then we could seek larger pots of money and expand our permit to be able to do this at a larger scale,” she said.

Audubon is continuing to fundraise for the projects. Donations may be made by contacting Addison by email at lindsay.addison@audubon.org.

Weight restrictions have been placed on the Southport-Fort Fisher ferry route after a ramp at the Southport terminal was damaged over the weekend.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation on Tuesday announced the restrictions will be in place “until further notice.”

Any vehicle weighing over 18 tons, including tractor trailers, dump trucks, heavy equipment, fuel tankers and similar types of vehicles or equipment, will not be allowed onto the ramp.

“School buses, campers, trucks and trailers are not restricted and will be allowed to board,” according to a DOT release.

The restrictions will remain in place until the ramp system is repaired.

The North Carolina Ferry Division, under the N.C. Department of Transportation, announced on Friday that four of its ferry routes will adjust for the off-season.

The Ocracoke Express passenger ferry will end its seasonal service on Sept. 15. The 2025 season for the ferry that transports up to 129 passengers between Hatteras and Ocracoke’s Silver Lake Harbor began May 13.

The motor-vehicle ferries traveling between Southport and Fort Fisher, Swan Quarter and Ocracoke, and Cedar Island and Ocracoke are to begin Tuesday adhering to the following off-season schedules:

Cedar Island to Ocracoke: 7:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
Ocracoke to Cedar Island: 7:30 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.

Swan Quarter to Ocracoke: 10 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.
Ocracoke to Swan Quarter: 7 a.m., 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.

Southport to Fort Fisher during the week: 5:30 a.m., 7 a.m., 7:45 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 9:15 a.m., 10:45 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1 p.m., 1:45 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 3:15 p.m., 4 p.m., 4:45 p.m. and 6:15 p.m.

Fort Fisher to Southport during the week: 6:15 a.m., 7:45 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 9:15 a.m., 10 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 12:15 p.m., 1:45 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 3:15 p.m., 4 p.m., 4:45 p.m., 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Southport to Fort Fisher on weekends: 7 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 9:15 a.m., 10 a.m., 10:45 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 12:15 p.m., 1 p.m., 1:45 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 3:15 p.m., 4 p.m., 4:45 p.m. and 6:15 p.m.

Fort Fisher to Southport on weekends: 7:45 a.m., 9:15 a.m., 10 a.m., 10:45 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 12:15 p.m., 1 p.m., 1:45 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 3:15 p.m., 4 p.m., 4:45 p.m., 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Visit the website for a complete schedule of all state-run ferries.

Donate your flounder carcass and you could win a prize.

The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries will collect flounder carcasses from recreational anglers during the season, which runs Sept. 1-14 this year, for research purposes.

Anyone who donates their flounder carcass and fully completes the required catch-card will be entered to win one of two rod and reel combinations.

Cards and donation supplies are available at year-round donation sites in the following locations:

• Frisco Rod & Gun, Frisco.
• Jennette’s Pier, Nags Head.
• Eastside Bait & Tackle, Washington.
• Cape Pointe Marina, Harkers Island.
• N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries Headquarters, Morehead City.
• Tex’s Tackle, Wilmington.
• Clem’s Seafood, Southport.

Additional temporary donation locations have been established at the following:

• Quarter Deck, 503 Carteret St., Bath.
• Chasin Tails Outdoors Bait & Tackle, 709 Atlantic Beach Causeway, Atlantic Beach.
• Pelagic Hunter, 104 James St., Sneads Ferry.
• Intracoastal Angler, 6332 Oleander Drive, Wilmington.
• Carolina Beach Municipal Docks, Carl Winner Drive, Carolina Beach.
• Ocean Isle Fishing Center, 65 Causeway Drive, Ocean Isle Beach.

Anglers are asked to leave the fish head and tail intact when cleaning and, if possible, the guts/reproductive organs. Fishers on charter or head boats should let the fish cleaner know the carcass will be donated.

The division’s biologist measure each fish, determine the sex of each when possible, and remove the otoliths, or ear bones, to determine the age of each fish. This information will used in future flounder stock assessments.

Recreational flounder season opens this year at 12:01 a.m. Sept. 1 and closes at 11:59 p.m. Sept. 14. There is a one fish per one person per day limit through the season and the size limit is 15 inches total length.

Biologists will gather data from commercially caught flounder at fish houses. Carcasses caught by commercial fishers should not be left in the Carcass Collection Program freezers.

For more information, visit the Carcass Collection Program website or contact Amanda Macek, division sportfishing specialist, at 252 515-5537 or amanda.macek@deq.nc.gov.

Brunswick County Public Utilities has lifted a water conservation alert it enacted earlier this summer.

Recent rainfalls and residents’ efforts to conserve water, “have contributed to a drop to sustainable levels for the County’s water system,” leading the utility to rescind the stage 1 alert in put in place June 26, according to a release.

The alert affected customers in the unincorporated areas of the county, as well as Boiling Spring Lakes, Bolivia, Calabash, Carolina Shores, Caswell Beach, Navassa, Northwest, Sandy Creek, Shallotte, Southport, St. James, Sunset Beach, and Varnamtown.

The recension also applies to customers of Bald Head Island Utilities, Holden Beach Utilities, Oak Island Utilities and Ocean Isle Beach Utilities.

It does not apply to Brunswick Regional – H2GO customers.

“Water conservation notices are not uncommon for this time of year,” the release states. “Water systems typically see higher demands in late spring and throughout summer due to the heat, increased irrigation demands, and the peak tourism season.”

The utility could issue additional notices if drier weather conditions return and customers are encouraged to “use water wisely” and maintain the water irrigation schedule the utility recommends.

The schedule is as follows:

• Odd address numbers: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday.
• Even address numbers: Wednesday, Friday, Sunday.
• No irrigation on Mondays.

Customers are also encouraged to irrigate lawns outside of peak demand hours of 5 a.m.-11 a.m. to spread out demands on the system. Irrigation is recommended after nightfall.

Customers with questions may contact Brunswick County Public Utilities at 910.253.2657 or utilityadmin@brunswickcountync.gov.

State transportation officials announced Thursday that all roads damaged by a storm in southeastern North Carolina last year are open to drivers.

North Carolina Department of Transportation and local officials gathered this week to celebrate the reopening of the bridge over Prices Creek on East Moore Street in Southport.

The bridge officially opened to drivers Thursday afternoon.

NCDOT officials said this project was the last of 44 damaged sites in the southern coastal region to reopen after an unnamed storm with tropical cyclone characteristics brought historic rainfall and flooding on Sept. 16, 2024.

Major southeastern North Carolina routes, including N.C. Highway 211 and U.S. Highway 17, were damaged during the storm. State crews worked to restore critical routes to the area in the immediate aftermath of the storm, officials said.

The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission is seeking public input on the proposed establishment of an archery zone within a new addition to the Green Swamp Game Land.

Public comments will be accepted during a meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Southport Community Building, 223 E. Bay St.

In archery zones on game lands, hunters are limited to using archery equipment and falconry.

The archery zone is proposed for a recently acquired 426-acre parcel directly adjacent to the Green Swamp Game Land’s Swain Tract, which is also managed as an archery zone.

Both tracts are directly adjacent to Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point.

A swimming advisory has been issued at a sound-side area in Southport after water test results indicate bacteria levels exceed state and federal recreational water quality standards.

The advisory, issued by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Recreational Water Quality Program, has been posted at the Brunswick County town’s public kayak launch in Cottage Creek at the end of W. West Street.

Test results of water samples taken at the site Tuesday and Wednesday indicated bacteria levels of 104 enterococci per 100 milliliters for Tier 2 nondaily use sites, according to a DEQ release.

Enterococci is a bacteria found in the intestines of warm-blooded animals. Anyone swimming or playing in waters with bacteria levels above water quality standards are at increased risk of developing gastrointestinal illness or skin infections.

Swimmers should avoid waters within 200 feet of a posted advisory.

Testing will continue at the stie and the posted advisory sign will be removed once bacteria levels decrease to levels below the standards.

Recreational water quality officials sample more than 200 sites throughout the coastal region on a near weekly basis from April to October. During cooler months, testing continues, but on a reduced schedule.

For additional information or to view a map of testing sites, visit the program’s website.

Explore the craftsmanship, creativity and history of 1700s fashion during an interactive program Saturday at the North Carolina Maritime Museum in downtown Southport.

“Stitching the 18^th Century,” part of the museum’s “Deep Dive into History” series, is set for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the museum, 204 E. Moore St.

The program is to feature a mantua maker, a professional seamstress who created by hand intricate gowns directly on women’s bodies. Visitors will be able to try on various pieces of clothing representing both men’s and women’s attire from the 1740s to the 1780s.

“Fashion in the 18th century was not just about appearance. It communicated who you were, what you did, and where you stood in society,” said Shannon Walker, education curator at the museum, in a statement. “Clothing was an important marker of social identity, and creating it was a painstaking and skillful process.”

The program is being offered at no charge and is open to the public. Visitors are encouraged to drop in throughout the day to explore the exhibits, interact with the presenters, and immerse themselves in18th-century fashion and craftsmanship.

Walker, who began learning how to sew 18^th century clothing more than a decade ago, will draft a mantua, which is a a popular style of draped and pleated dress worn in the 17^th and 18^th centuries, on a live model during the March 29 program.

“The clothing you’ll see and touch in this program is something you couldn’t buy off the rack – it had to be made by hand,” Walker explained. “It’s a very personal and intricate process.”

As part of the museum’s “Deep Dive into History” series, “Stitching the 18th Century“ ties into the museum’s larger theme this year to mark the 250th anniversary of when Fort Johnston was burned and destroyed by more than 500 Whig militiamen during the summer of 1775, spurring the Colony of North Carolina into a war.

Museum programs planned during the first half of the year will feature several related programs on the historical event and time period, culminating in a special July program.

The museum in conjunction with the Southport will host “In The Glorious Cause of Liberty: The 250^th Anniversary of the Burning of Fort Johnston” starting at 9 a.m. July 19. There will be a symposium, living history demonstrations and an evening commemoration focused on the stories and individuals behind this turning point in history.

The April “Deep Dive” builds toward the July program, as well.

“Revolutionary Everyman” is set for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 19 and delves into the life of an 18th-century North Carolina militiaman and how militiamen played a key role in the July 1775 events on the Cape Fear.

These programs are part of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources’ America 250 NC initiative, commemorating the 250^th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 2026.

A program geared for younger learners is set for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 5 called “Skipper’s Crew: Hop into Reading.” Participants will be able to make Easter Bunny-themed bookmarks. Lights will be dimmed and interactives muted during the first two hours to provide a calmer environment for those with sensory sensitivities. The program is free, but donations are accepted and appreciated.

The museum is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Admission is free. For more information on the museum and its programs, call 910-477-5151 or visit ncmaritimemuseumsouthport.com.

A deal between Southport to sell hundreds of acres of land to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission remains on the table after elected officials there recently agreed to extend the city’s contract deadline with the state agency.

Following what was, at times, a contentious discussion March 13 during the Southport Board of Aldermen meeting, members cast a 5-1 vote to push an option agreement with the state from March 21 to July 31 with a closing date of no later than Sept. 5.

The agency anticipates closing before that date, Ben Solomon, assistant chief and land acquisition manager of the commission’s Land and Water Access Division, said in a statement to Coastal Review on Monday.

More than a year has passed since aldermen agreed in a majority vote their intent to sell more than 400 city-owned acres to the commission for just over $637,000.

The Wildlife Resources Commission had been eyeing the property for the past few years with hopes of expanding the game land footprint in the area, a move that would place the land in conservation in perpetuity.

The property is adjacent to the state’s Green Swamp Game Land. The land also borders the country’s largest ammunition port, Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point, or MOTSU.

The federal government prohibits development of the property because of its proximity to the 16,000-acre port.

Brunswick County land owners whose property is near the 441-acre tract fought a construction firm’s proposal about three years ago to buy or lease no fewer than 50 acres from the city. The firm wanted to mine clay-like material and use the earth to build up eroded berms buffering ammunition and explosive areas within the Army installation.

Under the proposed deal with the state, Southport will keep 10 acres to use to temporarily place hurricane debris. The county will retain another 5 acres, which could eventually be the site of a water tower or some other type of water reserve used to improve water pressure in the area for fire-fighting.

Brunswick County property owners whose land is near the tract asked last week for clarification on how the city and county planned to use the land to be retained by local governments.

The handful of residents, including Ron Madden, expressed relief that the city would move forward with plans to sell the land to the Wildlife Resources Commission.

“We’re concerned to see what happens there,” he said. “This is paradise. Our neighborhood is paradise. We’re just asking you to be the good neighbors that we are to you. We take great pride in our neighborhood as you do in Southport.”

His and others’ comments to the board angered Alderman and Southport native Marc Spencer, the lone alderman to vote against extending the deadline to the commission, who balked at the proposed sale price for the tract.

Spencer said members of the city planning board tried to come up with multiple uses for the site, including a cemetery, but the city got “shook around by our local neighbors who didn’t like what they thought we were going to do so we didn’t do anything at all.”

“Now we’re selling 441 acres for $600,000. Really? I will sell my house today and buy it. I’ll take it. I’ll take it forever. Anybody here would. That’s ridiculous. This was a bad deal from the beginning with a bunch of people from Bethel Church Road (Bethel Road) who didn’t like what we were going to do who haven’t ever paid tax in Southport in your life. You’re not a member of Southport. You talk about paradise? You ruined paradise for me,” he said.

The commission received funding in late 2021 to buy the land, an area wildlife officials say is ecologically important because it supports both federal and state listed species.

The agency received funding in 2021 to buy the land through the North Carolina Land and Water Fund, state Attorney General’s Office Environmental Enhancement Grant Program, and the North American Wetlands Conservation Act Program.

“We’ve already agreed to sell it to them,” Southport Alderwoman Karen Mosteller said. “All we’re doing is agreeing to extend the agreement.”

The city bought a majority of tract 20 years ago with plans to use it as a spray-irrigation site for a new sewer plant. Those plans were eventually scrapped after the city decided to merge its water and sewer with the county.

Four ferry routes will follow an adjusted schedule on Christmas, a traditionally low-ridership day.

The Hatteras-Ocracoke, Cherry Branch-Minnesott Beach, Bayview-Aurora and Southport-Fort Fisher routes will follow the adjusted schedule on Dec. 25, North Carolina Department of Transportation officials said Friday.

The Hatteras-Ocracoke route will be on an alternate schedule on Christmas Eve as well.

All other ferries will follow regular schedules​ over the Christmas holidays.

Hatteras-Ocracoke route Dec. 24:

• From Hatteras: 5 a.m., 6 a.m., 7 a.m., 8 a.m., 9 a.m., 10 a.m., 11 a.m., noon, 1 p.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m., 4 p.m., 6 p.m., 9 p.m., midnight.
• From Ocracoke: 4:30 a.m., 6:30 a.m., 7:30 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 1:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m., 10:30 p.m.

Hatteras-Ocracoke route Dec. 25:

• From Hatteras: 5 a.m., 6 a.m., 8 a.m., 9 a.m., 11 a.m., noon, 2 a.m., 3 a.m., 6 a.m., 9 a.m., midnight.
• From Ocracoke: 4:30 a.m., 6:30 a.m., 7:30 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 1:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m., 10:30 p.m.

Cherry Branch-Minnesott Beach route Dec. 25:

• From Cherry Branch: 5 a.m., 5:45 a.m., 6:45 a.m., 7:45 a.m., 9 a.m., 10 a.m., 11 a.m., noon, 1:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 6:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m., 8:30 p.m. and 10 p.m.
• From Minnesott Beach: 5:25 a.m., 6:15 a.m., 7:15 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m., 4 p.m., 5 p.m., 6 p.m., 7 p.m., 8 p.m., 9 p.m. and 11 p.m.

Bayview-Aurora route Dec. 25:

• From Bayview: 8:45 a.m., 11 a.m., 2 p.m., 3:30 p.m. and 5:40 p.m.
• From Aurora: 10:15 a.m., 11:45 a.m., 2:45 p.m., 5 p.m., and 6:15 p.m.

Southport-Fort Fisher route Dec. 25:

• From Southport: 5:30 a.m., 7 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 10 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1 p.m., 2:30 p.m. and 4 p.m.
• From Fort Fisher: 6:15 a.m., 7:45 a.m., 9:15 a.m., 10:45 a.m., 12:15 p.m., 1:45 p.m., 3:15 p.m. and 4:45 p.m.

A portion of Brunswick County’s N.C. Highway 211 is set to be reopened to vehicle traffic Thursday, ahead of schedule, officials said, after the bridge was damaged by a storm in September.

The N.C. 211 bridge over the canal just north of Southport was to reopen to traffic at mid-morning. 

The section of highway was closed Sept. 16 after heavy rainfall caused extensive damage to the bridge. That prompted the North Carolina Department of Transportation and its contractor to detour traffic onto the new bridge over the canal. 

When the highway reopens, drivers will use the new alignment and bridge and then back onto the main roadway. Barricades, signs and pavement markings will guide drivers through this new traffic pattern. 

Drivers should note the N.C. 211 bridge at Dutchman Creek, which was also damaged beyond repair by the same storm, remains closed. Traffic will be directed to take Dosher Cutoff SE to N.C. 87. 

Officials said crews were “also diligently working at this location and are hopeful to have it reopened by the end of the month.”

Both sections of roadway affected by the storm are part of the project to widen N.C. 211.

Post has been updated

SOUTHPORT – With a section of N.C. Highway 211 washed out during a storm earlier this month, transportation officials ask that drivers use an alternate route.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation said Thursday that with N.C. 211 closed just north of Southport, heavy traffic volumes have been using N.C. Highway 87 North, otherwise known as River Road, toward Boiling Spring Lakes to leave the area.

Officials said that to adjust for this concentration of traffic, crews have installed message boards along N.C. 211 to alert drivers who are trying to reach U.S. 17 or the Boiling Spring Lakes area to do so by way of N.C. Highway 906 rather than N.C. Highway 133 to N.C. 87.

As part of this traffic remedy, the left turn from N.C. 133 North onto N.C. 87 North closed after peak hours Wednesday morning. The detour has drivers follow N.C. 211 North, N.C. 906 North, U.S. 17 Business North and U.S. 17 North back to N.C. 87.

NCDOT has partnered with the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office to remove the closure officials said Thursday, allowing the left turn from N.C. 133 North onto N.C. 87 each evening, until further notice.

The left turn onto N.C. 87 will be closed each day 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. Then, between 7 p.m. and 10 a.m., the same left-turn lane will be open to drivers.

Drivers should factor the alternative route into their trips and be mindful of crews working in the area.

Now that the mile extending from Southport’s incorporated limits is under Brunswick County’s jurisdiction, there are questions.

In June, the North Carolina General Assembly approved House Bill 911 that removed Southport’s extraterritorial planning jurisdiction, putting that land under Brunswick County’s control effective July 1.

To help residents and property owners in the former Southport ETJ navigate the initial zoning process, county planning staff scheduled an open house for 5:30 p.m. Thursday, July 25, at The Brunswick Center at Southport.

An ETJ is the land usually adjacent to a town’s incorporated limits and is regulated by the town’s zoning and planning rules.

Staff will give the same 30-minute presentation at 5:30 p.m. and again at 7 p.m. A recording of the presentation and materials will be available online after the open house. 

Also during the drop-in open house, residents will be able to offer their input and ideas concerning possible initial zoning for the area.

Planning staff will consider this input when drafting map amendments to the unified development ordinance that will go before the county planning board in August for consideration, the county said.  

Brunswick County Communications Director Meagan Kascsak​​​​ told Coastal Review in an email last week that the county and city continue to work together to identify and transfer impacted projects to the county’s jurisdiction.

“The County and the City will share more information on any directions and next steps with residents and the development community once everything is finalized. Until otherwise directed, all approved projects or projects currently in the application phase within the Southport ETJ area should continue to contact the City of Southport concerning any planning or permitting needs,” she said.

Individuals can contact the county’s planning team at 910-253-2025 or email Jeff Walton at jeff.walton@brunswickcountync.gov.