N.C. DOCUMENTS 



CLEARINGHOUSE 



contents 



FE B 15 19 9 4 



Features 



N.C. STATE LIBRARY 

 RALEIGH 



Closed Shellfishing Areas: 



Where the Green Signs Mean Stop 



The fluorescent green signs that flag a closed shellfish area are 

 an all too common sight in North Carolina's tidal creeks and 

 sounds. Experts believe that recent increases in polluted runoff — 

 called nonpoint source pollution — are responsible for closing 

 most of these waters to harvesting. Coastwatch staffer Jeannie 

 Faris explains how and why these waters are closed through the 

 experiences of a small New Hanover County tidal creek. Since 

 the 1970s, Hewletts Creek has been sporadically opened and 

 closed to shellfishing. The complex problems of this and other 

 closed shellfish waters are not easily solved 2 



Seasickness, known more generally as motion sickness, 

 afflicts an estimated 90 percent of American adults sometime 

 during their lives. Coastwatch staffer Kathy Hart describes this 

 bane of travel and the research into its causes and treatments. 1 2 



A Gift From the Harbor 



If beach towns and cities spend millions to build up eroding 

 shorelines with borrowed sand, should a community ever refuse a 

 windfall of these precious grains? Some critics argue that the 

 town of Atlantic Beach should have thought twice before taking a 

 handout from the harbor. But except for a temporary inconve- 

 nience to fishermen, others say, this buttress for beachfront cot- 

 tages and businesses was a boon to the community. Coastwatch 

 staffer Carla B. Burgess explores the issue of dredge spoil dis- 

 posal on Bogue Banks 16 



Living on Borrowed Sand 



Erosion is a natural process happening on virtually every 

 beach; it demands a response only when it encroaches on 

 manmade development such as houses, roads and bridges. In the 

 clamor to protect property, many coastal communities are look- 

 ing to beach nourishment — building up beaches with borrowed 

 sand — to ease erosion woes. But as Coastwatch staffer Carla B. 

 Burgess learned, it's an expensive, temporary remedy that's not 

 without side effects 19 



How the Motion of the Ocean 

 Affects You 



Departments 



Aft Deck 



23 



Bookstore 



25 



COASTWATCH I 



