News from Across the American Shoreline

Representatives from the oil and gas industry are beginning to worry that the partial shutdown of the federal government, now the longest in U.S. history, could impact drilling on federal lands and blunt permitting for infrastructure, including pipelines and liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facilities.

IntraFish is reporting live from the US National Fisheries Institute Global Seafood Market Conference in San Diego. Keep checking back for all the latest.

As we quickly approach the turning point of a new decade, there is much speculation on what would be decided in terms of regulations imposed on the shipping activity.

Work on controversial revisions to a US offshore drilling safety rule is currently being held up by the ongoing partial government shutdown, but when ultimately finalized, the changes will be challenged in court by multiple states, sources said.

TALLAHASSEE, FLA. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis began following up on a campaign promise to make the environment a priority by signing an order Thursday seeking to tackle Florida's problems with blue-green algae in its rivers and red tide off its coast.

City of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa - Vetch’s Pier has been destroyed by mountains of sand being dumped on the beachfront by the municipality, says an activist.

OLYMPIA — Washington may become the first state to designate an official state clam, according to a proposal co-sponsored by local 19th Legislative District lawmakers Rep. Brian Blake, D-Aberdeen, and Rep. Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen.

With the global population expected to reach over nine billion by 2050, food production will need to increase by almost 70 per cent to meet the increasing demand.

The warning signs are increasingly hard to ignore. Sea-level rise is real, displacing thousands of people, destroying millions of acres of land and generating billions of dollars in losses. Due to competing predictions of future global temperatures, scientists are unsure exactly how fast or high sea levels will rise.

Southwest Florida's most used beach accesses could get a remodel late this year. Lee County has planned a major redesign of the four beach accesses at Lynn Hall Memorial Park. The walkways have become a maintenance issue for the county, according to Mark Kincaid of Coastal Engineering Consultants, who presented the project to the Local Planning Agency at their meeting on Jan. 8.

The Marine Corps says Camp Lejeune, N.C. needs $3.6 billion in repairs, as scientists warn climate change will lead to more big storms and affect military readiness.

The suit alleges the Army Corps of Engineers failed to conduct a vital study to examine the project’s potentially detrimental effects to Siesta Key

Mexico won't pay for President Trump's border wall. But Northern Californians might. Many of them live near the American River, one of the country's most flood-prone urban watersheds.

To the relief of Hatteras Inlet mariners, the new year is starting with clear passage on the South Ferry Channel and pending dredge work at the breakwater in Hatteras village, resolving two stubborn problems and providing an upbeat backdrop for the changing of the guard at the first 2019 meeting of the Dare County Waterways Commission on January 14.

HILO, HAWAII - A trash collection device that broke apart while deployed in the Pacific Ocean between California and Hawaii was scheduled to arrive to the Big Island on Sunday.

As Australian beaches succumb to destructive coastal surges due to climate change, Wendy Harmer considers the price of inaction at storm-battered Collaroy-Narrabeen

This might be a good year to re-establish an advocacy group to speak out on shared interests embraced by citizens and local governments within North Carolina’s 20 coastal counties.

Bridgeport, Conn. -- In a new plan to address flooding in the South End of Bridgeport, city officials see an opportunity to kick-start private investment and development in the waterfront area. Bridgeport received more than $50 million in federal grants in the last four years to funding the flood protection project in the South End.

Earth’s oceans had their warmest year on record in 2018, a stark indication of the enormous amount of heat being absorbed by the sea as greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, scientists reported Wednesday.

For many, the Northeast Passage through the Arctic could one day be a ‘Northern Suez Canal’. While icy waters have frozen such dreams, recent advances in nuclear technology might finally unlock the full economic potential of the once-daunting Arctic waters.

SHALIMAR — A majority of the Okaloosa County Commission on Tuesday approved the latest version of the county project to dredge sand from the East Pass and deposit it on beaches on Okaloosa Island and Holiday Isle.

The beach will have to endure another hurricane season, but the Gulf of Mexico shoreline on Anna Maria Island will be renourished in 2019.

NORTH TOPSAIL BEACH – A portion of North Topsail Beach is being removed from a longstanding designation that exempts property owners from receiving federal aid.

“As I was doing research for the book, I actually found a connection between the dead zone, the baby boomer era, and Saturday morning cartoons,” Davis said.

Total re/insured losses resulting from Hurricane Michael in Florida are estimated to be approximately $4.9 billion, according to data compiled by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (FLOIR).

Sea level rise over the 21st century will not be as severe as many climate models have predicted and should not present a major issue for re/insurers provided it is managed appropriately, according to Dr. Judith Curry, President of Climate Forecast Applications Network and Professor Emeritus, Georgia Institute of Technology.

The dwarf lantern shark is among the smallest species of fish in the world. The name of the shark comes from the fact that they are a small (dwarf) shark and are bioluminescent (lantern) in the dark environment of the deep sea level (Benthic zone) where they dwell. The Dwarf lantern shark was recently discovered in 1964.

URBANA, Ill. - Every summer, a "dead zone" forms in the Gulf of Mexico. Plumes of oxygen-robbing algae, fed by excess nitrogen coming in from the Mississippi River, kill off marine life and threaten the livelihoods of those who fish the Gulf.

Biologists have modeled the hagfish's gag-inducing defense mechanism mathematically.

Is Japan’s decision to leave the International Whaling Commission really that big a deal?

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan 15, 2019--JetBlue (NASDAQ: JBLU), along with The Nature Conservancy, whose mission is to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends, today released a new report focusing on the connection between natural resources and tourism. The report’s results revealed that the Caribbean is more dependent on tourism than any other region across the globe and highlights new data on the benefits that coral reefs provide to the travel industry and the region’s economy.

The City of St. Augustine is collaborating with Flagler College to get input from the community ahead of an upcoming workshop on resilience, sea level rise and the future impact of flooding on historic places.

GULF SHORES, ALA. The sugar-white sand in Gulf Shores is Alabama’s most popular half-mile stretch of public beachfront. This area also is undergoing $15 million in renovations and city officials want to keep it looking nice. So, in June, city officials adopted a wide-ranging list of regulations that included an Alabama first: The public beachfront became smoke-free.

Last week, the city kicked off its public design process for the Brooklyn Bridge Esplanade, the quarter-mile stretch of East River waterfront from Peck Slip to Catherine Slip. But it was a small sandy patch, just 191 feet long and lapped by the river’s waves, that grabbed much of the attention.

Almost 16,000 desalination plants worldwide produce bigger-than-expected flows of highly salty waste water and toxic chemicals that are damaging the environment, a U.N.-backed study said on Monday.

DESTIN — With the goal of acquiring more public beach property, city officials hope to have appraisals of eight Gulf-front parcels completed within about the next two to three months.

The Danish government has teamed up with Greater Copenhagen mayors to build nine artificial islands near the coast of Copenhagen to rejuvenate land space for sustainable industries and leisure.

Sand dunes on coastal barrier islands buffer the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf coasts from oncoming hurricanes. Every year, millions of public and private dollars fund the restoration of these barrier islands, but managers often focus on the recovery of smaller sand dunes and aim at making them bigger, for better storm protection.

Tourism is the backbone of Fiji's economy but it's under threat; the Pacific island paradise and many of the vibrant coral reefs that hundreds of tourists, particularly Australians, come to see have been killed off in mass coral bleaching events.

Once the Most Abundant Fish in the San Francisco Delta, Smelt Numbers Dangerously Decreasing

In this Aug. 1, 2018, file photo, debris washed into the Chesapeake Bay from record rainfall accumulates around a sailboat in Annapolis, Md. An annual report on the Chesapeake Bay says pollution from unusually heavy rains in 2018 contributed to the first decline in a decade in the overall health of the nation's largest estuary.

British Columbia, Canada - $2 million to restore salmon habitat will help feed endangered southern resident killer whales

This is whole new tone for a governor's office that told Floridians, basically, that we couldn't afford to both create jobs and protect the environment.

In 2016, village residents rejected a proposal to restore a section of the beach using federal funds because of a mandate that would allow public access there. In 2011, a damaged portion of the wall underwent a $2.2 million rehabilitation project by the Army Corps of Engineers. In 2016, village residents rejected a proposal to restore a 2.4-mile section of the beach — including a small section in front of the sea wall — using federal funds because of a mandate to allow public access to private beaches.

Antarctica experienced a sixfold increase in yearly ice mass loss between 1979 and 2017, according to a study published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has released its Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for development of oil and gas (O&G) resources on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) Coastal Plain. The DEIS is required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and would cover leasing only; actual development would be subject to additional NEPA review and is not likely to begin for many years.

A year ago, restoring the once-thriving rookery that was Crab Bank was simply a dream without a source of financial reality. Now, the once seabird sanctuary will soon return to a place for wings to flap thanks to some federal financial aid.

As pushback by waterfront homeowners increases, VA & MD convene workgroups to deal with aquaculture leasing backlogs and disputes

As the Maine town with the longest coastline, Harpswell is particularly vulnerable to sea-level rise. But the town government is up to the job, with its dedicated, hard-working Conservation Commission studying the effects of climate change on town roads and wetlands since 2010.

Conservationist Dana Beach years ago described how to keep development from mauling everything into a mess of sprawl. Don’t, he said, talk or write about merely “protecting land.” Instead, use words to conceptualize protecting “special places” in South Carolina.

Australia’s national offshore oil and gas regulator, NOPSEMA, has approved an application by oil and gas exploration services company PGS to conduct seismic surveys west of Kangaroo Island.

Miami-Dade has tens of thousands of septic tanks, and a new report reveals most are already malfunctioning — the smelly and unhealthy evidence of which often ends up in people’s yards and homes. It’s a billion-dollar problem that climate change is making worse.

Five developers are vying for a state contract for off-shore wind energy. The other sites would be off Massachusetts/Rhode Island and New Jersey.

WANCHESE, N.C. -- South of the Virginia border, the shores off Corolla have become an Outer Banks hot spot to catch winter shrimp. "It's kind of new, and it's kind of related to the water warming," Mirabilio said. "Everybody's chasing them north."

A Sarasota County ban on smoking at the beach was overturned in court, so now state legislators are looking to ban it statewide The dispute is about litter, not second-hand smoke.

The partial U.S. government shutdown, which entered its 21st day on Friday, January 11, will likely delay two new Cape Hatteras National Seashore projects which were slated to begin in early 2019 – the new parking area at Kite Point, and the new Buxton Beach Day Use Area.

Winter visitors are flocking to warm Gulf waters, quickly filling Vanderbilt Beach with towels and umbrellas. Look closer and one will see another sign of the tourist season in Collier County: security guards.

HILO — A North Kona developer’s representative made repeated promises Tuesday that its shoreline will be opened to the public within a year, but most County Council members want it in writing.

TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis used his opening week in office to underscore a campaign pledge to tackle Florida’s deepening environmental problems, with the former Navy lawyer saying he wanted the state on a “war footing.”

January 12, 2019 - Orange Beach, AL - (OBA®) - The widening and improvement of Canal Road, environmental restoration of Cotton Bayou and Terry Cove, the creation of the Gulf Coast Environment Research Station, the designing and planning of the Gulf Coast Wildlife Recovery and Interpretive Center, expansion of the Orange Beach Wildlife Center, seawall repairs at Alabama Point, and sewer main upgrades - these are projects totaling $40 million that the City of Orange Beach is poised to receive from RESTORE Act funds.

WABASHA, Minn. (FOX 47) — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is moving ahead with plans to build islands with dredged sediment in the backwaters of the Mississippi River along the north end of Lake Pepin.

One year ago, 15-year-old Caroline Marks returned to her hometown Space Coast as the youngest surfer in history — female or male — to qualify for the pro championship surfing tour. She capped her visit by getting carried off the beach after winning the Florida Pro at Sebastian Inlet.

Ask Australians about their favourite beach and you’ll get 11,000 different answers. With 85% of the population living within 50km of the coast, the beach holds a special place in Australian culture, identity and our capacity for endless arguments.

A second wave of closures looms as the government funding fight barrels towards a record-breaking fourth week. Thousands of U.S scientists are heading into their fourth week of enforced leave, the result of a prolonged government shutdown that began on 22 December.

We usually think of whales as serene, gentle creatures, but a new study on an ancient species paints a different picture. Around 35 million years ago, in the late Eocene, a giant whale roamed the oceans, feasting on large fish and, the new evidence suggests, other smaller whales. Yikes.

Red tide feeds off nutrients in the water, and the second greatest source of nutrients in Collier County is runoff from lawns and landscaping. (Agricultural uses is No. 1). There is a way that we can make a difference in how much nutrient reaches the Gulf of Mexico: strengthening and enforcing our fertilizer ordinances.

FAIRBANKS - Alaska villages facing coastal disasters may be able to use new erosion-monitoring tools as part of their decision-making arsenal, thanks to a pilot study led by the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Lawmakers are optimistic bills to implement bipartisan commission's 2014 recommendations will advance after years of delay.

A new study suggests the mollusks may widen and narrow their shells depending on movement of plankton, which shifts with the lunar cycle

Benthic foraminifera are widely used as paleoenvironmental proxies because of their high sensitivity to environmental changes and excellent preservation potential in sediment. Affected by global changes, environmental factors such as seawater temperature and salinity are changing, which will affect the distribution and species composition of benthic foraminifera. A recent study revealed how the benthic foraminiferal community respond to the change of temperature and salinity.

It might seem odd to see a glimmer of hope for conservation of the world’s whales, at the very time Japan has announced it will unilaterally withdraw from global whaling regulations and kick-start commercial hunts in its territorial waters.

The concerns are over the United States over plans to open the calving grounds of a large cross-border caribou herd to energy drilling, despite international agreements to protect it.

What tickles your fancy when land meets sea? Brad Farmer recommends choosing your ‘best beach’ discerningly

Powerful coastal winds caused by the likes of storm Ali and other winter storms, have slowly eroded the beach away. The incredible Irish beach that returned after being lost for 33 years has vanished again - after it was hit by powerful storms. Dooagh Beach in Achill, Co Mayo reappeared in April 2017 for the first time since 1984, but has once again vanished into the Atlantic.

NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) -- The Ingram Dunes is one of the largest undeveloped areas in North Myrtle Beach and like much of Horry County it is at risk of being developed. However, some still believe there’s hope to save the iconic dunes from becoming another developed plot of land.

Raleigh, N.C. — State lawmakers are moving quickly to pass their third hurricane relief bill this year, containing $250 million to help farmers and fishermen wiped out by Hurricane Florence in September and Hurricane Michael in October.

Booming U.S. oil exports have set off a scramble to build Gulf Coast ports to handle more than 3 million barrels per day in new supplies expected over the next five years.

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WPDE) — Wondering about the new posts along Myrtle Beach beaches? They're being installed to help trap windblown sand.

WELLFLEET — A controversial waterfront house that spawned house-size zoning restrictions in both Wellfleet and Truro now has an erosion problem.

DEL MAR — For Del Mar natives, as well as the hundreds of surfers and visitors that traverse its paths, the bluff is a treasured and unique jewel. But several recent bluff failures between August and December have put residents and officials alike on high alert.

There are only so many fish in the sea. And our appetite for seafood has already stressed many wild fisheries to the breaking point. Meanwhile, the planet’s growing population will only further increase the need for animal protein, one of the most resource-intensive types of food to produce.

This week on the Coastal News Roundup, WWNO’s Travis Lux talks with Mark Schleifstein, environment reporter for Nola.com/The Times-Picayune, about a big new oil find in the Gulf of Mexico. Plus, the latest on a lawsuit related to Hurricane Katrina damages.

Florida thrives on beach tourism, which generates $55 billion a year in sales. But, a nationwide report from the non-profit, Surfrider Foundation, gave Florida a ‘D’ rating when it comes to protecting beaches from coastal erosion and climate change.

As the country’s lowest-lying state, Delaware is especially vulnerable to rising sea levels — and the influence of saltwater on the wildlife that depends on freshwater wetlands. What’s more, water quality throughout the state is poor.

As oceans warm, coral reefs are suffering not only from bleaching but from deadly outbreaks of disease. Researchers are developing remedies, but the key question is whether these solutions can work on a large-enough scale to save vast reef systems from Florida to Australia.

The state has finalized the purchase of a sugar farm near Houma to relocate some of the remaining residents of Isle de Jean Charles, an island rapidly sinking into the Gulf of Mexico, as part of a first-of-its-kind federal program supporting the large-scale retreat from the effects of climate change.

Rep. Brad Drake filed a bill Wednesday that would redirect settlement money from the BP oil spill into a new economic development fund in Northwest Florida.

Septic tanks are one of the primary triggers for toxic algae blooms throughout the state, the Senate Agriculture, Environment and General Government Appropriations Subcommittee was told Wednesday.

It’s news millions of Floridians have been waiting eight years to hear: Their governor plans to take the state’s water quality seriously and to back up those plans with serious money.

HONOLULU (KHON2) - Honolulu Ocean Safety officials are keeping a close eye on a dead whale floating off Oahu's south shore.

There are only so many fish in the sea. And our appetite for seafood has already stressed many wild fisheries to the breaking point. Meanwhile, the planet's growing population will only further increase the need for animal protein, one of the most resource-intensive types of food to produce.

SACO — A nearly $4 million project to dredge the lower Saco River is set to begin later this month. The Saco River originates in New Hampshire and serves as a natural border between the cities of Saco and Biddeford, emptying into the Atlantic Ocean.

Victoria, Australia - Summer at Inverloch surf beach is supposed to be about waves, sun and fun. But for locals, the beach is also a cause of increasing angst. Dramatic erosion has seen the foreshore at the local surf lifesaving club recede a remarkable 33 metres since 2012.

OSLO (Reuters) - The oceans are warming faster than previously estimated, setting a new temperature record in 2018 in a trend that is damaging marine life, scientists said on Thursday.

North Coast crab fishermen from Fort Bragg to Crescent City are facing double jeopardy — one from a warming ocean and one man made by a local agency. As of January 8, 2019, the date of the most recent test results for Domoic Acid levels in Dungeness Crabs, both the Patrick’s Point test (north of Trinidad) and the Crescent City test failed due to one crab each over the 30 ppm guidelines for domoic acid levels in crab viscera.

Southern California air regulators yesterday held a regularly scheduled meeting. EPA didn't make it.

Scientists say the world’s oceans are warming far more quickly than previously thought, a finding with dire implications for climate change because almost all the excess heat absorbed by the planet ends up stored in their waters.

The Andrews government has ruled out re-routing key sections of the Great Ocean Road that experts say are at risk of being washed away within years.

The billionaire businessman reportedly spent $250 million on the ship

Nueces County commissioners have joined a chorus of public opposition to a proposed crude oil loading terminal planned for the Gulf of Mexico. A resolution officially opposing Switzerland-based Trafigura’s proposal to build an offshore loading dock for crude oil was approved Jan. 7 during the commissioner’s first meeting of the new year.