Haint Blue

Genevieve Guerry is a student in the Masters in Coastal and Ocean Policy program. She graduated from the University of South Carolina at Columbia in 2015 with a B.S in Marine Science with an emphasis in Biology. As the daughter of South Carolina natives, she spent several summers in the low country inspiring an interest in water quality and conservation.  A hot summer’s day in July and once again the Grand Strand of Myrtle Beach is packed from the parking lots to the water line. As one of America’s top beaches , Myrtle Beach attracts everyone and everything.  The area has a nickname, "Dirty Myrtle"  which refers to anything between a type of drink to a mud run .  But over the last decade, the nickname's meaning has slipped away from local leaders control over marketing towards the numerous swimming advisories that warn visitors of the poor water quality along the beach.  South Carolina is the 3rd worst state for beach water quality in the country. O...

Kathy Cyr is a Masters of Coastal and Ocean Policy student and will graduate from UNC Wilmington this spring. She is also a 2006 graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy where she earned a BS in Operations Research and Computer Analysis. She is currently an active duty Officer in the U.S. Coast Guard. She has six years of sea time on three ships conducting fisheries law enforcement, drug interdiction, migrant interdiction, search and rescue, and security escorts for the U.S. Navy. Map of Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary In 1992, the United States designated Flower Garden Banks as a National Marine Sanctuary. The designation of “marine sanctuary” legally afforded the reef protection from commercial fishing and other potentially destructive human activities. The Flower Garden Banks is located one hundred miles off the coasts of Texas and Louisiana. It includes three reefs, two of which are 15 miles apart. The area between the reefs is not part of the marine sanctuary...

Caitlin Lashbrook is completing her Masters Degree in Coastal Ocean Policy at the University of North Carolina Wilmington where she also received her Bachelors of Science in Marine Biology. Throughout her collegiate studies, she has always taken interest in issues dealing with fisheries and wildlife management. Her research focuses on the regulatory nature of aquaculture operations and find solutions for future growth in sustainable aquaculture. Photo Credit: https://www.seafoodwatch.org/ocean-issues/aquaculture In recent decades, seafood products have taken a more established role in the American diet with demand increasing yearly . Most of this seafood, however, is not produced or caught in the United States. On the heels of the 1970s oil crises, congress passed the National Aquaculture Act of 1980. Aquaculture refers to the raising of aquatic animals or growing of aquatic plants in a controlled environment. The act’s intentions included “reducing the U.S. t...

It's that time of year where MCOP capstone students will post short essays about their research projects. As a basic backgrounds, in the Fall students are taught the fundamentals of problem orientation as practiced by the policy sciences.  During the spring semester, students continue the works they began during their Spring semester but are encouraged to broaden their scope to include context, perspectives and the messy interface of science, politics and policy. Every week for the rest of the semester will showcase a different student and their research.