Monofilament Recovery & Recycling

We Have had a monofilament recovery and recycling program for a while and have tried to implement what has been successful in Florida's and Georgia's programs. We have 40 bins already strategically placed and we just set up three more bins on Bogue Banks; one at the new West Beaufort boat ramp and replaced one on the fishing pier along side of the high-rise bridge between Beaufort and Morehead.

This picture is of our new portable recycling bin that we can take to fishing tournaments, fairs or educational programs.

This is a link to an incredible video A Tale of Entanglement,http://vimeo.com/1870031 about the monofilament problem and recycling - be sure to have your volume turned up, the music is beautiful. Some disturbing but all too real images. It is positive at the end.
Then look at their newest video, If the Ocean Could Talk http://vimeo.com/5074427. Some of it was filmed at Cape Lookout Studies waterfront and dock. Keith and some local seventh graders are in it. It is very good


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What does that Pelican Have ??

When we were out looking for dolphins on Spyhop we went by a pelican sitting in the water between Shackleford and Cape Lookout who seemed very interested in what looked like a brown ball floating on the surface. We turned around and netted whatever it was. It turned out to be a puffer fish as puffed up as possible. A useful defense. I love the way he/she looks - what a cute face.

After we took pictures we gently put it back in the water and as it swan away it deflated down to normal size which was about a third of how it looks in the pictures . It was an unusual and fascinating process to watch.

photos by Keith Rittmaster

Thank You & Sperm Whale C 2-7 Vertebrae Capture

Thank you http://http://southernfriedscience.com/ for your $200 check from your matching funds challenge for http://bonehenge.org/ and its sperm whale skeleton re-articulation project.
One of the latest triumphs in this project is the replacement of a vertebrae missing from our sperm whale with one approximately the same size (their whale was 33 feet and ours was 33.5 feet). Keith put word out to the international stranding network that he was looking for cervical vertebrae C 2-7. It is called C 2-7 because in sperm whales the 6 cervical vertebrae are fused into one bone.
At Fort De Soto Park in Florida a sperm whale had been buried after stranding and dying a couple of years ago. After much arranging of logistics and a grueling hot day with the back hoe digging up the whale skeleton to find C2-7, the right bone emerged. Success.
It was very smelly and had to go on the plane in a cooler for the trip back to Beaufort. Kitty Litter was the primary 'de-smeller' of choice with help from those spray fragrances. The vertebrae is here at our site on top of the roof drying out and still smelling.

Bottlenose Dolphin Sightings for April and May 2009

In this picture the sliver of land behind the dolphins and water is Shackleford Banks where we see a lot of dolphins. Shackleford is unihabited by humans.
Bottlenose dolphin sightings for month of April 2009 in both the ocean and estruary under Keith's research permit are:
4 days out on water
6 separate sightings and
73 total individual dolphins
and for May 2009



6 days on the water
7 separate sightings and
46 individual dolphins.
In May there were 10 dead neonates on NC beaches which is a record high but we have seen 2 live ones with moms in Beaufort so far and we expect there will be more.
photos by Brooks