The Georgetown County Environmental Protection Society
awarded a $3,000 grant to Daniel Abel and Robert Young of Coastal
Carolina University's Department of Marine Science for the continuation
of their study of shark and dolphin populations in Georgetown's Winyah
Bay and surrounding waters. The study was initiated last year with a
$10,000 grant from GCEPS.
Since the study began last year, Abel and Young have caught and
tagged a variety of sharks in Winyah Bay, including sandbar sharks,
blacktips, Atlantic sharpnose, finetooth, and others. By comparing
resident and migratory dolphin and shark populations, both in Winyah
Bay and in the comparatively pristine North Inlet, Abel and Young, with
the help of Coastal students earning undergraduate credit, have begun
to establish baseline population data and will ultimately trace long-
term habitation trends. "This study is also allowing us to begin
assessing the impact of humans on these predator populations," said
Abel. "Our data will be of interest to other researchers studying these
species in the United States and abroad."
Dolphins are monitored using a video camera, according to Young.
Dorsal fins are photographed from a small boat equipped with a high
resolution 8mm video camera. "The dolphin is 'caught' on video and
'tagged' according to the individual natural markings and the
distinctive outline shape of the fin," said Young. "With repeated
weekly surveys of the area, a catalogue of fins is developed recording
dates, location and behavior. Also, to establish habitat patterns,
specific 'focus groups' of dolphins are followed and studied."
Sharks, both juveniles and adults, are captured on longlines,
identified, tagged and immediately released, according to Abel.
GCEPS is a local charitable organization whose purpose is to
monitor, protect and enhance wetlands, bays, creeks, estuaries and
rivers of Georgetown County. "It is important that we try to determine
the impact we humans have on our coastal resources so that steps can be
taken to maintain a reasonable balance between Mother Nature and the
human presence," said Brooks McIntyre, president of the organization.
Abel, senior instructor of marine science, joined the Coastal
faculty in 1994. He earned a Ph.D. in 1986 from the Scripps Institution
of Oceanography in San Diego. Abel has published many scientific
articles on sharks and tropical air-breathing fish, and co-wrote the
recent textbook Issues in Oceanography, published by Prentice Hall in
Young, associate professor of marine science, joined the Coastal
faculty in 1992. He earned a bachelor's degree in biology in 1986 from
the University of Virginia and a Ph.D. in biological oceanography from
the University of Rhode Island in 1992. He has served as president of
the South Carolina Marine Educators Association.