One of the many things I love about the Lowcountry is that we are not just a museum or resort community. People live in our historic homes, locals play on our golf courses and fishermen make their living along our gorgeous coast. The SC Department of Natural Resources is looking ahead to make sure commercial fishermen and the fishing communities they support remain viable into the future! I love that we are changing with the times! Imagine someone proposing that we fish octopus 30 years ago . . .
"South Carolina has long been blessed by the bounties of the sea, but how much longer will this last? How will our fishing industry survive in a time of global competition, increasing pollution, and rising fuel prices? Are there new species of sea creatures that could be fished or caught along our coast?
In the search for answers to these questions, the SC Department of Natural Resources has developed a Cooperative Research Program that enlists the help of local fishermen. Their answers might very well be the key to saving a livelihood that so many of us consider a state treasure.
Using small grants, SC fishermen have been involved in a variety of projects – ranging from monitoring blue crab populations in the ACE Basin, to establishing new oyster beds using old crab pots, to testing the viability of fishing octopus along our coast.
If you found yourself reading the last line twice, that was no mistake. While the thought of many-tentacled sea creatures mere miles from our shore may cause panic in the hearts of children and adults alike, fear not, for the octopus may become our state's next commercially fished marine species.
Wondering how one fishes for octopus? Check out a few photos of a DNR experimental octopus fishing trip off Fripp Island in Beaufort County."
For the full SCIway News No. 47: http://www.sciway.net/sn/47.html
"South Carolina has long been blessed by the bounties of the sea, but how much longer will this last? How will our fishing industry survive in a time of global competition, increasing pollution, and rising fuel prices? Are there new species of sea creatures that could be fished or caught along our coast?
In the search for answers to these questions, the SC Department of Natural Resources has developed a Cooperative Research Program that enlists the help of local fishermen. Their answers might very well be the key to saving a livelihood that so many of us consider a state treasure.
Using small grants, SC fishermen have been involved in a variety of projects – ranging from monitoring blue crab populations in the ACE Basin, to establishing new oyster beds using old crab pots, to testing the viability of fishing octopus along our coast.
If you found yourself reading the last line twice, that was no mistake. While the thought of many-tentacled sea creatures mere miles from our shore may cause panic in the hearts of children and adults alike, fear not, for the octopus may become our state's next commercially fished marine species.
Wondering how one fishes for octopus? Check out a few photos of a DNR experimental octopus fishing trip off Fripp Island in Beaufort County."
For the full SCIway News No. 47: http://www.sciway.net/sn/47.html
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