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Category Archives: Beaches

Around the Region: St. Paul's rummage sale this weekend and more

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BEACHES Jacksonville Beach opposes seismic airgun testing

Jacksonville Beach on Monday, March 16, became the most recent city opposing seismic air gun testing in the Atlantic Ocean off Floridas coast to search for oil and gas. The council, voting unanimously, adopted a resolution against the testing, which many people believe will harm and possibly kill fish populations, profitable fisheries and marine mammals, including the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale.

BEACHES St. Pauls rummage sale kicks off March 19

Jacksonvilles largest rummage sale returns March 19-22 to St. Pauls Catholic Church, 212 Fifth St. N., Jacksonville Beach. Sale hours will be Thursday and Friday from 4-10 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m.-11 p.m., and Sunday from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Sundays event will include a buy one, get one free sale on clothing, shoes and books, and a $1 bag sale (cash only) from 4-6 p.m.

BEACHES Tim and Myles Thompson performance

Beaches Museum presents guitarist and violin duo Tim and Myles Thompson performing 7-9 p.m. Thursday, March 19, at the Beaches Museum Chapel, 381 Beach Blvd, Jacksonville Beach. Tickes are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. For tickets or more, beachesmuseum.org or (904) 241-5657.

CLAY St. Johns River Celebration in Clay County

The Keep Clay Beautiful 2015 St. Johns River Celebration and cleanup will be 8 a.m.-12 p.m. Saturday, March 21, with check-in locations at Knights Boat Ramp, 1472 River Lane at the Black Creek Bridge, Green Cove Springs, and Whiteys Fish Camp, 2032 Clay County Road 220 on Fleming Island. For more, (904) 269-6374.

CLAY Fortis College-Orange Park campus dedication

Fortis College-Orange Park will dedicate its new campus, 700 Blanding Blvd., Orange Park, at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, March 21. For more, (904) 269-7086.

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Around the Region: St. Paul's rummage sale this weekend and more

North East beaches see wave of wet wipes littering region's coastline

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A new cleaning fad is threatening to wipe out progress in the drive to reduce litter on North East beaches.

Wet wipes are littering beaches, including those in the region, as more people choose to use the moist cloths to remove make-up, replace traditional toilet paper, apply fake tan or for general bathroom cleaning.

According to the latest beach litter data collected by the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) and published on Thursday in its Great British Beach Clean report, numbers of wet wipes found on beaches increased by over 50% in a year.

The rise in the number of wipes on beaches between 2013 and 2014 equates to 35 of the little squares on every kilometre of coastline cleaned by the charitys volunteers.

Nationally during the weekend-long event last September, 5,349 volunteers cleaned and surveyed over 300 beaches.

A total of 2,457 pieces of litter were collected for every kilometre cleaned and surveyed in 2014 compared to 2,309 in 2013.

In County Durham the figure was 11,488 and in Northumberland 912. On the two Tyne and Wear beaches surveyed, the figure for Tynemouth Longsands was 910 items per km and for Sandhaven in South Shields it was 97.

MCS Beachwatch officer, Charlotte Coombes, said that the problem is that wipes are being put down the loo instead of in the bin. She said: Our sewerage systems werent built to cope with wet wipes. When flushed they dont disintegrate like toilet paper, and they typically contain plastic so once they reach the sea, they last for a very long time.

They can cause blockages in our sewers, and then, everything else that has been flushed down the loo can either back up into peoples homes, or overflow into rivers and the sea.

Overflows also happen during excessive rainfall, or if the plumbing hasnt been connected up properly meaning the wrong pipes are heading straight to the sea.

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North East beaches see wave of wet wipes littering region's coastline

Lifeguard drones in action: Quadcopters tested on Chilean beaches to help save lives – Video

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Lifeguard drones in action: Quadcopters tested on Chilean beaches to help save lives
Green Solution is aiming to save lives by testing a lifeguard drone on Chile #39;s sandy beaches, according to an Associated Press report. Video of the drones in use on Algarrobo beach shows...

By: TomoNews US

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Lifeguard drones in action: Quadcopters tested on Chilean beaches to help save lives - Video

Mild winter spares San Diego beaches

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San Diego beaches are 33-50 feet wider than normal due to a lack of strong winter storms, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography says in a report released Tuesday.

The region usually gets large waves out of the north-northwest that cut into the coastline and carry sand offshore, producing bars that are pushed back to the beach in the summer months. But that was mostly missing this winter, which ends on Friday.

"Wave heights at the Scripps Torrey Pines offshore buoy never exceeded 10 feet and only two seven feet for about 40 hours, compared with 190 hours an average winter," Scripps graduate student Sean Crosby said in a statement. "The few high waves that did occur coincided with lower-range neap tides, minimizing shoreline erosion."

Adam Wright, founder and chief forecaster at Solspot.com, noticed the same thing.

"We've been missing that steady north-northwest wind we get in the winter," Wright said. "We've had a lot of Santa Anas, which has sent the winds offshore. And the storms we got in December produced a lot of rain but not a lot of winds that would have moved sand off the beaches."

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Mild winter spares San Diego beaches

Sea lion pups washing ashore in California test capacity of rescue network (+video)

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Los Angeles Once again, sea lion pups in dire straits are washing ashore in record numbers up and down the California coast.

The last time this deluge of pups occurred, in 2013, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration dubbed it a UME, or unusual mortality event. But this year, the numbers are far worse. The number of rescues along the California coast so far this year is already 1,650, compared with some 1,400 for the entire year two years ago.

Individual facilities are being overwhelmed as more pups wash ashore. The Pacific Marine Mammal Center (PMMC) in Laguna Beach has a normal capacity to care for some 125 animals in distress. This winter, 285 have come to them more than twice the 135 seen in 2013. SeaWorld has suspended its sea lion show to aid in rescue efforts. The theme park has constructed two new temporary pools to house some 400 pups taken in since January.

It is not entirely unusual for sea lion pups to wash ashore, but they don't usually start appearing until April and May, and never have they washed up on beaches in such high numbers.

While there are still unanswered questions, scientists point to a few potential reasons for the strandings. Its a perfect storm, says marine biologist Keith Matassa, executive director of the PMMC.

Warmer waters are pushing the natural foods for sea lion mothers farther from shore, forcing the nursing sea lion moms to forage up to eight days away from their offspring, rather than the more normal four days. And pups are pushing into the waters to forage for themselves before they are capable of such independent feeding. On top of that, the currents have shifted, Mr. Matassa says.

We are in defensive mode, he says, ever since January when the pups, most born in mid-2014, began to appear dehydrated and seriously underweight on California shores. The PMMC normally has some four or five volunteers helping out with sick animals, but now has more than a dozen.

As the many facilities up and down Californias coast struggle to feed and restore the young mammals to enable them to care for themselves, many observers suggest such challenges are warning bells, signaling larger crises. While it is not possible to trace a single event to global warming or climate change, the overall trend line is clear, says David Helvarg, environmental activist and author ofThe Golden Shore: California's Love Affair With the Sea.

We are seeing dramatic changes, he says, with warming from Alaska down to southern California's Channel Islands. He points to the largest seabird rookery south of Alaska, where the bird boxes built for study had to be changed because of the heat. They were overheating and killing the birds, he says. Also, the changing ocean temperatures are changing food patterns for the birds.

The larger message of these events, Mr. Helvarg says, is that the oceans are in trouble. California has led the way in responding to global warming, he argues, including placing limits on carbon emissions. But you cant fight a global problem from one state, he says, adding that it will take global action to fight such problems as the acidification and overall warming of the ocean.

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Sea lion pups washing ashore in California test capacity of rescue network (+video)

Sea lion pups washing ashore in California test capacity of rescue network

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Los Angeles Once again, sea lion pups in dire straits are washing ashore in record numbers up and down the California coast.

The last time this deluge of pups occurred, in 2013, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration dubbed it a UME, or unusual mortality event. But this year, the numbers are far worse. The number of rescues along the California coast so far this year is already 1,650, compared with some 1,400 for the entire year two years ago.

Individual facilities are being overwhelmed as more pups wash ashore. The Pacific Marine Mammal Center (PMMC) in Laguna Beach has a normal capacity to care for some 125 animals in distress. This winter, 285 have come to them more than twice the 135 seen in 2013. SeaWorld has suspended its sea lion show to aid in rescue efforts. The theme park has constructed two new temporary pools to house some 400 pups taken in since January.

It is not entirely unusual for sea lion pups to wash ashore, but they don't usually start appearing until April and May, and never have they washed up on beaches in such high numbers.

While there are still unanswered questions, scientists point to a few potential reasons for the strandings. Its a perfect storm, says marine biologist Keith Matassa, executive director of the PMMC.

Warmer waters are pushing the natural foods for sea lion mothers farther from shore, forcing the nursing sea lion moms to forage up to eight days away from their offspring, rather than the more normal four days. And pups are pushing into the waters to forage for themselves before they are capable of such independent feeding. On top of that, the currents have shifted, Mr. Matassa says.

We are in defensive mode, he says, ever since January when the pups, most born in mid-2014, began to appear dehydrated and seriously underweight on California shores. The PMMC normally has some four or five volunteers helping out with sick animals, but now has more than a dozen.

As the many facilities up and down Californias coast struggle to feed and restore the young mammals to enable them to care for themselves, many observers suggest such challenges are warning bells, signaling larger crises. While it is not possible to trace a single event to global warming or climate change, the overall trend line is clear, says David Helvarg, environmental activist and author ofThe Golden Shore: California's Love Affair With the Sea.

We are seeing dramatic changes, he says, with warming from Alaska down to southern California's Channel Islands. He points to the largest seabird rookery south of Alaska, where the bird boxes built for study had to be changed because of the heat. They were overheating and killing the birds, he says. Also, the changing ocean temperatures are changing food patterns for the birds.

The larger message of these events, Mr. Helvarg says, is that the oceans are in trouble. California has led the way in responding to global warming, he argues, including placing limits on carbon emissions. But you cant fight a global problem from one state, he says, adding that it will take global action to fight such problems as the acidification and overall warming of the ocean.

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Sea lion pups washing ashore in California test capacity of rescue network

Things to Know about California's sea lion crisis

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LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) More than 1,800 starving sea lion pups have washed up on California beaches since Jan. 1 and 750 are being treated in rescue centers across the state, according to updated numbers released Tuesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Scientists with the federal agency believe the crisis hasn't reached its peak and sea lions could continue to arrive on beaches sick and starving for at least two more months.

Here are a few things to know about the sea lion crisis unfolding in California:

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Things to Know about California's sea lion crisis

Starving sea lion pups stranding on California beaches

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LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. (AP) The starving sea lion pup was so tiny that it looked like a rock at the base of the seaside cliff until it struggled to raise its head as humans approached.

It bleated weakly as volunteer Brennan Slavik eased it into a crate for transport to a rescue center, where it peered from a child's playpen with woeful eyes made enormous by an emaciated frame.

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Starving sea lion pups stranding on California beaches

What are the Jersey Shore's best beaches?

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A quiet sunrise in Seaside Heights.(Photo: WILLIAM TERLECKI)

It's almost that time again.

As we speed through March and head toward spring, there's something that's starting to creep onto everyone's radar:

Hitting the beach.

Once summer hits the Jersey Shore, our beaches become mobbed with everyone under the sun literally.

Beaches have a lot to offer - what is your favorite and why?(Photo: FILE PHOTO)

The tourists flock in droves, and the locals get situated in their favorite spots, parking themselves for three months of waterfront relaxation.

ASBURY PARK PRESS

Who has the best slice at the Shore?

With Memorial Day weekend just slightly more than two months away, we're looking for the best beaches at the Jersey Shore.

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What are the Jersey Shore's best beaches?


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