© Spencer Platt/Getty ImagesA man walks through blowing snow with his dogs along a beach following a snow storm on December 27, 2010 in Westport, Connecticut. Much of the northeast of the United States is experiencing a major winter storm with blizzard conditions and over a foot of snow expected from Washington, D.C. to New York City.
With coastal waters already hovering near critical lows, biologists worry there might be a mass die-off of shrimp, sea trout and red drum as the season turns cold again.
William Gay, owner of Port Royal Seafood, said he has heard Beaufort crab trappers talk about dead shrimp showing up in their crab pots, but said the cold water hasn't yet affected his business.
S.C. Department of Natural Resources biologists also heard reports of stunned red drum and sea trout.
Though Beaufort County is only about 50 miles south of the starfish die-off, water temperatures have been a bit warmer, and the extra warmth has helped.
"It still gets a lot colder there than it does here," said Larry Toomer, owner of Bluffton Oyster Co. "I don't see any signs that would say it's damaged anything or killed anything so far."
Shrimp and other marine life can die off en masse when water temperatures remain in the mid-40s for any length of time. Fisheries biologists watched in alarm earlier this month as water temperature plunged toward that temperature before warming a bit.
"According to my meter, it's 47 degrees," Toomer said. "When we get some sunshiny days, it rises back up."
Computer models predict a few instances of freezing temperatures during the next three or four weeks, said Mark Malsick, severe weather liaison for the S.C. Climate Office.
"We've got to see what these next two months bring, because January and February can be brutal," Toomer said.
Bo Petersen of the Charleston Post & Courier contributed to this report.
Reader Comments
to our Newsletter