Dead Clams Stink Up SC Beach

Dead Clams Stink Up SC Beach

www.thestate.com

FOLLY BEACH, S.C. — Officials don't know what killed thousands of tiny clams that washed up on a South Carolina beach, but they know the shells did stink up the place.
The Post and Courier of Charleston reported workers on Folly Beach spent Wednesday burying the shells of the tiny, fingernail sized clams in three-foot-deep trenches.


Read more: www.thestate.com...

(visit the link for the full news article)

Well well well.. This could be nothing of significance or it could be a foreshadow of things to come. I think it's wrong to scream gulf oil on this one yet, but I figured I would share.

The fact that the experts on such matters say it's unusual is not very comforting. It really makes you wonder if this is related to the gulf then how far has the oil/dispersant spread.

www.thestate.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

1 note I'd like to point out:

It may not have been from oil passing
around the coast but over land in rain fall
and going back into the ocean.

[edit on 2-7-2010 by seenitall]

reply to post by boondock-saint


I agree, but if it's raining down this far north, then it's progressing faster than many of us would have thought. It's happened once before, but they don't know what caused that either. I want to keep as far away from fear mongering as I can, but I figured better to err on the side of caution and keep everyone vigilant. ^^

Oh swell. I thought I smelled something fishy the other day! I'm not kidding. I live right near Folly Beach in Charleston. Well that didn't take long for their nasty poisons to make their way up to our homes on the Atlantic now did it? I don't buy that the two are unrelated though as the poster above said, who knows if it's from this poison coming around into the Atlantic or from the rain coming up from the GOM.

[edit on 2-7-2010 by Redwookieaz]

There is so many different sources of potential pollution that there is no telling what could have caused this.

Before we get totally alarmed let's look for more incidents.

If this is all that is going on there, maybe things are not quite out of control.

I mean where are the accompanying dead fish, crabs, etc?

I am sure there is an explanation, but it seems to be a bit out of the ordinary and not gulf oil related.

I would expect if it were gulf oil related, the devastation would be far more extensive in the location and more apparent in multiple species of animals.

It might not even be human pollution either, it could have been some bizarre ecological event. Who knows?

Need more data.

Please people, don't be so quick to jump on the oil leak bandwagon, or dispersant. Whether by land or rain, effects like this would be felt and seen in locations that the leak or dispersants would have to cross before reaching the SC coast. And they haven't.

There was another thread here, about acid rain in NC, I believe it has been well over a week since that thread went up (unfoundly I might add) claiming acid rain from the leak. Before acid rain hits NC the rain would need to cross over other states, since the rains that reached NC came across 3 other states first, I would conclude that what the OP of that thread was seeing was most definately not acid rain, and most likely it was pests causing the leaf damages that prompted the thread.

First clue that the clams did not die because of the oil leak or dispersants:
No other species of animal died off. If the oil leak or dispersants were to blame there would be other sea life dying alongside the clams.

I know, but some animal species are more susceptible to the effects because they are more fragile. Rule of thumb is that it's always the bottom feeders that take the strongest hit in any chemical pollution. Even once the chemicals are gone out of the water, the mud holds them.

I stated that I did not want it sensationalized and did not want to link it to the GOM... yet.

If this were a yearly thing, I wouldn't have bothered posting it honestly. The thing that strikes me is that it's only happened once before in recent history and no one figured out why then either.

As I said, it's just food for thought and something to keep an eye on and follow. I'd hate to not bring this to light and find out a month from now that it was a warning sign of something larger. =)

Don’t Eat Shellfish in Months Without R: Say What?
By: Brie Cadman (View Profile)

When a friend and I were harvesting mussels off the coast of California one season, we were very cognizant of the time of year—late April. Both of us had heard that you’re not supposed to eat shellfish in months without an R, namely, the summer months of May, June, July, and August. We harvested the mussels and had a nice dinner, but even if we had collected the mussels a few weeks later, in May, would it have made a difference? Should we really avoid shellfish during certain months?
Don’t Eat Shellfish in Months Without R: Say What?
By: Brie Cadman (View Profile)


www.divinecaroline.com...

most years the marsh shell fish, clams, etc are not allowed to be harvested, its mostly the storm water run off with all its pollution,
(high measurements of bacterias)
... it used to be from septic tanks but that problem has been remedied over the years here in SC.


[edit on 2-7-2010 by St Udio]

Well, I wouldn't be surprised if the oil was the cause of their death. It did kill 25 turtles last I remember. That was like a month or so ago though.

I agree that it could be nothing or it could be a terrifying foreshadowing. Instead of the bodies and stink of clams, it could be the corpses of people that keep on swimming. (Seriously, what are they thinking about? I know that some people just like to ignore things and hope they go away, but swimming in polluted water is just stupid.)

Well, I have noticed several eager voices calling for rationality and not 'jumping on the bandwagon insofar as the oil spill being related to this....

I agree that critical thinking is called for here...

But I must say, while it may not "be a duck", looking, quacking, and acting like one; denying that it is a duck seems a bit more an act of faith than calm rationality.

How many swaths of clam beds have simply died and floated to the surface to rot before? Surely some. I suspect the appropriate first investigation and inquiry should be into the chemical mix we already know is usually not in the ecosystem - rule it out first, before claiming it's likelihood of being something else.

Clams live by virtue of the specialized bacteria in their gut through which they filter water and particles of organic material drifting near their anchored positions. They breath through a system of specialized gills that get their oxygen from that same stream of water flowing through their bodies.

I'm sorry to say, the oil/corexit mix is the prime suspect.

If you find a corpse with a bullet hole in it, it is wise to examine all the evidence and determine the exact cause of death, but standing around saying "Let's not all jump to conclusions about the cause" seems, well... it seems like the kind of thinking our media and politicians promote.

reply to post by PayMeh


I was just in SC at Mrytle Beach the 21st thru the 24th of June. The beaches were beautful and the weather was great. The oil has a long way to go to get around Florida and up the atlantic coast.

reply to post by muzzleflash


Clams are filtering creatures. Maybe that could explain why they would be affected first. Maybe the others aren't affected so severely because they don't actually accumulate the poisons in their systems the same way.

Having said that though, I do think you are right to be skeptical. We really don't know.

reply to post by PayMeh


These clams could be the "canary in the coal mine" that are warning us of the danger of a poisonous environment. Where this poison is, or is from, is undetermined until a study is undertaken.

here on the left coast we have a clam much like what was reported, Donax gouldii, it is about thumbnail size and when during winter if a wastewater plant has a"discharge" of untreated waste they will litter the beach before any indication shows in the water. They are a canary in the coal mine here. I tell everyone I know if the see these small clams littering our beaches to avoid the water ( our problem is fecal coliform but I suspect something else to be what kills the clams)
So on the pacific we have a clam susceptible to even to too much food/waste/contamination. In the absence of a Genus/species on the clam itself I still feel quite confident in saying that this should at the very least make folks start really watching for indications of the loop current bringing the contamination up the coast.
I do not think this alarmist in any way in the wake of the quality of monitoring taking place or the quality of the information being generally put forth to the public.
Just to be clear I am not saying it definitely is oil related,but since it seems the oil will be headed there that such occurrences should be treated as such until proven otherwise. Better safe than sorry at this point wouldn't most agree?
N.

reply to post by N.of norml


Thank you and the Forum Mod for confirming what I understood this to indicate. Too bad thousands of people will be exposing themselves to whatever the culprit contaminant is this weekend.

Whoever made the Jaws analogy some time ago was certainly spot on. I don't understand how some people can take what these 'officials' say at face value knowing how much these states have riding on tourism. I've never even entertained the notion of active depopulation. However, those who continue to go to the gulf coast or any place in Florida for vacation deserve to be removed from the gene pool IMO. If there's a .00001% chance that there is a hazard, then there is no way I would take my kids there.

I don't want to get too far off the topic of this thread...but does anyone know where the heck they are dumping all the oil debris they are recovering. Someone told me unmonitored landfills....another person said barges are taking the debris deeper out to sea and dumping.

Does anyone know for sure where this stuff is being disposed?

reply to post by realmatrix


I heard the same as you.. Local landfills were getting it all. To be honest that sounds like a rational thing for them to do. Not saying it's the right thing for them to do and it's as disgusting as it is futile. Much like bilging water out of the stern of a boat and dumping it in the bow. But to be honest where would they honestly safely put it? I'd think it near impossible to separate the oil from the sand.

I go to Folly Beach almost everyday and surf in the water. I have been keeping an eye on the water looking for things to change because I go surfing and if you surf you will inevitable drink some of the water here and there. My roommate did tell me the other day that is smelled out there and that a bunch of little clams had washed up on the beach. I went down there the same day and surfed with that in mind and did not notice anything weird going on. Point is until things like this start happening on a regular basis I will not worry too much about it. What I would like to see are some independent analysis of Methane levels in the air here in Charleston. People are getting sick and we have been having an under reported heat wave. Nobody is reporting on how hot it has been for all of June.. normally not so hot..(typically they report on those things) that and the number of mesocyclone thunderstorms we are getting pop up around here is way higher then normal. Would Methane in the atmosphere cause that? Glad to see that ATS readers are reporting on this though... makes me feel better that we are not missing any of the small pieces of the puzzle.