Abstract:
Areas adjacent to marinas frequently have elevated counts of fecal coliform bacteria.
Although the bacteria themselves may not be harmful, they indicate the presence of feces from
warm-blooded animals which may contain other pathogens. Bivalve shellfish, such as oysters
and clams, filter feed thereby concentrating these pathogens in their tissue, and posing a potential
health threat to consumers. For this reason, North Carolina automatically closes marina waters
for shellfishing, and sets the closure boundary based on a formula that includes the marina type
and the number of boat slips. Though the boundary delineation has been generally successful, it
fails to include other parameters recommended by national guidelines. With increasing shoreline
marina development, the current method may be challenged by the different stakeholders causing
conflicts with regulators. Therefore, in collaboration with the North Carolina Shellfish
Sanitation Section, I recommend a more comprehensive formula that will adequately protect
human health, and also maximize areas open to shellfishing. This formula was developed by
examining the effectiveness of numerous other state policies, and it was tested using North
Carolina marina examples. In addition, it includes parameters for which actual data exist, or uses
realistic assumptions in an attempt to avoid overly conservative closure areas.
