The Town of Seabrook Island received a Municipal Achievement Award for its Dolphin Education Program. Mayor Ron Ciancio accepted the award on behalf of the town during the Municipal Association of South Carolina's (MASC) Annual Meeting on July 20. The town won in the 1,001 – 5,000 population category. Twenty-nine cities and towns submitted their projects and initiatives. 

Seabrook Island has the distinction of being one of the few places where visitors can observe Atlantic bottlenose dolphins in the process of strand feeding, a behavior in which they launch themselves up onto a beach to eat the fish they have driven out of the water before them. 

The spectacular hunting strategy is a tourist draw, but it’s also vulnerable to human interference. To protect it, the Town of Seabrook Island focused on education for beachgoers by building partnerships with a local nonprofit group, volunteers and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries. 

The Seabrook Island Dolphin Education Program, designed by NOAA Fisheries and managed by the Lowcountry Marine Mammal Network (LMMN), relies on volunteers working during peak tourist season to engage with and educate beachgoers about the process while also collecting data on strand feeding and the impact humans have on it. As a tourism project, the town supported the program with state accommodations tax funding. The program was also coordinated with the neighboring Town of Kiawah Island. 

In its initial 2018 season, program volunteers worked more than 600 hours on the beach, interacting with more than 1,400 beachgoers. The season ended with no significant dolphin disturbances, and the educators were able to track the behavior of 11 dolphins, including one new calf. 

For 2019, the town aims to increase volunteer participation and coverage hours. It hopes to eventually build enough volunteer expertise to transition program management to a volunteer-run organization, similar to the Seabrook Island Turtle Patrol, Seabrook Island Birders and Seabrook Island National History Group. 

“Seabrook Island is an example to coastal cities everywhere on collaboration to protect our ocean wildlife and barrier islands,” said Eric Budds, interim executive director for MASC.

These winning entries represent innovative projects undertaken by MASC member cities and towns. Information and a video about the project are available on the Association’s website www.masc.sc (keyword: Achievement Awards).  

The MASC initiated the Achievement Awards in 1987 to recognize and encourage innovations and excellence in local government. 

Click below to view the Town of Seabrook Island's award video, courtesy of MASC.

The Town of Seabrook Island is seeking volunteers to support its 2019 Dolphin Education Program. The organizational “kickoff” meeting will be held between 10:00 am and 1:00 pm on Wednesday, May 1, 2019 at SIPOA’s Oyster Catcher Community Center (2241 Oyster Catcher Court). We have invited the Dolphin Program volunteers from Kiawah Island to join us so we can learn from their personal experiences on the other side of the Captain Sams Inlet and meet new friends. Attending this meeting does not commit you, but will give you information on volunteering for the program.

Lauren Rust of the Lowcountry Marine Mammal Network (LMMN) will once again lead the town's program in 2019. During the meeting, Ms. Rust will present the goals and objectives of the program and then lead a walk to the inlet of about 1.3 miles. Individuals who are interested in volunteering in 2019 are encouraged to participate. Bring your sunscreen, binoculars (if you have them) and a camera in case the dolphins are strand feeding on the low tide!

This year, we will provide a permanent storage box on site at Captain Sams Inlet to hold supplies, chairs and umbrellas for the volunteers. Participants in the program will be present on the beach each day to monitor and educate, but will not be serving as code enforcement officers (code enforcement is the responsibility of the town's Beach Patrol).

So that we can be sure to accommodate everyone, please confirm your attendance to Lauren Rust at [email protected].

If you cannot attend the first meeting, please contact Ms. Rust and she will add your name to the list of volunteers and provide training onsite at the Inlet. We welcome those who have limited availability over the summer and fall.