The Lowcountry Marine Mammal Network (LMMN) is a nonprofit whose mission is to protect local marine mammals (dolphins and whales) through education, monitoring, and conservation. LMMN and its group of ~40 volunteers run an education program at Cap’n Sams Inlet to educate visitors about the strand feeding dolphins.
The Charleston resident population of bottlenose dolphins exhibits long-term residency from Price Inlet down to the North Edisto River, including the Charleston Harbor and all estuarine waters, rivers, and tributaries in between.
A small subset of dolphins can be observed engaging in strand feeding, a rare feeding behavior in which dolphins chase fish onto shore, partially stranding themselves before returning to the water.
LMMN’s educators spend several hours each day at the inlet, around low tide, collecting data and interacting with visitors. They are equipped with information about dolphin biology and life history, and can point out which dolphins are there on any given day. Educators are trained to educate visitors on the uniqueness of this feeding behavior and to encourage viewing from a distance to minimize disturbance while the dolphins are feeding. Our data indicates the dolphins rely on Cap’n Sams Inlet more heavily than previously thought, and we intend to investigate this further. This information is valuable as it indicates the Spit area is a critical habitat for this group of dolphins and disturbance could alter their behavior, thus losing this phenomenon on Seabrook Island.
Since 2017, LMMN’s education program has reached over 65,000 people at Captain Sams Inlet.
To volunteer, email Lauren at kiawahdolphineducation@gmail.com.
To learn about all of the special interest groups on Seabrook Island, go to tidelinesblog.com, click on “Do You Know” from the drop-down menu, and select “About Special Interest Groups”.
-Submitted by Lauren Rust, Executive Director, Lowcountry Marine Mammal Network
(Image credit: LMMN)