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4 10, 2017

How to know you are buying Gulf seafood

By |2017-12-20T04:33:14+00:00October 4th, 2017|Blog|0 Comments

With the 46th National Shrimp Festival coming up Oct. 12-15, it’s a good time to talk about the Alabama seafood industry. Shrimping in state waters became industrialized in the early 1800s when shrimp were preserved with ice and distributed throughout the state by train. Today, thousands of people are still involved in the process of catching, processing and transporting shrimp. Alabama seafood is now a $660 million industry involving the harvest of shrimp, blue crab, oysters and a variety of [...]

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27 09, 2017

Say no to the straw

By |2017-12-20T04:33:14+00:00September 27th, 2017|Blog|0 Comments

Little things can make a big difference. Take, for example, the simple plastic straw. We all use them, sometimes multiple times a day. You pretty much have to make it a point to say you don’t want a straw in the drive-thru line or at a restaurant. In fact, it is estimated that each day consumers use 500 million straws. That’s enough to fill more than 46,400 school buses each year with straws. Statistics show each person in the United [...]

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20 09, 2017

Recycling program improves water quality, helps oysters grow

By |2017-09-20T14:30:19+00:00September 20th, 2017|Blog|0 Comments

Do you ever wonder what happens to those shells after you finish off a dozen oysters at your favorite seafood restaurant? Many of those eateries are taking part in an oyster recycling program started last year by the Alabama Coastal Foundation and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Republic Services collects the shells that would have previously been thrown away and delivers them to a site where they are stored outside. The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources then loads them onto barges [...]

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13 09, 2017

Use these tips to pack for your fall beach vacation

By |2017-12-20T04:33:14+00:00September 13th, 2017|Blog|0 Comments

Planning a fall getaway to the Alabama coast? Knowing Leave Only Footprints regulations before you head our way can help you enjoy your beach vacation even more. Leaving gear like tents, chairs and umbrellas on the beach overnight is now prohibited in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. Any items left overnight will get picked up and disposed of by crews. You don’t want that to happen, but you still want to make it easy to get your gear out and [...]

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6 09, 2017

Alabama Coastal Cleanup by the numbers with a list of zones

By |2017-12-20T04:33:14+00:00September 6th, 2017|Blog|0 Comments

The Alabama Coastal Cleanup is just around the corner on Sept. 16. It’s the largest annual effort to keep those beautiful beaches clean, and you’re invited to help. Check out this list to get an idea of what the Cleanup accomplishes: 83,000:            Number of volunteers who have participated since 1989 1.5 million:     Pounds of trash removed from Alabama coastline and waterways 639,361:          Cigarette butts removed 189,610:          Plastic bottles picked up 102,981:          Plastic bags collected Want [...]

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23 08, 2017

Help clean the beach during the Alabama Coastal Cleanup

By |2017-08-23T13:56:11+00:00August 23rd, 2017|Blog|0 Comments

Want to help keep the coast clean? Be a part of the massive Alabama Coastal Cleanup effort held on Sept. 16. Over the past 30 years, 83,000 volunteers have removed more than 1.5 million pounds of trash from our beautiful coastline and waterways. The first step is to look at the online calendar for times and contact a zone captain in your area to register. But if you don’t register in advance, no worries. Those zones have check-in sites around [...]

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16 08, 2017

Four things to know about sea turtle nesting season

By |2017-08-16T14:13:08+00:00August 16th, 2017|Blog|0 Comments

If you are a regular visitor to the Alabama Gulf Coast, you’ve no doubt heard the phrase “sea turtle nesting season.” So, just what is it, and what does it mean for beachgoers? Here’s what you need to know. Each year from July to October, thousands of sea turtles make their way to our beaches where they lay eggs. Last year, 22,240 eggs were laid. However, only 14,105 of those hatchlings made their way to the warm gulf waters to [...]

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9 08, 2017

Learn to be Dolphin SMART

By |2017-08-09T13:01:58+00:00August 9th, 2017|Blog|0 Comments

You love dolphins, right? We all do. They are beautiful, playful and graceful creatures that you can see from the beach or up close while boating. Visitors love watching dolphins rollicking in the waves. We need to be smart, however, in how we interact with dolphins in order to protect them. A program called Dolphin SMART provides guidelines for all of us to safely view dolphins and protect their habitat. The Marine Mammal Protection Act prohibits harassment, hunting, capturing, killing [...]

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2 08, 2017

The importance of sea oats and how to protect them

By |2017-08-02T13:28:56+00:00August 2nd, 2017|Blog|1 Comment

Those plants with the large plumes you see along the beach may look like weeds, but they are a vital part of the ecosystem. Sea oats play an important role in coastal conservation. That’s why signs are posted along the beach asking you to avoid areas where there is plant vegetation or a dunes restoration project. Sea oats are actually a miraculous little production plant, and there’s a whole lot more going on than those plumes you see on the [...]

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26 07, 2017

Be a conservationist this summer at the beach

By |2017-07-26T16:07:10+00:00July 26th, 2017|Blog|0 Comments

Kids like keeping their planet healthy and clean. They love the beach and want to take care of it. You can help them do that during your visit to the Alabama coast this summer. Below are the basic Leave No Trace principles that kids can learn and implement. Know Before You Go. Learn the Leave Only Footprints rules that prohibit leaving items on the beach after sunset. Teach your kids this rule and let them help you tote the beach [...]

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