nc diving + pig poop

[shakesrear]

hello,

i'm going to be in raleigh/boone in june and i was thinking about doing some diving. I'm concerned though because i've heard from several sources over a span of years that NC dumps a huge amount of pig poop in the ocean and that there is a particularly nasty bacterium from it.

Is there a risk of infection if I dive anywhere along the coast? Or are there some non-infected dive sites? Is this hysteria or a real risk?

thanks

 

[RICHinNC]

Well...I dive out of Wilmington a good bit....nothing noted so far...
but......that might explain my desire for pork chops after every dive !

 

[herman]

Hummmm, while we have had a hog waste lagoon spill from time to time, mainly during a hurricane, I am unaware of any lately. Like most news stories, it's blown way out of proportion. In any case, the beaches are safe to swim in and most of the wrecks are 20 to 40 miles off shore anyway. Your biggest concern should be the diving conditions. NC diving can be rough and deep. 2 to 3 hr boat rides to dive sites in 100+ ft water are the norm. Rough sea conditions with seas in excess of 5 feet are common. Sea sickness is a real problem for many divers. The wrecks are great and there is loads of fish life but I sometimes think divers are not prepaired for the conditions here.

There are 2 active dive clubs in Raleigh. If you are interested in meeting some divers from the area or just seeing what our meeting are like, please feel free to join us. I will be happy to give you the information on the meeting times and places, just drop me a PM from the board. There are 3 quarries around the Raleigh area that we locals dive in. They are not great but it's better than being dry. Both of the dive clubs have monthly outing to these quarries that are open to guest.

 

[pipedope]

There are risks anywhere you might dive but there are signs to watch for.

One serious risk is physteria (sp?) but you will usually know it is there by the dead/dying fish with the open sores.

Don't dive in water that smells like poop. Don't dive in water with dead fish floating in it.

Ask the locals if there are any specific areas to avoid.

 

[shakesrear]

One serious risk is physteria (sp?) but you will usually know it is there by the dead/dying fish with the open sores.

unfortunately, i probably won't see them before i've already gotten into the water and splashed water all over my face.

Don't dive in water that smells like poop. Don't dive in water with dead fish floating in it.

This is hard to avoid. It seems that wherever I go, there's always a poop pipe nearby and it's not a mystery why the the water becomes suddenly murky.

Ask the locals if there are any specific areas to avoid.

I thought that's what I was doing.

 

[Zippsy]

Oh, does this bring back fond memories or what!! Although I have never been diving in pig poop before, I did learn to waterski in pig pooped waters northeast of Singapore. What an incentive to stay up!! BTW, none of the hundreds of people that I know of who learned to waterski here ever got sick (or sicker?) from bumping over the stuff. We did, however, do a good job of keeping our mouths closed when we wiped out.

 

[Lead_carrier]

I've dived all along the coast and haven't had any problems, noticed anything "unusual" floating by, or anything along those lines. From my experiences of being overseas while I was in the Navy, our coastlines and coastal waters are cleaner and safer than most of the European coast. We were always warned to not swim in the bays because of pollution. Of course, you can 't tell a sailor anything, especially when an attractive lady or unattractive if she had beer with her, was around.

 

[TCooperWFI]

Sounds like Hog Wash, just plain Pig Crap.
Sorry, I couldn't help it.

 

[oceancrest67]

I have dived out of Morehead City and Hatteras several times over the years...good diving for those folks that enjoy deep wrecks. I enjoyed diving out of Hatteras a little bit more over diving out of Morehead City. As far as the wrecks go...most of them are well off shore...unsure how farm run off and/or hog waste run off impact the diving directly.

Farm run off, garbage, residential waste industrial waste and hog waste...are there any long term environmental impact studies done on how waste affects the ocean/coastal environments?

I did see news stories on hog waste run off contributing to river pollution and drinking water pollution.

Any comments on the overall environment of our beaches, coastline and ocean environments? Impact studies, reef damage etc.

 

[Uncle Pug]

Any comments on the overall environment of our beaches, coastline and ocean environments?

The solution to pollution is dilution.