Sea Island Life Magazine Spring/Summer 2014 | Page 22

outward bound

BENEATH THE SURF

A SIMPLE SEINING NET REVEALS AN ARRAY OF OCEAN CREATURES
LIVING IN THE SHALLOW WATERS JUST YARDS OFFSHORE.
BY MEGHAN MIRANDA

t

he salty ocean breeze wisps past
Sea Island beach-goers lounging on
the golden sand with a cold drink
in hand. Only a few yards from the
umbrella-shaded, oceanfront paradise, kids
scuttle from the water’s edge back to their
turf with brightly colored buckets of water
ering sand kingdoms.
Just as the shadows of the umbrellas shift
and the sun arches beyond the peak of noon,
a commotion in the surf catches the attention of kids and adults alike. With a 60-foot
net, Mike Kennedy, director of activities at

Seining gives beach-goers a close-up look at what lies beneath the ocean’s surface.

Sea Island, and his team of naturalists wade
out into the water to begin the afternoon
ritual of ocean seining. Seagulls congregate
in the air, hovering just above the net to
determine whether they would have a better
selection at sea, and not far behind, onlookers make their way to the water to investigate as well.

Brimming with Life
Raleigh Nyenhuis, Sea Island’s lead naturalist, helps Kennedy guide the net out into
the ocean. Once the net is stretched to its
full width, the pair makes their way across

the surf, dragging the net some 25 to 50
yards before circling back to shore. They
won’t know just what they’ve caught until
they investigate further in the shallows, but
over the edge of the net as it closes in is a
sure sign of an interesting pull.
“Many of our guests sit on the shore and
see the surface of the ocean, but they have
no idea what’s happening beneath the surf,”
Kennedy says.
In the height of summer, crowds of 50-plus
onlookers surround the net to catch a glimpse
of the hidden sea life that seining reveals.

22 SEA ISL AND LIFE | SPRING/SUMMER 2014

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