Giant holes at Sands Beach? Town of Port Royal doesn’t dig it. Here’s the problem
Searching for shark teeth is popular at Sands Beach, but the town says the practice has gone too far, with adults using metal shovels to dig deep holes that are a hazard to people and wildlife.
As a result of a recent uptick in the problem, the town is now in process of passing an ordinance regulating the digging of holes and the tools used at the popular beach. Councilman Darryl Owens recently snapped pictures. The large holes surprised council members.
“I could not believe how deep some of these holes (were),” Mayor Joe DeVito said. “I would have gotten lost past my waist if I had stepped in these holes recently.”
The holes not only are dangerous, DeVito said, they cause erosion.
With up to five rows of teeth in a shark’s mouth, they shed them often. The old ones wash onto beaches, making hunting for them a popular pastime. At Sands Beach, kids and and adults alike dig and and sift through the sand.
But over the past 6 months, Town Manager Van Willis said, there’s been a pattern of adults digging deep holes several feet deep, using metal shovels. Willis doesn’t know what’s behind the trend.
“People are sending us pictures,” said Willis, “and saying, ‘What’s going on?’”
Digging holes more than a foot deep would be banned under a new ordinance under consideration. Holes or sand structures must be filled in, and only plastic shovels would be allowed. Breaking the rules would carry a $500 fine.
The new regulations were approved on a first reading last week. Two more readings are required before the ordinance is final.
Not filling in the holes is a safety hazard and an impediment to emergency vehicles, the ordinance proposal notes. And digging deep holes, the ordinance says, also poses a deadly threat to sea turtles, an already endangered species.
Other beach communities have faced similar problems. In 2019, the town of Hilton Head banned shovels longer than 30 inches and holes deeper than a foot. A plethora of large shovels and deep holes prompted town officials to recommend banning them. Wildlife advocates had showed up at town meeting to stress that large holes are dangerous for sea turtles because they can trap tiny hatchlings on their way from the dunes to the sea.
Once the new rules are passed in Port Royal, Owens said he wants to see them prominently displayed at the beach.
It’s one thing for children to dig a little hole and cover it up and another for an adult to dig a large hole, said council member Mary Beth Heyward, who was “amazed” by the depth and size of the holes she saw in Owens’ photos.
Authorized personnel and/or town employees performing work related to beach preservation would be exempt from the rules.
.jpg "unnamed (15).jpg")
This story was originally published November 14, 2022 at 1:23 PM with the headline "Giant holes at Sands Beach? Town of Port Royal doesn’t dig it. Here’s the problem."
