MOREHEAD CITY -- Leading scientists from North Carolina's universities and researchers from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) are gathering an unprecedented amount of water quality information as part of a comprehensive assessment of the impact of Hurricane Floyd on our coastal waters.

According to Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) Director Pres Pate, "The state has been gathering a tremendous amount of data on many different fronts, in the wake of Floyd. Unfortunately, as we release the results of the studies, many questions are being generated. We've received innumerable calls from people who are having problems trying to understand what's going on in our coastal waters. One report states that North Carolina seafood is safe to consume, while another report talks of a "Dead Zone" spreading throughout our rivers and sounds. News reports talk of sick and dying fish and shellfish. It's all very confusing for the general public."

Here is the latest rundown of the studies being conducted and what their initial results mean for Tar Heel residents and tourists:

The State Health Director, Dennis McBride, has said that it is safe to consume North Carolina seafood. The DMF is conducting toxin testing on fish, shrimp and crab tissue and water to confirm that these seafoods continue to be safe to harvest and consume. The initial round of samples taken from 10 different coastal locations indicate that both the water and the tissue samples tested within normal limits, confirming that fish, shrimp and crabs are safe to consume. Tests will continue throughout October. The DMF also confirms that no major coastal fish kills have been reported in association with the flood waters.

The Office of Shellfish Sanitation is testing for bacteria, metals and pesticides that could impact shellfish - oysters, clams, scallops and mussels. This testing shows it is safe to allow fishermen to harvest shellfish from most coastal areas, including Pamlico, Core, Bogue and Stump sounds. All or parts of the Cape Fear, New, White Oak, Pamlico and Pungo rivers remain closed to shellfish harvest - staff continues to monitor these areas for bacteria. Shellfish Sanitation continuously samples 1,142 coastal sites to ensure that shellfish are safe for the public to consume. There has never been a major outbreak of illness from North Carolina shellfish, due largely to intensive water quality sampling and aggressive patrolling of closed shellfish areas.

The Office of Shellfish Sanitation also tests for fecal coliform, E. coli, pesticides and metals in 250 coastal locations to ensure it is safe for recreational swimming. Most coastal waters are now open for recreational activities; however, an advisory remains in effect for portions of the Cape Fear, Neuse and Pamlico rivers. An advisory recommends people exercise caution around flood waters, because of the strong possibility of contamination. Staff will continue to test the affected portions of the Cape Fear, Neuse and Pamlico rivers weekly. Water advisories were never issued for the Outer Banks, because this area was not impacted by flood waters.

The Division of Water Quality (DWQ) has significantly stepped up monitoring of rivers and streams in Eastern North Carolina. Environmental specialists are monitoring more than 100 fixed sampling sites and teams are also collecting samples on various river runs. DWQ is checking for nutrients, bacteria, salinity, dissolved oxygen and other water quality parameters. Oxygen levels in some rivers are still depressed, estuarine systems have considerably more freshwater than usual, and bacteria counts are up in some areas.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Institute of Marine Sciences, Duke Marine Laboratory, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are testing oxygen, salinity, nutrient and algae levels in the Neuse and Pamlico Sound to gauge the long-term ecological impact of the flood waters from Hurricane Floyd. Traditionally, these estuaries experience stratified salinity levels after hurricanes, resulting in low oxygen in the bottom of the water column - but they normally rebound within a few months. Because of the magnitude of the flooding, it is anticipated that low oxygen levels ("Dead Zone") along the bottom layer of water in the Neuse River and the Pamlico Sound will persist for an extended, and thus far unknown, period of time. Low oxygen levels present NO public health or safety threat; however, they can have significant impacts on habitats of bottom-dwelling organisms, like worms, invertebrates and algae, that form the basis for the food chain in our estuaries. When possible, fish, shrimp and crabs will move away from waters when oxygen and salinity levels drop. Because Hurricane Dennis hit just a few days prior to Hurricane Floyd, many fish, shrimp and crabs were already moving out of the creeks and rivers and into the open sounds, before the flood waters began affecting the estuaries.

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