Murells Inlet, S.C. (WBTW)-News 13 first told you earlier this week about a proposed new Myrtle Beach ordinance that would ban people from being able to dump chum into the ocean. That ordinance didn’t pass first hearing because council said it wasn’t really a big problem since many piers don’t really allow it.
News 13’s Jana Jones found more chumming problems on the strand, but they aren’t related to shark attacks.
In Myrtle Beach, some folks have wanted to make the beaches safer after the recent shark attacks. But in Georgetown county, especially on a waterfront, it’s not sharks they worry about, it’s alligators.
Unlike sharks, any food attracts alligators, not just chum.The danger mainly comes from ocean front properties, especially from restaurants when customers simply want the alligators to come closer so they can get a better view. In Myrtle Beach, people are asked not to feed the sharks or dump chum over the pier in an attempt to not attract sharks.
But It’s illegal to feed alligators in South Carolina, so the signs in Georgetown county aren’t a request, but a law.
Marine biologist Dean Cain says that’s because if you feed an alligator just one time, they’re likely to keep coming back for more.
“Alligators see and they hear very well. And when you feed an alligator even one time, they’re smart enough to know they can hang around possibly and get another marshal of food .”
Cain says alligators are naturally afraid of humans but once they’re fed, they’re smart animals and will come back.
