Sharks of Onslow County

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Twilight over a coastal marsh with a magenta sky above New River Inlet — symbolizing the quiet season after summer’s migrations.

The Leftovers: What Happens to Summer’s Prey When the Big Fish Leave?

Angelique Mitchell, MPS November 29, 2025 No Comments

The Quiet Season Begins When the red drum, flounder, and summer sharks follow the cooling tides offshore, Onslow County’s estuaries fall quiet. The flashy chases fade, and the splashes that…

Thanksgiving Tides: New River Inlet Fish Migration in Fall

Angelique Mitchell, MPS November 21, 2025 No Comments

A Different Kind of Thanksgiving Journey Each November, when highways fill with travelers heading home for Thanksgiving, the waters of Onslow County’s New River Estuary host a quieter kind of…

Hero image of the New River marsh at sunset with soft pink and purple sky, silhouettes of grasses and treeline, and title text ‘Gratitude for Marsh Predators: Egrets, Herons & Fish-Hunting Birds Shape the New River.’

Gratitude for Marsh Predators: How Egrets, Herons, and Fish-Hunting Birds Shape the New River

Angelique Mitchell, MPS November 21, 2025 No Comments

A Thanksgiving for the Watchers at the Water’s Edge By late November, the New River of Onslow County—the slow, tidal estuary rising in Jacksonville and emptying into the Atlantic at…

The Estuary Feast: November Predators of the New River Estuary, NC

Angelique Mitchell, MPS November 10, 2025 No Comments

Each November, as the hardwoods fade to rust and the air over Onslow County turns crisp, the New River estuary begins its quiet transformation. Beneath the calm surface, baitfish, shrimp,…

The Moonlit Assassin: The Stealth of the Atlantic Moon Snail

Angelique Mitchell, MPS October 27, 2025 No Comments

On a stroll along the damp sand of the tide line, just after dusk under the soft glow of the moon over Topsail or North Topsail Beach, you might spot…

A Phantom on the Sand: The Mysterious Atlantic Ghost Crab

Angelique Mitchell, MPS October 16, 2025 No Comments

When the sun sets behind the dunes and the surf begins to whisper, pale shapes flicker across the sand. Their movements are quick, darting, and silent – like apparitions under…

More than Armor: How Shark Skin Shapes Survival

Angelique Mitchell, MPS October 6, 2025 No Comments

Have you ever wondered why, if you touch a shark from head to fin, it feels smooth—but from fin to head, it’s skin is rough like sandpaper? Sharks and rays…

What's the Difference Between a Skate and Ray?

Flat-Finned Neighbors: Rays and Skates Along Topsail & New River

Angelique Mitchell, MPS September 25, 2025 No Comments

If you love watching for fins in Onslow County, remember: not every fin belongs to a shark. Sharks, rays, skates, and sawfishes are all elasmobranchs—cartilaginous fishes with skeletons of flexible…

Serrated or Smooth? How to Tell What Sharks Eat by its Design in Onslow County, NC

Angelique Mitchell, MPS September 17, 2025 No Comments

Shark teeth aren’t just pointy souvenirs—they’re precision tools evolved over millions of years to match each shark’s preferred prey. In Onslow County, North Carolina, our coastal waters are home to…

Why We Know So Much and So Little about Sharks blog post image

Shark Research in Onslow County: Why We Know So Much—And So Little—About Sharks

Angelique Mitchell, MPS September 8, 2025 No Comments

Sharks inspire awe, fear, and fascination. They headline documentaries, fuel conservation campaigns, and even star in Hollywood blockbusters. Yet the science behind these predators tells a paradoxical story: while we…

The Leftovers: What Happens to Summer’s Prey When the Big Fish Leave?

Angelique Mitchell, MPS November 29, 2025 No Comments

Thanksgiving Tides: New River Inlet Fish Migration in Fall

Angelique Mitchell, MPS November 21, 2025 No Comments