The South Atlantic coast experienced some of the most severe impacts of Hurricane Irma when the storm made landfall in September 2017. The hurricane unveiled weaknesses in manmade and natural infrastructure in Georgia that challenge the resilience of coastal communities. To advance better understanding of the physical, biological and societal impacts of this storm and develop approaches to reduce future damage, Georgia Sea Grant partnered with University of Georgia's Office of Research to sponsor year-long research projects on recovery and response to Hurricane Irma.

Nearly $50,000 has been invested in rapid response funding to support six research projects. This collaboration allowed Georgia Sea Grant to make quick investments in research related to urgent and unanticipated disaster events. The projects funded through this collaboration will improve understanding of the hurricane impacts on coastal ecosystems and communities using innovative research methods.

Georgia Sea Grant funded the development and testing of a Turtle Excluder Device (TED) to help fishermen trawling for cannonball jellyfish operate more efficiently. Cannonball jellyfish, commonly referred to as jellyballs, is the third largest seafood commodity by weight in Georgia. Considered a delicacy in Asian countries, most of the jellyballs caught by Georgia fishermen are exported to Asian markets, where they’re sold in restaurants and grocery stores.

The TED required of shrimpers was not working well with jellyballs because the four-inch bar opening which prevents turtles also excluded nearly of 30% of the jellyball catch. Georgia Sea Grant provided funding and extension expertise for the development and evaluation of a TED to help fishermen trawling for cannonball jellyfish operate more efficiently and avoid a significant loss of catch.

As a low-lying barrier island, Tybee Island is vulnerable to frequent and widespread flooding. Using a participatory approach, Georgia Sea Grant assessed how coastal flooding risks in the City of Tybee Island are being exacerbated by sea-level rise and helped develop a Sea Level Rise Adaptation Plan for making the city more resilient.

The Tybee Island Sea Level Rise Adaptation Plan directly impacted the economy of Tybee Island by helping to improve the City’s rating under FEMA’s Community Rating System (CRS). During the planning process, Tybee Island went from a class 7 to 5 in CRS, enabling savings in flood insurance of $3 million for property owners on the island. The Tybee Island City Council voted unanimously to accept a plan addressing risks that the island faces from sea level rise over the next 50 years.

In addition to beach renourishment, City of Tybee Island has been installing living shorelines, expanded stormwater capacity by replacing a 36” pipe on the south-end with two 48” pipes that have tide flaps, continued negotiations with Georgia Department of Transportation about raising Highway 80, and is raising vulnerable pump stations.