CHARLESTON, S.C. — Stories about the hook-jawed marine worms spotted along the South Carolina coast have swarmed headlines but officials at the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources said they’re nothing to fear.
“The truth is that there’s nothing to fear from marine worms in South Carolina. Spawning swarms are short-lived, lasting only a couple of days, and most visitors to the coast will never see one,” the department said on Facebook.
Officials said they’re disappointed that some national media outlets have portrayed a “normal, natural phenomenon as something frightening.”
“We all benefit from their role in the environment though – marine worms are an important part of the food web (feeding fish and many other marine animals) and can tell us a lot about the health of our ocean,” officials added. “They’re tiny, not interested in harming humans, and unlikely to be seen at the beach. Once they reproduce, they die and the life cycle starts anew.”
Sometimes called clamworms, the creatures usually live on the seafloor but undergo a transformation in the spring under new and full moons and morph into reproductive forms called “epitokes,” according to SCDNR.
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The phenomenon occurs every year and is often followed by hungry throngs of fish and birds.
“The spawning of clamworms in the spring is one of those fascinating seasonal events that makes life along the coast so interesting – not something to fear,” officials said on Facebook.
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