Balloon releases are now banned on the Outer Banks. Could the rest of the NC coast be next?

Even at the best of times, a Gervais’ beaked whale ( Mesoplodon europaeus ) is a rare sight in North Carolina's coastal waters. The deep-diving marine mammal normally lives hundreds of miles offshore along the continental shelf edge and in even deeper ocean environments.

But when a young female Gervais' calf washed up on Emerald Isle in Carteret County last October, biologists knew something was very wrong. The marine mammal died soon after, and a necropsy later found a balloon lodged in the 11-foot-long whale's gastronomical tract, which prevented the still-nursing calf from effectively drinking her mother's milk.

In effect, the whale starved to death.

It's an outcome Debbie Swick is working to stop − first along the Outer Banks and then maybe along the entire North Carolina coast.

"There's nothing beneficial from releasing a balloon," she said. "It's littering and dangerous, pure and simple.

"You don't throw a lit cigarette out the window, and we all cut up those six-pack plastic holders because we know what damage they can do to wildlife. But we weren't doing anything with this, so I wanted to see that changed."

Swick's advocacy led to the Dare County Commissioners this summer unanimously passing a ban on releasing balloons in the popular beach county's unincorporated areas, a move that covers nearly 80 miles of coastline from Duck to Hatteras Village. Balloon releases are already prohibited in all of the county's incorporated towns, and several towns in Southeastern North Carolina, including Wrightsville Beach and the three beach towns that share Topsail Island.

A number of states − including Virginia and most recently Florida − also have balloon release bans in place.

"It's a common sense fix," Swick said, who also runs a Facebook page pushing for balloon release bans. "Just don't let them go because there's nothing beneficial from releasing a balloon."

'Balloons are not the answer'

Living in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Swick said she was somewhat aware of the impacts from free-floating balloons on the environment.

"But after moving down here and seeing them littering the beaches, I began to weep uncontrollably," she said.

Swick, who lives in Southern Shores, said that in 2022 more than 700 balloons were collected within the Cape Hatteras National Seashore . Last year, that number ballooned to nearly 1,800.

Swick said she understands that people like to celebrate an important life milestone or remember someone by releasing a balloon, but there are better and safer ways to commemorate someone than releasing something that can travel for hundreds of miles and doesn't quickly or easily break down in the environment. Options include bubbles, flowers, kites, a memorial garden, or − if adventurous − origami.

"I don't want to tell someone how to grieve, but balloons are not the answer," Swick said.

Scientists have documented balloons in the stomachs of sea turtles, who mistake them for jellyfish, one of their favorite foods, and a whole range of marine mammals. Once in the digestive tract, the balloons are not digested and can cause blockages and death.

On shore, birds can become entangled in the balloons' strings. And then there's the unsightly view of balloon carcasses caught in trees, on sand fences and littering the beachfront.

'Good common sense'

The Dare County ban comes with a $250 fine per released balloon, while most town bans include civil penalties ranging from $25 to $50. Swick said she didn't think the $250 penalty was too high and would act as a good deterrent for people to think twice and do something as simple as weighing a balloon down.

"I'm not banning balloons," Swick stressed. "I'm just banning releasing them."

The Dare County ban was passed unanimously, and Swick said she has heard very little criticism about it. Even the local real estate community has jumped on board and no longer uses balloons tied to mailboxes to advertise open houses, she added.

But Swick said she's not satisfied, and has sent letters to all of the state's county commissioners "since balloons don't respect government boundaries and can travel for long distances."

She also has reached out to state Sen. Bobby Hanig , R-Dare, to see about getting a statewide ban adopted.

"It's just something we need," Hanig said on Thursday. "I'm not a big regulation guy, but this is just good common sense."

He added that after running out of time to get language added to a bill during the recently ended short legislative session in Raleigh, he intends to push for a ban in the upcoming long session.

"And I've talked to leadership in both chambers and it has great support, so I think we'll see something positive happen in 2025," Hanig said.

Just in case that push gets stalled in the N.C. General Assembly , Swick said she intends to keep pushing at the local level − including going back before local officials she had approached earlier who had told her they had bigger fish to fry first.

"I said OK, I’ll be back. I’m not going anywhere," she said with a laugh. "I’m a stubborn Yankee girl."

Reporter Gareth McGrath can be reached at GMcGrath@Gannett.com or @GarethMcGrathSN on X/Twitter. This story was produced with financial support from the Green South Foundation and the Prentice Foundation. The USA TODAY Network maintains full editorial control of the work.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Balloon releases are now banned on the Outer Banks. Could the rest of the NC coast be next?