← Rock Pool Directory/ United States/ Ocean Isle Beach

Ocean Isle Beach

Brunswick County, North Carolina · United States

What have people found?

Channeled duck clam, channeled whelk and speckled purse crab turn up here more than at our other rock pools. Speckled swimming crab, atlantic ghost crab and atlantic blue crab are the usual finds. ~65 distinct species have been recorded here.

What is the best time to visit today?

Download the app to see the 7-day schedule.

See low tide times at Ocean Isle Beach for the next three days
  1. Sun 15 Novin the dark4:340.3 m17:210.3 m
  2. Mon 16 Novin the dark5:230.3 min the dark18:100.3 m
  3. Tue 17 Novin the dark6:190.3 min the dark19:050.2 m

Every low tide each day, in local time at the shore.

Plan the week in Intertidal
  • A tide chart for every day, with the best window marked
  • Identify what you find from a photo
  • An alert when a good daylight low is coming

When do people visit?

JFMAMJJASOND

Most observations come from June and July.

What should you know before visiting?

Arrive 45 minutes to an hour before low tide and leave as it turns. The water comes back faster than it left.
Grippy shoes beat sandals. Wet rock and algae are more slippery than they look. Rock pool safety
A rock pool is a fragile place. Look and photograph, take nothing. The rockpooling code

What lives at Ocean Isle Beach?

Species records from iNaturalist

Speckled Swimming CrabArenaeus cribrarius
Atlantic Ghost CrabOcypode quadrata
Atlantic Blue CrabCallinectes sapidus
Cannonball JellyStomolophus meleagris
Incongruous ArkAnadara brasiliana
Knobbed WhelkBusycon carica
Shark EyeNeverita duplicata
Long-claw Hermit CrabPagurus longicarpus
Giant Atlantic CockleDinocardium robustum
Speckled Purse CrabPersephona aquilonaris
Squareback Marsh CrabArmases cinereum
Blood ArkLunarca ovalis
Eastern OysterCrassostrea virginica
Channeled Duck ClamRaeta plicatella
Channeled WhelkBusycotypus canaliculatus
Scan this rock pool on your next visit.

Every organism named, every visit logged to your journal.