UNCW's Coastal Ocean Research and Monitoring Program (CORMP)is in the process of deploying four new real-time weather and sea state buoys in Onslow Bay, NC. The first two buoys were deployed on June 6 - one buoy, named ILM2 is located 5 miles out of Masonboro Inlet and the second, named ILM3 is 27 miles out of the same inlet.

CORMP is deploying a third buoy, named LEJ2, on August 1 (weather permitting) and will be located approximately 5 miles from the New River Inlet. The fourth buoy, and final one for the summer, will be deployed in September and will be located 25 miles out of New River Inlet. For further information on CORMP, buoy locations and real-time observations, please visit www.cormp.org.

Be advised that these are solely weather and sea state buoys. They do not mark any underwater structures, artifical reefs, or ledges. Monitoring equipment is both above water (on the buoy) and underwater. To assure the buoys continue reporting accruate data, we are asking boaters, divers and fishermen to please stay 20-30 yards away from the buoys so that fishing lines do not get entangled in the monitoring equipment. We have already had one incident with the ILM2 buoy where monofilament was wrapped around the wind sensor on the top of the buoy. The monofilament caused the wind data for the buoy to fail until someone could get out to the buoy to remove the entanglement. Please read throught the "notice to mariners" statement located at the following link for more information: http://www.cormp.org/documents/notice_mariners.html.

CORMP appreciates your efforts to keep these buoys operational so that quality data is continually provided to the boating and fishing communities in our area.