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Currituck:

The
Struggle

to

Move
Ahead
and
Remain
the

Same
Will a Bridge Narrow the Gap?
Currituck is a county divided. Between these communities are stretches names of communities are simple— Barco,
Along the banks, planned communities of uninhabited beach and marsh owned by Coinjock, Grandy, Maple and Sligo— names
of expensive beach houses line grid streets, the federal and state government, the Na- not designed to roll glibly off the tongues
forcing conformity on an environment that tional Audubon Society and a remaining of realtors.
is otherwise wild and changeable. hunt club. Here, communities are marked by green
Manicured lawns roll up to ornate brick Here and there, mostly in the old Co- highway signs and clusters of wood-sided
entrance signs that proclaim these subur- rolla village, you'll see an older home houses. Stores are called stores, and
ban outposts— Monteray Shores, Ocean without yards of decking, skylights or neighbors are folks who know your grand-
Sands and Corolla Light. stained glass portholes. Here, native Cur- mother's name on your father's side.
Stores selling T-shirts and tanning lotion rituckers maintain residence on their Here, hunting was a livelihood not a
and residents are
are spelled s-h-o-p-p-e-s, home sands. pastime, and ducks were tomorrow's din-
weekenders who have fled crowded north- But they are few. ner not a mounting on the wall.
ern beaches for the cheaper, more isolated Across the shallow expanse of sound lies They're different, mainland and beach-
shores of Currituck. mainland Currituck County. Here the front Currituck County, as different as
homemade and store-bought bread.
And for now, each is isolated from the
other.
To reach the beaches of Currituck, you
can boat across a sound that changes
depths faster than a fly changes direction.
Or you can take Highway 158 down the
length of the mainland; cross the bridge
that spans the tip end of the sound; take
Highway 12 north through the Dare County
communities of Southern Shores, Duck
and Sanderling; and finally reach the Cur-
rituck shore.
The trip from Currituck, the county
seat, to Corolla, the stopping point for
Highway 12, can take an hour or more.
But if you own a house at Swan, North
Swan or Carova beaches, then the beach
and a low tide offers the only road home.
Two wildlife refuges north of Corolla
have denied access through their boun-
daries and forced residents to consider the
beach their link to others.
Developers still talk of negotiating an
easement through the government prop-
erty, but most consider the topic moot.
To alleviate some of the problems of ac-
cess, many in the county and the region
would like to marry the beach and the
mainland with a bridge that would span
the middle of Currituck Sound.
State Senator Marc Basnight, who rep-
resents the county, says the bridge is

13 years deep in the state Department of

Transportation's long-range plan. Develop-
ers and some county residents are pushing
for an earlier start.
Many county natives support the bridge,
hoping to inject some prosperity into a
mainland that can no longer count on
clouds of waterfowl and stringers of
largemouth bass to sustain it.

Man-made and natural factors have

reduced the populations of ducks and fish
that inhabit the sound that brushes the
shore at Barry Nelms' soundfront restau- Along the Currituck banks, travel has always been troublesome.
rant and hotel in Grandy. In the 1960s, the road north along the banks stopped in Duck. To reach Corolla,
When he bought the place four years folks had to put their four-wheel drive in gear and bump along a sand "pole road"
ago, hunters and fishermen from across that ran beneath the power lines.
the country booked reservations months in When it came time to stock supplies, most residents hit the beach at low tide for
advance. a ride north Virginia communities of Sandbridge and Virginia Beach. But to
to the
"In October 1986, we did $36,000 in reach these areas, folks wheeled along Virginia beaches owned by the Back Bay Na-
business," Nelms says. "This year, I'll be tional Wildlife Refuge and False Cape State Park.
lucky if we do $8,000." That was fine in the early 60s when there weren 't too many people making the
But if economies are floundering on the trip. But when developers started snapping up the Currituck banks, carving it into
mainland, they're booming on the beach. subdivisions and launching hard-sell advertising campaigns, there were more dune
Property values have appreciated 30 buggies on the beach than ants at a picnic.
percent a year since the mid 1970s, says Between 1961 and 1971, the number of vehicles trekking across the Back Bay
developer Larry Riggs. Riggs' father, refuge skyrocketed from 10,000 to 348,000 a year.

Samuel N. Riggs, spearheaded much of Concerned about the effect of the traffic on the environment, the Interior Depart-
Currituck's early growth. ment in 1973 closed the refuge beach to everyone except those with a permit.
"A lot that sold for $30,000 in 1976 To receive a permit today, Currituck banks residents must meet certain boun-
would easily sell for $175,000 today," dary stipulations, residency dates, prior access requirements or work needs. The
Riggs says. refuge issues about 30 permits, says refuge manager Tony Leger.
And even at that price, lots are selling Most permit holders are limited to two round trips a day. A few folks, mostly
like umbrellas on a rainy day to the new commercial fishermen, have commercial permits that allow them unlimited access,
rich from Virginia and points north. Leger says.
"Why not," says Nelms. "They can buy From Oct. 1 until April 30, bankers can make the trip any time of day. But dur-
a house and a lot here for what they pay ing sea turtle nesting season ,
everyone must stay off the beach between midnight
for a lot on the Jersey shore." and 5 m. a.

And every time the cash register rings Permit holders cannot sell or transfer their passes to their children if they move
up another lot sale, rental or property tax away or die. And all permits will be withdrawn if other access, a bridge or ferry for
payment, coins drop into county coffers. example, becomes available.
But so far the county offers little in Meanwhile, for the hundreds of new banks residents, the only way north is a
return, Riggs says. Dare County, west over the bridge and finally north up the mainland
trip south to
The isolation of the beach communities to Virginia.

and the self-contained style in which they

were developed has created little need for rituck banks— residents who would like And many mainlanders are just as anx-
services. county services such as water and trash ious for a connection. They would welcome
But that's changing, Riggs says. pickup, residents who want quicker access the added job possibilities. As it stands
With the addition of a health club, to medical facilities and shopping meccas, now, any labor force needed along the
swimming pools and tennis courts and residents who want a better evacuation Currituck banks, be it construction
plans for a golf course, realtors are trying route if a hurricane threatens, residents
to entice year-round residents to the Cur- who want a bridge. Continued on the next page

Photo by C.R. Edgerton

workers or shopkeepers, is drawn from mind too badly. I don't want to see hotels have meant their livelihood.
Dare County. and motels and all the businesses." For now, Currituck remains divided.
"A bridge would be good for all of us," Across the sound in Waterlily and Pop- Some like it, others don't. But most seem

says Norris Austin, the Corolla postmaster lar Branch, mainlanders are worried too. caught— caught between the promise of
and a Currituck native. "It's a golden op- They question the effect the bridge and opportunity and the tug of a heritage
portunity to really make employment for further development will have on the founded on ducks, decoys and a shallow
the native people. sound, the waterfowl and the fish that sound called Currituck. •
"Once development has come, I don't
see why rural and coastal North Carolina
can't jump on the bandwagon," he says.
Others aren't so excited.
Some folks are weary of servicing the
rich out-of-staters who live on the beach.
They've been catering to the beach folks,

acting as maids, cooks, guides and grounds-

keepers, since the days when the hunt
clubs were masters of the banks.
They're dubious of further growth that
could turn isolated Currituck County into
the hodgepodge of commercial and resi-

dential development seen along the Dare

County beaches.
Riggs says that won't happen.
"Commercial holdings are probably five

percent or less along the beach," says the

developer. "We have taken the position to
work together for quality development.
"We're selling ocean, sand, beach,
hunting, fishing, surfing and sun. We
want to maintain a healthy environment."
But some folks don't buy his sales pitch.
"I liked Corolla like it was," says
Shirley Austin, a Currituck banks native.
"I realize that it couldn't stay that way,
and I really thought the development
would not go this fast.
"As long as it stayed residential, I didn't

Norris Austin
 Every Garden of Eden has its

Fishing for Answers serpent.

In Currituck it 's the cotton-
mouth.

in Curritwk Sound By C.R. Edgerton

"The cottonmouth is about the
meanest thing they is, " says hunt-
ing and fishing guide William
He raises the tip of his fishing rod and, included," he says. "And when you take Wright. He recently killed a mocca-
with an experienced flip of the wrist, the breeding ones out, they're gone. measured nine inches
sin that
tosses a Texas-rigged plastic worm into "There's some little bass in there," he around and 67 inches long.
the floating grass. says. "We've watched the shoreline and "The local people tell stories of
Jim Easley knows bass fishing among seen them. But what we can't see is water moccasins chasing people for
the marsh islands of Currituck Sound isn't where they lay their eggs." miles, " says one Currituck
what it used to be, but he comes back He says the sportfishermen aren't en- observer.
every year, hoping for a miracle. tirely to blame. Men who set and drag gill But they don 't mention snakes
The lure flies and the reel zings, break- nets for other types of fish catch their when they 're trying to sell sound-
ing the silence of this desolate place. But share of largemouths. They're required by front property on the banks.
no fish bites. After a few dozen casts, law to release them, but most of them are Prospective property buyers don 't

Easley gives up and moves on. damaged and don't survive. realize that Currituck is a fresh
He laments the decline of the large- Warren Austin of Barco, who retired water sound. It has the appeal of a
mouth bass in Currituck and wonders if from the Coast Guard 12 years ago to and creatures, of
lake but the soul,
the right people are doing the right things work as a fishing and hunting guide, has a swamp.
to maintain the fishery. He wonders just his own theories about the decline of the Wright and fellow guide Warren
where the problem lies. bass fishery in Currituck Sound. Austin swear to the truth of local
"I've been coming here for at least 14 "It's dirty water, pollution, pure and snake stories.
years," he says. "Used to, you could go simple," he says. "Mankind's destroyed it. Both men say it 's not unusual for
out there and catch lots of fish in no There's too much building around the a water snake to crawl into a boat
time, and big ones too. But now, you're sound. What we need is some salt water in the sound.
lucky to even see one break the water." to come in here and flush it out and then "The moccasin, she's aggressive,"
Easley, an economist at North Carolina let the fresh water come back in and start Austin says. "Especially if she's
State University, says the largemouth bass all over again." carrying babies."
fishery means big business to North Caro- But only nature could allow that to
lina. In 1985, the last year figures were happen. "The only way to get an inlet is Mother Nature hasn't allowed salt water
available, fishermen spent just under to have a hurricane open one up," Austin to rule in Currituck since 1828. That
1 1 million man-days trying to get large- says. "I don't think the state is interested year, a powerful hurricane grabbed Curri-
mouth bass to bite. in cutting an inlet into Currituck from the
"That's just over half the total hours ocean." Continued on the next page
spent on all freshwater fishing in the
state," he says. "This says something
about the role of that critter in attracting
fishing for North Carolina."
Jarvisburg native William Wright, a fish-
ing and hunting guide for about 50 years,
recalls the last time he or anyone had a
great day fishing in Currituck Sound.
"It was the first day of May in 1983,"
he says. "I remember it so well because
we caught 36 fish. But these days, boy it's

tight.There haven't been that many fish

here in a long time."
Wright doesn't have any pat answers
about why the largemouth bass population
in Currituck— once one of the most pro-
ductive in the world— has declined so rap-
idly. He's no biologist either, but his
experience tells him that the primary
problem is people.
Back
1983, 1984 and 1985, fishing
in

pressurewas the highest he'd ever seen it.

"The fishermen came and they took mil-
lions of fish out of here, the breeding ones

Jim Easley
Photo by C.R. Edgerton
 "

Of all the sportsmen tuck Banks, shifted it around a bit and empty directly into the Currituck drainage
who have made the annual filled in what was then known as New basin.
pilgrimage to harvest the bass in Currituck Inlet. Because the nearest salt But whether or not the waters in Curri-
Currituck Sound, none are so water inlet is south at Oregon Inlet, Cur- tuck Sound are polluted or whether they're
memorable as the West Virginians. rituck remains mostly fresh water. salt or fresh isn't all of the problem, says
By the busloads they But increased salinity would be disas- UNC Sea Grant Director B.J. Copeland.
came, most from deep in the heart trous for the sound's bass population, says Copeland is co-author of a recent report
of coal country. Pete Kornegay, the N.C. Wildlife Resources on the status of the Albemarle-Pamlico
"I guess they just Commission's biologist for the 13-county estuary.
wanted to get away from all that northeast region. He agrees that the decline of the bass
mining," says hunting and fishing "We had a four-year drought that started fishery can be traced to slight changes in
guide Warren Austin of Barco. "It in 1984-85," he says. "That reduced the the water's salt content. But other factors
must feel good to get out of those freshwater inflow into the sound and include changes in the sound's water move-
holes in the ground and come here caused salinity to increase." ments and in the abundance of under-
for some fishing in the open air. Extreme high salinity in 1987-88 ex- water grasses.
The West Virginians ceeded the tolerance limits for largemouth "And let's not forget overfishing," says
enjoyed their Currituck outings to bass and other freshwater species in the Copeland. "All these things have hap-
rowdy
the limit, but they weren't sound, Kornegay says. Many of the fish pened over a period of the last 20 years."
and didn 't demand much from died and none spawned. Copeland says the sound's primary prob-
their guides. "And while the water quality in Curri- lem can be traced to a canal that con-
What they wanted tuck is good compared to other coastal nects the North Landing River to Virginia
most of all was to catch fish. areas of the state, it's all still a matter of Beach. "This canal, built for flood con-
"A West Virginian, how you look at it," he says. "If you talk trol, transports wastes from Virginia
he'd fish in a bathtub, if that's all to a sportfisherman, he'll say salt water is Beach," he says. "The net flow goes into
he had," Austin says. "And when pollution. If you talk to a commercial Currituck."
he'd catch them, he'd take them all fisherman, he'll say fresh water is Over the last two decades, these pol-
home with him. pollution." lutants, along with farm runoff and the
"Ain't no telling how Then there's what Warren Austin calls residues of overdeveloped shorelines, have
many bass them boys took out of "real pollution." Over the years, Austin poisoned the sound and its plants and
this sound." says he's seen lots of raw sewage drain animals.
But, like others who into the sound. "The solution, then, is to reduce those
once swore by the fishing in Cur- Some of the signs are obvious. inputs," Copeland says. "If we can get rid
rituck, the West Virginians don 't Farmers who cultivate hungry crops and be careful about
of the Virginia stuff,
come anymore. such as corn, cabbage and broccoli must watershed development in Currituck
"It 's because the pour large amounts of fertilizer into the County, then the sound would clear itself
fishing is down to zilch these soil. The natural leaching process carries up. Nature is very resilient."
days," Warren says. "When the nutrient-laden runoff into the creeks and Meanwhile, the state is continuing its

word's out there's no bass, it takes rivers that eventually end up in the sound. efforts to revive the sound's largemouth
care of itself. We don 't have to In extreme cases, swine farmers have bass population. In 1989, when salinity
advertise. allowed water from their waste lagoons to levels had dropped drastically, more than
60,000 bass fingerlings were released.
And, beginning this year, the size limit

on bass taken from Currituck rose from 12

to 14 inches. Also, the Wildlife Commis-
sion is proposing to change the statewide
creel limit from eight to five largemouth
bass per day.
Whatever the solutions, they won't come
easy. The constant pressures of developers,
politicians, sportsmen and vacationers will
continue to play important roles in Curri-
tuck Sound's recovery.
For the people whose livelihoods have
always depended on the fish and fowl
taken from Currituck, the future doesn't
seem as bright as the past.
"Bass fishing just don't get it anymore
in Currituck," Warren Austin says. "I

turned down a party this month because I

didn't think he'd do any good out there,

and I'd hate to take his money knowing
that." •
 TheBack Pa
"The Back Page" is an update on Sea Have you decided aquaculture is the Practical matters like price, ease of prep-
Grant activities— on research, marine wave of the future? Then Sea Grant has a aration and availability certainly affect food
education and advisory services. It's also new publication for you. decisions. Yet a person's experiences, life-

agood place to find out about meetings, Raising Hybrid Striped Bass in Ponds, style, phase in life and traditions also in-

workshops and new publications. For by Ron Hodson and Jennifer Jarvis, is a fluence the foods they purchase and eat.
more information on any of the projects manual that provides step-by-step pro- For a copy of Getting to Know Southeast
described, contact the Sea Grant offices in cedures for producing market-size hybrids. Seafood Consumers, write UNC Sea Grant.
Raleigh (919/737-2454). For copies of pub- Commercial catch of striped bass has Ask for UNC-SG-90-04. It's free, but please
lications, write UNC Sea Grant, Box 8605, sharply declined in recent years, leaving a enclose $1 for postage and handling.
NCSU, Raleigh, N.C. 27695-8605. void in the seafood market. But the hybrid,
which is a cross between striped bass and
If you grow and harvest
white bass, fills that void with an even bet-
shellfish on estuarine bot-
Just how important is ter fish— one that grows faster and is
tomland leased from the
Sea Grant research? hardier.
state, you'll want to attend
Ask U.S. Secretary of UNC Sea Grant has put 10 years of re-
Sea Grant's annual
Agriculture Clayton Yeutter. search into developing the hybrid, and the
shellfish conference.
He recently gave the National Coastal Resources Research and
The workshop is scheduled for
Department of Agriculture's Development Institute funded the first
February 16 at the Duke University Marine
prestigious Superior Service Award to commercial culture of the hybrids.
Lab in Beaufort.
three Sea Grant researchers. Now the results of both projects are
This year's conference is designed as a
J. Wendell Gilliam, Wayne Skaggs, and available in this new manual.
training session primarily for leaseholders,
Robert 0. Evans— all scientists at North Hodson and Jarvis describe how to col-
but offers information for those who are in-
Carolina State University— were recog- lect broodstock, cross-fertilize the eggs,
terested in obtaining first-time leases.
nized for their contributions to agriculture. manage the larvae and tend the finger-
Sea Grant Marine Advisory agent Skip
Sea Grant funded the prize-winning proj- lings.They include information about feed,
Kemp will lead the one-day workshop,
ect. It focuses on how farmers can reduce diseases, pond structure, equipment and
which will focus on how to write shellfish
the amount of nitrogen lost through the marketing. And they provide tables for
management plans, the ecology and biol-
soil. And, since those nutrients usually determining the economics of raising the
ogy of shellfish, relaying shellfish from
leach into rivers and streams that even- hybrids.
seed areas and polluted waters, extensive
tually find their way to the Tar Heel coast, For a copy of this manual, write Sea
and intensive production of oysters and
the team studied how estuaries are af- Grant. Ask for UNC-SG-90-05. The cost is
clams, and marketing and promotion.
fected by the excess fertilizer. $5 plus $1 for postage and handling.
As usual, the conference will end with a
The men conducted their research on a
question-and-answer session and a social
coastal North Carolina farm and then de- If you've ever wondered who eats sea-
hour. A $20 registration fee will cover all
vised recommendations for better manag- food, what types they prefer and why they
materials and the social.
ing farm runoff.As a result of their study change their eating habits, then Sea Grant
Among the speakers for this year's work-
and other needs, the N.C. General Assem- researchers have some answers for you.
shop are Tom Ellis of the N.C. Department
bly enacted a cost-sharing program to en- David Griffith and Jeff Johnson, two
of Agriculture, N.C. Representative Robert
tice farmers to follow the recommendations. East Carolina University anthropologists,
Grady and Bill Hogarth of the N.C. Divi-
"The program is working so well that along with Jim Murray and Skip Kemp of
sion of Marine Fisheries.
three other states— Maryland, Delaware the Marine Advisory Service, surveyed
For more information, contact Skip Kemp
and Virginia— also require these better consumers in the Southeast about their
at 919/247-4007.
management practices in their cost-sharing seafood preferences.
programs," says UNC Sea Grant Director The resulting information has been com-
B.J. Copeland. piled into an easy-to-read illustrated Rolling, sunlit waves
"The award from the Department of booklet, Getting to Know Southeast and a gentle breeze on the
Agriculture proves that Sea Grant scientists Seafood Consumers. face.

are tops when it comes to assuring that Designed for use by seafood retailers, These pleasant sensa-
our coastal resources are used wisely," wholesalers and processors, the illustrated tions of natureprompted
Copeland says. booklet strives to help businessmen devel- coastal property owners to
op an understanding of the complexity of build their castles in the sand.
factors affecting seafood choices. But angry winds and crashing waves
can spoil the mood fast. The booklet was written by Sea Grant for fish, hiking in maritime forests and
When damage occurs, insurance pays coastal engineer Spencer Rogers. travel aboard the Duke Marine Lab re-
off for some property owners. But flood in- For your copy, send $1 to UNC Sea search vessel to Carrot Island and Cape
surance can be costly. For some, it's Grant, Box 8605, NCSU, Raleigh, N.C. Lookout.
prohibitive. 27695, and ask for publication number Another June program, "Paddle to the
Sea Grant's booklet Saving Money on UNC-SG-89-05. Sea," will provide in-service training to 20
Flood Insurance for Coastal Property science teachers from a target area includ-
Owners can help. Next June, Tar Heel science teachers will ing Tyrrell, Hyde, Dare and Washington
It identifies construction choices in new have two opportunities to learn first-hand counties.
buildings, existing building modifications about the state's estuarine environment. Selected participants will examine the
and insurance rating options that can Approximately 15 teachers are needed Albemarle Sound watershed and study
reduce the annual cost of flood insurance. to serve as trainers-facilitators for Project coastal education materials. They'll canoe
With the assistance of an insurance Estuary. A facilitator institute June 24-28 on Lake Phelps and the Scuppernong
agent, the guidelines should help a pro- will examine characteristics of estuaries, River and survey Oregon Inlet from a
spective builder, existing owner or designer activities to teach coastal ecology and field head boat.
to optimize the building for the lowest experiences for students. For more information about "Paddle to
desirable flood insurance premium. Participants will go birdwatching, seining the Sea," call Lundie Spence, Sea Grant's
marine education specialist, at 919/737-

2454. Or request an application from UNC

Coastwatch is a free newsletter. If you'd like to be added to the mailing list, fill out
Sea Grant, Box 8605, NCSU, Raleigh, N.C.
this form and send it to Sea Grant, Box 8605, NCSU, Raleigh, N.C. 27695-8605.
27695.
Name For applications for the Project Estuary
workshop, write Gail Jones, Assistant Pro-
Address
fessor, University of North Carolina,

City/State/Zip Chapel Hill, N.C. 27599-3500. Or call the

UNC Mathematics and Science Education
To help us specialize our services, please answer these questions. Center at 919/966-5922.

I am in the following line of work:

Boatbuilding/repair Homemaker Seafood processing/marketing Coastwatch is published monthly except

City/county government Lawyer State government Julyand December by the University of
Commercial fishing Marina operator University professor/researcher North Carolina Sea Grant College Pro-
gram, 105 1911 Building, Box 8605, North
Educator Marine recreation Other
Carolina State University, Raleigh, N.C.
Farming Mass media
27695-8605. Vol. 18, No. 1, January 1991.
Coastal property owner: yes no Boat owner yes no Dr. B.J. Copeland, director. Kathy Hart,
editor. C.R. Edgerton and Carla B. Burgess,
$ contribution to defray printing costs for Coastwatch staff writers.

105 1911 Building Nonprofit Organization

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Av»<t*<n/i+U^ 12713
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 N.C. DOCUMENTS
1: CLEARINGHOUSE
MAR 26 1991

UNC SEA GRANT FEBRUARY 1991

Seafood Safety: An Issue For The '90s

 A Stamp of Approval
for Tomorrow's Seafood
By Kathy Hart

HACCP. from these waters may not be as safe as

It'sone of those bureaucratic acronyms they'd like.

that doesn't tell you anything but means But their addition may be faulty, says
a lot. Donn Ward, a seafood extension specialist
It's being volleyed about in Congress with the North Carolina State University
and analyzed in university food science Department of Food Science.
departments. In the seafood industry, it's He says seafood safety problems may
applauded, dreaded and misunderstood. be more a problem of perception than
The letters stand for hazard analysis reality.
critical control point, an awkward phrase Just over 20 percent of all food-borne
that doesn't mean more than its acronym. illnesses reported to the national Centers
Translated into everyday English, for Disease Control between 1973 and
HACCP is the mandatory inspection pro- 1987 were attributed to seafood.
gram being proposed for the U.S. seafood But after you adjust for per capita con-
industry. sumption and omit sicknesses related to
Consumer advocate groups from coast consumption of raw shellfish, the num-
to coast have urged their congressmen to ber of illnesses drops to 25 percent below
pass legislation that would mandate an that for poultry and only slightly more
inspection program for the seafood in- than that for beef.
dustry comparable to that used for red And even these figures may be too high
meat and poultry. because they include illnesses caused by
As demand for fish and shellfish has fish caught recreationally, Ward says.
spiraled upward, so has concern about "You don't stop on the side of the
seafood safety and public health. The road, shoot a cow, haul it home, clean it
media has focused increasing attention and cook it," he says. "But a lot of peo-
on pollution in our coastal waters. And ple do catch their own fish and shellfish,
consumers adding one and one to get two and often they mishandle it."
have surmised that the catch harvested Illnesses caused by this mishandling
 Oil spills in Alaska. Syringes on New what they think of the fish and shellfish

Jersey beaches. Fishless water in Boston harvested from these waters.

Harbor. Johnson says some people glean infor-

Consumers are getting the message mation from the morning newspaper. But
from Dan Rather to Phil Donahue that our others' ideas are based on folk theories or

coastal waters are polluted. individual assumptions.

Is this talk of pollution affecting people's The team is just beginning to analyze its

perception of the fish and shellfish caught findings from more than 150 interviews.
in these waters? Now they're tracking 30 people with
Maybe, say Sea Grant researchers David monthly telephone surveys to see if infor-

Griffith and Jeff Johnson. These East mation they read or see— be it from Dan
Carolina University anthropologists are Rather or their next door neighbor— is af-

determining what people know about fecting their eating habits.

coastal pollution and how it affects their When their study is complete, Griffith and
seafood buying and eating habits. Johnson will advise the seafood industry
Griffith and Johnson have surveyed con- about educating its consumers. Armed with
sumers in several states and across North the right information and approach, the sea-
Carolina to see if geography, age, educa- food industry can calm any fears the Amer-
tion or race play factors in people's ican public has about the seafood it eats.

knowledge about coastal pollution and

Photo bv National Fisheries Institute

of recreational fish are lumped in govern-

ment with those resulting from
statistics
commercially handled seafood. As a
result, the seafood industry may be get-
ting abad rap it doesn't deserve.
"I'm not saying the seafood industry
doesn't have problems with illnesses
because it does," Ward says. "But the
public's perception is that there are more
problems than actual evidence shows."
And these aren't the only wrong ideas
Americans have about seafood safety.
"The public has the impression that
seafood processors are not inspected
now," Ward says. "They are inspected.
It's continuous inspection like
just not
we have for meat and poultry.'
The Food and Drug Administration in-
spects all food, including fish and
shellfish, that crosses state lines. They
periodically visit seafood businesses to On the state level, the N.C. Department They say that the present system

inspect plant sanitation. of Agriculture inspects finfish facilities; focuses on plant sanitation not product
The Environmental Protection Agency the N.C. Division of Shellfish Sanitation, safety, it's confusing and it's geared more
monitors coastal water quality, establishes shellfish and their harvesting waters. for large processors than Mom and Pop
allowable limits for specific toxins and And some county governments also scru- operations.
tests fishery products. The U.S. Fish and tinize the fishermen's catch. To answer the public's call for better

Wildlife Service does the same for in- But all this inspection doesn't impress
land fish. consumer advocacy groups. Continued on the next page
inspection, congressmen have introduced This method identifies the points, or products should receive similar scrutiny.
no than nine mandatory seafood
less hazards, during processing when seafood Congress listened, and its proposed
inspection bills in the last few years. could become contaminated. These criti- legislation requires seafood entering the
None have passed. cal pointswould then be monitored to United States to be bought only from
Two major controversies are preventing ensure that processing and handling pro- companies that use an inspection
passage, Ward says. First, Congress can't cedures are safe and under control. method equivalent to HACCP.
decide which federal agency should ad- Each seafood processing plant, be it American processors are divided on
minister the inspection program. Some large or small, would develop a HACCP the issue of mandatory inspection. Many
feelit should be under the auspices of plan based on the types of fish and shell- favor the program as a way to restore con-
theFDA; others vote for the U.S. Depart- fish it handles, its equipment and its sumer confidence. Others feel it calls for
ment of Agriculture. operating procedure. Once the plan re- too much government intervention.
And then there's the question of who ceived federal approval, then the plant Many just don't yet understand its con-
pays for the inspection. would have tokeep detailed records cepts and complexities, Ward says.
Some believe industry should foot the about its monitoring of the critical con- But whether the seafood industry likes
bill to ensure its own product safety; trol points. it or not, mandatory seafood inspection
others say the seafood industry should Ward says compliance with a HACCP is the wave of the future.
be treated just like the red meat and plan should mean three things for "It's no longer a matter of if, it's a
poultry industries. The inspection in American consumers. It should ensure matter of when," Ward says.
their plants is paid for by federally ap- public health and plant sanitation. It "If consumers think seafood inspec-
propriated funds. should also stop fraudulent activities tion is going to significantly reduce
IfCongress can resolve these two stick- such as purposely mislabeling a low- seafood-borne illnesses, then they may
ing points, then seafood may soon be in- priced species as a higher priced one. be disappointed. Illnesses associated
spected from the boat to the consumer. Although HACCP will have a big im- with seafood are not a large problem
And regardless of which agency regu- pact in the United States, its effects will now. But what they will notice is an im-
lates the program or who pays for it, also be felt abroad. American processors provement in the quality of the fish and
seafood inspection will be based on the told Congress if U.S. products had to shellfish they buy."
HACCP inspection method. meet rigorous standards then imported

Inspection Plan Gets Mixed Reviews

By C.R. Edgerton

If you want to know crab meat, ask

Jimmy Johnson.
As plant manager for the Washington
Crab Company in Washington, N.C., he
oversees the handling of about 14,000
pounds of crab meat per day.
Before shipping it to northern markets,
Johnson makes sure the meat is picked
and packaged in a safe, clean environ-
ment. Doing it any other way, he says,
would put his company out of business.
Although he has misgivings about
governmental intervention in an industry
that has traditionally thrived on inde-
pendence, he says he's not afraid of what
federal inspections by the HACCP method
might mean to his business.
He's already made sure his factory
meets certain guidelines for sanitation as
imposed by agencies such as the state's
Department of Environment, Health and
Natural Resources and the federal Food
and Drug Administration.
"Our plant is inspected on a regular
basis," he says. "We're open to any type
of inspection that they may wish to do."
Johnson says inspectors routinely sam-
ple his products (mostly crab meat with

Photo by C.R. Edgerton

 agencies. HACCP will bring changes
only in the method of inspection.
The more complicated techniques of
HACCP inspections will create a need for
educating seafood processors. The federal
government will strongly urge that proces-
sors undergo HACCP training, although
it won't be mandatory.
The training will include a two- or
three-day educational program written
on a high-school level. There will be a
finalexam and participants will be ex-
pected to maintain a certain level of
competence.
Those who pass the exam will be given
completion by the Na-
a certificate of
tional Fisheries Institute, sponsors of the
training program.
"Mere attendance in this program will
not mean a thorough understanding of
HACCP," Ward says. "It will require
some study and work. For some, this
type of training will be absolutely essen-
tial just to help them understand the in-
spection program."
Ward predicts mixed reactions from
seafood processors, some of whom will
not accept the government's intervention
in their businesses.
Jimmy Johnson says his company will
welcome the new methods and the train-
ing. But he still feels HACCP will be
more of a hardship than a help for small
some whole fish) and test them for bac- "The consumer is wary of seafood be- and family-owned processing plants.
teriological problems. cause the industry hasn't come out "Our paperwork will probably triple
"We're also checked for cleanliness, against the biased accounts about seafood and that will require more man hours,
sanitary practices and the physical con- we see in the media. We're like ostriches which will cost more," he says.
dition of our plant, right down to the with our heads in the sand. We haven't Some processors, especially those that
covers on our lightbulbs," he says. done much about it, hoping it'll go away." have remained very small or are working
Although current inspections are not Case in point: the red tide scare of two in outdated buildings with antiquated
as time-consuming or as thorough as years ago. equipment, may be forced out of business
those that would be mandated by a feder- "The red tide only affected a small by the new inspection regulations.
ally imposed HACCP system, Johnson area of our coast and only a very small "It's going to be a necessary evil, like
believes they are sufficient. amount of seafood,"he says. "But dur- a steam roller that you can't stop,'
"We don't need inspectors who come ing that time, you couldn't give North Johnson up the cost
says. "It will drive
into our plant on a daily basis like they Carolina seafood away. The media blew of operatingand will narrow even more
do in beef or poultry plants," he says. the whole thing out of proportion." an already extremely narrow profit
"Visual inspection of our product just More positive media reports could be margin."
won't work in a seafood market. It would one outgrowth of the proposed HACCP Johnson says his company will "easily
be better for them to just come around inspections, says North Carolina State comply" with HACCP inspections. And
now and then." University food scientistDonn Ward, he expects the government to force

Johnson says he convinced that

isn't head of a national committee charged foreign processors to comply under the
seafood processors should be so closely with developing courses and materials same guidelines as American companies.
scrutinized anyway. for training seafood processors in the If HACCP inspections come, as they
"I'm not convinced that we need it," HACCP method. surely will, Johnson realizes that he and
he says. "The push for HACCP is coming "The tragedy is that people think other small North Carolina seafood
from consumer advocates and from huge seafood plants are not inspected at all," processors will have to adhere or go out
seafood processors who stand to gain Ward says. "It's totally erroneous for of business.
more business if the image of seafood is them to assume that." "It's coming." he says. "We'll have to
made more positive." Ward says all seafood processing plants grin and bear it, and just hope for the
The media has not helped, he says. are regularly inspected by state and federal best."
 ' '

Joyce Taylor
Handling Photo by The Charlotte Observer

Seafood- borne diseases most often

Seafood into

Raw
one of three categories.

molluscan shellfish— Shellfish

fall

Safely harvested from water contaminated with

harmful bacteria and viruses can transfer
these diseases to consumers the shellfish
at
if

are eaten raw or partially cooked.

Runoff from farms and cities, malfunction-

Home ing septic tanks

facilities are all
and poor sewage treatment
causes of contamination. In
North Carolina, the Division of Shellfish
By Carla B. Burgess
Sanitation monitors our waters to detect
The responsibility for seafood quality your line to the delectable morsel on the bacteria that indicate the presence of harm-
and safety doesn't end at the grocery end of your fork, you've got to be ful viruses.
store or at the processing plant. prepared. If bacteria levels are high, then waters
It carries over into our own kitchens "I always tell people to ice fish the are closed to shellfishing. Currently, oysters
and what we do there. minute you getthem out of the water,' and clams cannot be harvested from
Sea Grant's seafood education special- Taylor says. "You can't ice them too 370,081 coastal acres to protect public
ist Joyce Taylor offers some tips on how soon." health.
to ensure a top-notch meal. Take special precautions with species Shellfish harvested from contaminated
"The most important consideration in such as tuna and mackerel, where im- waters can carry gastrointestinal viruses
handling seafood at home is just plain proper handling can cause more than and hepatitis.
old cleanliness," says Taylor. spoilage. If these species heat up, they Scombroid poisoning— Species such as
Follow these guidelines during sea- can cause an allergic reaction that no tuna, mackerel and bonito have high levels
food preparation to assure sanitation: amount of cooking will prevent. of an ammo acid called histidine in their

• Wash hands frequently with soap and Taylor recommends dressing these fish bodies. If, after harvesting, these fish are
warm water before working with a new immediately, or at least heading, gutting not iced and kept cool, the histidine breaks
food or utensil. and rinsing them before icing them down through bacterial action to become
• Prevent cross-contamination; never let down. histamines that can cause an allergic reac-
raw seafood come in contact with cooked Superchilling, a combination of ice tion for consumers.
food. Use a clean cloth or paper towels and salt in a cooler, is a good method for The reaction can include sweating, a
while cooking. storing fresh fish when you're going to peppery sensation around the mouth, dizzi-
• Use an acrylic cutting board, never a be out a few days. ness, nausea and diarrhea. The discomfort
wooden one. It's not uncommon to see people fish- usually lasts four to six hours.
• Wash boards, counters and all utensils ing all day on a beach or pier while the Cooking the fish will not prevent the
in detergent and hot water. three or four fish they've caught lie in a reaction.
• Thaw frozen seafood overnight in refrig- bucket of water beside them. Then they Ciguatera—This problem is restricted to
erator or under cold running water. Never wonder why their fish aren't pleasing to tropical fish. It is a toxin that begins with a
let seafood thaw at room temperature. the palate. dinoflagellatebloom around reefs and is
• Don't leave cooked seafood out on the "They had cooked them in that bucket passed up the tropical food chain.
counter too long. Store in the refrigerator before they took them home is why,' The toxin is not detectable by taste, smell
within two hours of cooking. Taylor says. or sight.
Some harmful substances in raw sea- "A lot of fish, if poorly handled, are The onset of the symptoms of this toxin
food—such as parasites— are eliminated not going to make you sick," she says. occur They are nausea, vomiting,
rapidly.

by cooking. "They're just going to taste bad." headache, a tingling in the mouth and
Salmonella, a bacteria that can cause To learn more about how to properly throat, and a reversal of hot and cold
food poisoning, is also killed through handle, prepare, transport and store fresh sensitivity.

proper cooking. fish, writeSea Grant for a copy of Bring- If you exhibit any of these symptoms and
But suppose you like to fish for your ing the Catch Home, publication UNC- think they are being caused by eating
supper? SG-86-26. The brochure costs 50 cents. tainted seafood, call your doctor or hospital
Then from the nibble on the end of immediately.
 TlieBackRi
"The Back Page" is an update on Sea The 1991 North The event will include demonstrations of
Grant activities— on research, marine Carolina Commercial Fish- trades such as boat building, model boat
education and advisory services. It's also ing Show is right around construction, net making and mending,
a good place to find out about meetings, the corner— March 9-10. oyster shucking and decoy carving. Also
workshops and new publications. For The show will feature ex- back this year will be traditional music and
more information on any of the projects hibits and sales of items dance, coastal folklore, storytelling and
described, contact the Sea Grant offices in used in commercial fishing, such as boats, scrumptious seafood.
Raleigh (919/737-2454). For copies of pub- engines, nets, hydraulics, electronics and Last year's celebration drew more than
lications, write UNC Sea Grant, Box 8605, more. 15,000 people.
NCSU, Raleigh, N.C. 27695-8605. Sponsored by the Carteret County A new attraction is the Educational Re-
Watermen's Association, the show will be sources Room, which will feature panel
held at the Crystal Coast Civic Center, discussions, slide presentations, demon-
North Carolina clams 3505 Arendell Morehead City. Show-
St., strations, lectures and other programs
are big business. In 1986, times are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. March 9 and designed to educate adults and young
the hard-shelled mollusks 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 10. Admission is conservationists.
accounted for $7.5 million free. The event is part of WRAL-TV's Save Our
in income to North Carolina. NASA will have its SARSAT (Search and Sounds project. Co-sponsors include the
money was earned
That Rescue Satellite) van on exhibit. This North Carolina Coastal Federation and
mostly by part-time clammers who picked system, used by Emergency Position- other non-profit and governmental
a site at random and waded into knee- Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRBs), will organizations.
deep water with bull rakes and floating be explained and demonstrated. Sea Grant and The Big Sweep will be
wash tubs. A series of seminars sponsored by Sea among the exhibits included. We hope to
But there's a better way. Grant will be offered to watermen during see you there!
Sea Grant's newest publication will show the two-day event. Topics include: "Crab
you how to get your fair share of the Tar Shedding as a Commercial Venture,"
Heel clam pie. "Shellfish Culture as a Commercial Ven-

Clam Gardening: A Manual for the ture," "Dioxin in North Carolina Waters," When comes to it getting a good buy
Small-Scale Clam Operation in North "Seafood Safety and Inspection Legisla- and the freshest fish at the seafood counter,
Carolina focuses on how to lease a clam tion and the Fisherman," and "TEDs in it paysto know what's in season.

gardening site, plant seed clams, and North Carolina—What Do We Expect in Sea Grant has a seafood poster that
harvest and market the mature crop. 1991?" colorfully charts the availability by month
Marine Advisory agent Skip Kemp wrote For a schedule of the seminars, contact of North Carolina's most popular fish and
the manual based on his own research Sea Grant marine agent Bob Hines at shellfish species.

and his extensive experience working with 919/247-4007. At a glance, the 23-by-17 inch poster
successful clam gardeners up and down can tell you when Tar Heel fishermen are
the Tar Heel coast. harvesting bluefish, flounder, king mackerel,
"This manual is geared for the average Would you like to know snapper, shrimp and clams. For example,
person who wants to start his or her own more about how to preserve you'll know that February is a good month
clam gardening operation in estuarine bot- and protect North Caro- to buy sea bass, gray trout and porgies,
tomland leased from the state," Kemp lina's coastal resources? but in July you'll want to fill your grocery
says. "It's a book anyone can use." If so, the third annual bags with shrimp, croaker and hard crabs.
The 36-page manual includes how-to Coastal Celebration prom- Using the chart should help you plan
drawings and photographs and lists com- ises to offer entertaining and educational meals, get better buys and choose the
panies that can supply the necessary answers to your questions. This unique freshest fish and shellfish.
equipment. Several tables and charts illus- two-day festival focuses on what individ- The chart was compiled by Sea Grant's
trate what the clam gardener can expect ualscan do to conserve coastal resources. seafood education specialist Joyce Taylor.
from an average crop. The celebration is set for April 13-14 in It's based on North Carolina commercial

For your copy of the manual, send $5 to the Kerr Scott Building at the North Caro- landing statistics.

UNC Sea Grant, Box 8605, North Carolina lina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh. The If you'd like to hang this seafood availa-

State University, Raleigh, N.C. 27695-8605. theme for 1991 is "Our Past, Our Future." bility chart in your kitchen, write Sea Grant.
Ask for publication UNC-SG-91-02. Admission is free. Ask for UNC-SG-84-04. The cost is $2.
 UnC Sea Grant is soliciting research the research office of your university. wide winner in North Carolina's 1990 Take

proposals for the 1992-1993 funding All proposals must be submitted by Pride in America awards program. The
period. If you're a researcher and would April 4. program recognizes outstanding steward-
like to submit a proposal, call the Sea ship efforts involving public land.
Grant office in Raleigh or consult the "Call The Big Sweep is proud again! Winners in the statewide program auto-
for Proposals" memorandum available at Big Sweep '90 has been named a state- matically become nominees for a national
Take Pride in America award.
North Carolina's waterway cleanup,
Coastwatch is a free newsletter. If you'd like to be added to the mailing list, fill out which takes place each fall, has won three
this form and send it to Sea Grant, Box 8605, NCSU, Raleigh, N.C. 27695-8605. national awards. This is Big Sweep's fourth
state award.
Name
The Big Sweep is organized by UNC
Address Sea Grant, other state agencies, corpora-
tions and volunteers.
City/State/Zip

To help us specialize our services, please answer these questions

I am in the following line of work:

Boatbuilding/repair Homemaker Seafood processing/marketing Coastwatch is published monthly except

City/county government Lawyer State government Julyand December by the University of
Commercial fishing Marina operator University professor/researcher North Carolina Sea Grant College Pro-

Educator Marine recreation Other

gram, 105 1911 Building, Box 8605, North
Carolina State University, Raleigh, N.C.
Farming Mass media
27695-8605. Vol. 18, No. 2, February 1991.
Coastal property owner: yes no Boat owner yes no Dr. B.J. Copeland, director. Kathy Hart,
editor. C.R. Edgerton and Carla B.
$ contribution to defray printing costs for Coastwatch
Burgess, staff writers.

105 1911 Building Nonprofit Organization

U S Posta 9 e
Box 8605 '

PAID
North Carolina State University
Raieiqh nc
Raleigh, NC 27695-8605 Permit Na 896

ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED

12713
STATE LIBRARY DQCS BRANCH
109 E JONES ST
RALEIGH NC 27611-

210048
Who Will Be Tomorrow's Scientists?
 F Choose Sciencdb
Women and Minorities &
to Give Science
By Carla B. Burgess

Where would the world be without ers are looking to women and minorities, these groups.
scientists? who have traditionally not pursued ca- But saving science will require more
Without someone to lead us in dis- reers in biology, oceanography, biotech- than just recruiting people into a pro-
covery, we'd probably still be rubbing nology and engineering. gram. Students need to be kept there
sticks together to make and dying
fire By the end of this century, 85 percent and nurtured until they're placed in a
from smallpox and polio. We would of people entering the job market will science career.
never have set foot on the moon or sunk be minorities and women. 'Any program to bring in minorities
to the depths of the ocean floor. Demographics suggest that the and women has got to be considered a
From Isaac Newton to Marie Curie to American population over the next sev- long-term one," says Spence.
Albert Einstein, scientists have forged eral decades will include a higher pro- That's called "sustainable education,"
discoveries that saved lives, increased our portion of blacks, Hispanics, women and says Walter "Skip" Bollenbacher, a
comfort and broadened our concept of other minorities. In North Carolina, University of North Carolina professor
the universe. minorities already represent 25 percent who has developed a model outreach
Although these heroes of discovery are of the population. program for the advancement of minori-
applauded and admired, fewer people "A percentage of them need to be ties in science. (See story, page 5)
are choosing to dedicate their lives to represented in the sciences. And we can't "There's a problem with the way we're
research. The feet to fill the scientific improve in the future if they aren't even trying to solve problems with science
shoes of tomorrow are running in other in the field now," says Sea Grant marine education," says Bollenbacher. "As a
when we need
career directions at a time education specialist Lundie Spence. society, we always go for the quick fix."
them most. Over the past 20 years, women's par- The tendency of social programs to
The National Science Foundation pre- ticipation in science and engineering has throw money at a problem is temporarily
dicts a shortfall of 675,000 scientists and increased so that they now earn 45 per- effective at best. "Some people feel they

engineers in the United States by 2006. cent of the bachelor's degrees and 30 per- need a more immediate return to their
Not only will there be fewer researchers cent of the Ph.D.s in those fields. investment," he says.

in the field, but fewer Ph.D.s to lecture But this slow rise has offset a decline Bollenbacher's program deals with stu-
in college classrooms. in male participation. Also, the number dents and teachers at the high school
When itcomes to tackling the major of female science majors has not in- and college levels. It's an ongoing pro-
scientific problems looming on the creased proportionately with the increase gram to "energize" science education
horizon — global warming, restoring rain of women going to college. and attract minorities to science careers.
forests, salvaging water quality, restoring A federal report concludes that this Here are some other programs going
fish stocks — may be in short
scientists slowdown is happening because women on in North Carolina:
supply. continue to experience higher unemploy- The Duke Young Scholars Program
Sea Grant invests in our scientific ment, lower pay and fewer promotion Selected female, middle-school students
future by awarding graduate fellowships, opportunities than their male spend five weeks in a summer enrich-
internships and opportunities to study counterparts. ment program at the Duke University
under the guidance of researchers doing The situation for blacks is even bleaker. Marine Lab in Beaufort, collecting speci-
Sea Grant work. But these efforts may be They represent 11 percent of the mens and doing research.
a drop in the proverbial scientific bucket. working-age population, but earn only "This is definitely the time to start en-
The forecast for tomorrow includes a 1 percent of all doctoral degrees in couraging minorities and women to go
retirement wave among aging scientists natural sciences and engineering. into science," says Joan Barber, the pro-
and university professors, potentially Many people are starting to recognize gram's co-director.
magnifying the deficit of researchers. this untapped pool of talent. There are Barber, who did full-time research in
To fill the void, educators and employ- several programs aimed at attracting renal physiology before accepting her
 —

areers:
ncouraged
Chance
current position, says some young girls

she meets think a career in science is so

far out of reach.
"Their tone is always as if there's

something magical about it," she says.

The Sloan-North Carolina School of If Skip Bollenbacher had a grant to do or any other subject — as it relates to him
Science and Mathematics Initiative it, he 'd start reforming science education or her, says Bollenbacher. "We have to
Sloan is an ongoing two-year program as early as kindergarten. train teachers to make things interesting
that targets five rural counties in North Because to attract anyone — black or and relevant," he says.
Carolina. white, male or female — to science, there "This is one of the new trends in
The 120 participants are blacks and needs to be a change in the way we science education — the idea of relevance,"
American Indians who are exposed to teach it from day one, says the UNC says Sea Grant marine education spe-
enrichment programs and school-based biology professor. cialist Lundie Spence. "In a 10th grade
mentor programs, says Joan Barber, who "We have succeeded in eroding the in- science class, students may learn 3,000
is also the Sloan project director and trinsic interest children have in science," new words that are never used again."
deputy director of student life at he says. "You grow up loving worms, A program funded by the National
NCSSM. playing in ponds." Science Foundation is aiming to change
"I call it raising their horizons," she But soon the memorize-regurgitate the way science is taught in the middle-
says of the program's goals. "We give syndrome of learning starts. And by the grades, she says.
them knowledge about what's available time most students are in the 10th "They're trying to get away from the
to them and start them off at an early grade, they 're sick of it all, he says. layer-cake science curriculum," says
enough age to get them on track." "They need less facts and more mean- Spence, explaining that schools have a
Ideally, the program will create a pool ing," Bollenbacher says. "Students need tendency to serve up physics, biology,
of NCSSM hopefuls, she says. to be taught at a conceptual level." chemistry and geology with no regard to
Math-Science Education Network Pre- The universal complaint from young how they relate.

college Program—This statewide program students— Why do I need to know "The goal is to integrate science from
tracks minorities and women from sixth this? "—is finally being heard loud and a very applied, personal level," she says.

through 12th grade in an effort to steer clear throughout classrooms. Students need to be scientifically

them toward careers in math and science, A five-year-old needs to learn science— literate, whether they plan to become
says North Carolina State University scientists or not.

campus coordinator Carolyn Collier. "The question were concerned with

The program received seed money from is — Who can be a good citizen, who can
Sea Grant for some of its preliminary understand science?— whether it has to
conferences. do with health insurance, wetlands pro-

The program includes Saturday classes, tection or new technology," Spence says.

a summer scholars curriculum and role- But reform will take time, and the
model interaction. About 200 Wake solutions are never a sure thing.
County students are enrolled. "And for all of the experts and educa-
Participants learn math, science and it won
tional leaders, work without
't

communication skills and an emphasis is mothers and fathers taking an interest in

placed on cultural awareness. their children's education," Spence says.

"We're dealing with developing the "It doesn't matter what the schools do if
whole child," says Collier. there's no support at home."
Lundie Spence Photo by Allen Weiss
 ucceeding in a Man's World
By C.R. Edgerton
developed that same reverence for the But her father-in-law's influence alone
A scientist is a frizzy-haired Caucasian outdoors and that has guided me ever didn't bring Bonaventura into the scien-
man in a bleached lab coat hovering over since." tific limelight. Like Burkholder, she en-
a beaker of bubbling liquid, right? But from her first job in science as a countered those who believed only men
Wrong, except that most working sci- junior in college, the fulfillment of her could be scientists.
entists are Caucasian men. career goals has not been simple. She says she "never did press the point
In the last decade, women have made Her first important research position of being female" to her male counterparts.
great strides in banking, construction was "extremely difficult," Burkholder Instead, she let her work speak for her.
and dozens of other vocations formerly says. "I was harassed by my male counter- "When people saw I wasn't going to
dominated by males. parts in a lab. I had to ignore it and go be confrontive, there weren't any prob-
Not so in research science, where only with the flow." lems," she says. "I believed that the
a few women have broken into the ranks. But sometimes she would lash out at negative repercussions of being defensive
Some folks are wondering why. men who exhibited what she calls a was not a good way to proceed.
Sea Grant researchers Celia Bona- "knee-jerk reaction" to a woman in a "I counted on my ability to make the
ventura andJoAnn Burkholder have research position. science clear in every grant proposal I

some answers based on their own per- "That was not good for me profession- wrote," she says. "I was not offensive or
sonal pursuits of science. ally," she says. "Now I'm trying to be defensive. I just presented my ideas and
"The idea is that females are not en- more professional, gentler. I will let insights as science. It worked, and I

couraged to take risks in our society," them know that it's not the kind of succeeded."
says Bonaventura of the Duke University
Marine Lab in Beaufort. "And only if a

person is willing to take risks can they

advance new things and be on the fore-

front of new ideas."

Both Bonaventura and Burkholder, a

botanist at North Carolina State Univer-
sity, are respected scientists. As Sea
Grant researchers, they have made im-
portant contributions to our knowledge
of the marine ecosystem. Along the way,
they've encountered barriers because they
are female.
For Burkholder, the pressure started at
home.
"My mom tried to get me to be a sec-

retary," she says. "But I knew what I

wanted to do. When I was 15, I read an Celia Bonaventura

article about the nuisance algae that was thing I will accept, and then I'll go on For Bonaventura and Burkholder, the
threatening the Great Lakes. My interest with my work, which is the most impor- risks have paid off. Both have successful
was aroused, and I never looked back. I tant thing." careers and, at the same time, have been
reallywanted to make a difference." Bonaventura's major role model and able to step away from the microscope to
Her father became her mentor. He mentor was her husband's father, an pursue satisfying personal lives.

taught her that being a woman should Italian physician who immigrated to But many females never get a chance
not stop her from doing what she America in the 1930s to flee the political to test scientific inclinations.
wanted to do. repression of Benito Mussolini. For most, the stifling of interest comes
"My father is part Indian," she says. "He was a political rebel with a con- in junior high school. Recent studies
"He had a great reverence for the woods viction that individuals do make a dif- have shown that male and female stu-

and remember him

for conservation. I ference, whether they're male or female," dents show the same interest in math
showing me bluebirds when I was four Bonaventura says. "I was a junior in high and science until they begin to take
and helping me build a butterfly collec- school when I first met him, and he in- courses that require a certain amount of
tion when I was five. Through him, I fluenced me a great deal." risk-taking. It is here that females fall by
 JoAnn Burkholder

the wayside. make mistakes," Bonaventura says.

"It shows up early in math and science Though many teachers don't seem to
classes," Bonaventura says. "When risk- be practicing that philosophy, there are
taking is involved, almost instantly the what Burkholder calls "refreshing
guys take the lead. The girl feels hesitant pockets" of educators who are encour-
about trying something risky." aging young girls to consider science
The answer to the problem can be careers.

found in teachers who are willing to in- "It's going to take some time for

struct girls that there is freedom in tak- society to change enough for the ma-
ing intellectual as well as social risks. jority of women to feel comfortable with
"Teachers need to be taught not to science as a career," she says. "But it's

squash kids, to show them that it's all already changing for the better, and I'm
right to explore and take chances and encouraged by that."

rogram Nurtures Future

Minority Scientists By Carla B. Burgess

It's tough being a science teacher. whole thing can get discouraging. education so that more minority students
Burnout can happen fast when you're Walter "Skip" Bollenbacher consid- will choose careers in research or science
overloaded with classes and frustrated ered all these things when he began education.
with students who don't seem to care. writing a proposal for a grant to promote "If we have a human resource problem
And it's not easy being a student of minority advancement in science careers in the mainstream, it's that today's
science either, memorizing and regurgi- 2 V2 years ago. minority is tomorrow's majority popula-
tating facts that seem irrelevant. What resulted is the Program for tion," says Bollenbacher, associate pro-
Add to that the pressure of being a Minority Advancement in Biomolecular fessor of biology at the University of

minority who feels "locked out," and the Sciences, designed to "energize" science North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the
developer of the outreach program.
To take their proper places in the

world of science, minorities need to have

the self-esteem and the practical experi-
ence to succeed, he says. That's one of
the goals of the outreach program, still

in its infancy.
It is three-tiered in its approach, em-
bracing faculty members and undergrad-
uates at minority universities and science
teachers at high schools with large mi-
nority enrollments.
It is organized around two courses.
"Frontiers in Cell and Molecular Biology"
provides information and promotes dis-
cussion about cutting edge research. The
"Summer Research Challenge Course" is

an intensive, hands-on laboratory course.

Nancy Mueller (at right) teaches the Frontiers course to undergraduates at North
Carolina Central University in Durham. Continued on next page
 —

It's a cyclical program. together during a seven-week research lasting ones — between potential young
First, selected high school science lab, "where they'll do the very experi- minority scientists and their role models.
teachers complete the "Frontiers" course ments they've been reading about," "For this to work, these teachers and
through UNC's continuing education Bollenbacher says. students have got to become friends," he
program. The Summer Research Challenge will says.

"We need to build their morale, to begin with a hands-on study of biology A strong ally can help build self-esteem
keep them excited about science, up-to- at the coast and end in a research lab on and confidence.
date on it and thinking about it in a dif- the UNC campus. "The most important thing is that the
ferent way," says Bollenbacher. "They're "Students really don't get the thrill of students know they can accomplish in
scientists too. They just happen to be in discovery anymore — they don't under- that field," he says. "This is especially
science education and not research." stand the 'why' of learning it all," he critical with minorities."
Through the course, the teachers says. In the lab, they will get to experi- Bollenbacher asks for empathy. Imagine
become "revitalized" and carry that en- ence that excitement. you're the only black student in a
thusiasm back into their classrooms. Terrance L. Johnson, director of the research lab, he says. You know you're

Skip Bollenbacher Photo by Carta B. Burgess TerranCe JohnSOn Photo by Car/a B. Burgess

"They're excited about it; they get the program, says this is where students get smart. You know you're as competent as

students excited about it. And the stu- to truly feel the workings of science. anyone else in the room. But you've
dents think, 'Hey, it isn't some boring "It feels good to go in a lab, run an been told you're not as good. And you're
thing with a bunch of beakers and nerdy experiment and the dang thing works," nervous.
people,' " says Bollenbacher. he says. "Can you think well when you're anx-
Meanwhile, the program also considers The classroom portion of the program ious?" Bollenbacher asks. "Of course
the special needs of university professors. is unique too. It employs a "liberal arts" not. You'll most likely perform below ex-

They experience burnout too. approach to science, Johnson says. pectations. The process needs to consider
To start with, selected faculty members In a literature class, students read a that."

from participating minority institutions novel, then go into the classroom and It's not about pacifying or making
are paired with a UNC-CH research talk about it —what they understood, things seem easy. This is a competitive,
scientist for a summer fellowship. what they liked about it, what it means. challenging project that aims to bolster
The program then "buys" those That's what students in the Frontiers scientific skills and encourage participa-
faculty members' time — paying
in effect class do — really discuss the bones of the tion with just an extra dose of TLC, he
a substitute — so their course loads will research papers they read. says.

be reduced enough to teach the Frontiers "What we're doing is creating an at- "We're telling them, 'it may very well
seminar at their home institutions. mosphere of total gratification of study- be a struggle, but you can do it and it's

"They're teaching a course for their ing science," Johnson says. worthwhile,' " Bollenbacher says.

undergraduates like the course we're giv- But for all the excitement and all the
The Program for Minority Advance-
ing the teachers at the high schools," challenge it offers, some things about ment in Biomolecular Sciences funded
is
Bollenbacher says. science are "still pretty impersonal,"
through a grant from the Howard
The undergraduates who do well in Bollenbacher says.
Hughes Medical Institute, the Z Smith
the Frontiers course and the participating This is why the program is going to so
Reynolds Foundation and the Eisenhower
high school teachers will be students much trouble to forge relationships
Mathematics and Science Program.
Dear Readers: Coastwatch.
eta
We're matang acme h he
W
9f ,

Th you. mailbox,
neSm appears in
*« e Th

16-page magazine.
Whythe 9
limiting format.
tnpr fas a limt^g
The newsletter was
Sometimes we had to
curxai uie
_
we
~S=nor^
reality of our budget
dictates xnai

evitable regardless lly the same

jn

T °Srs
Sea Grant nas
creases in more
.eoeLd
reowveu
than 10
™
Y^^^
federal budget in-

h flg
_

'"'Sly had more to show

and « you man we ton, and you get tejM^^Sfe increased
and
shortfall in sia
publishing costs and the
could fit on eight pages.
5cu have a P"^*^^ newsletters,

"Swell have regular departments

and entertaining.
as enlightening

S launa that maKe <™ ™^ nt Back

Thank you

Kathy Hart
Editor

ask questons.
respond to our stones and

Raleiah NC 27695-8605
Raleign,
State University
North Carolina
Box 8605
105 1911 Building
 TheBack Pa£e
"The Back Page" is an update on Sea time.These soft crabs are a delicacy that says town manager Webb Fuller.

Grant activities— on research, marine can bring from $12 to $24 a dozen. But that's not all. Production of some
education and advisory services. It's also "The key to making enough money in polystyrene has been linked with the
a good place to find out about meetings, shedding crabs is to catch enough depletion of the earth's ozone layer.

workshops and new publications. For peelers," says Hines. Some fishermen Fuller says the town wants to make a
more information on any of the projects won't go to the trouble of culling the poten- statement about protecting the
described, contact the Sea Grant offices in tial soft crabs. As a result, millions of environment.
Raleigh (919/737-2454). For copies of pub- peelers are inadvertently sold on the hard "We've had some discussions with local
lications, write UNC Sea Grant, Box 8605, crab market. restaurant owners, and they're basically in

NCSU, Raleigh, N.C. 27695-8605 "The idea with the crab pounds is to favor of it," he says. "I think they're willing
find some way to get that supply of to adjust."

peelers so that shedders can justify ex- Fuller said the ban would apply only to

/ISk /^eN\ What's the best way to panding their operation to derive more prepared meals packaging— such as from
catcn a wave? profit," says Hines. restaurants or grocery store delis.
flyufiQ^
I If it's a "wave" of peeler To learnmore about building and using If passed, the legislation would apply to
cra,° s wri Y not fry a crab crab pounds, write Sea Grant for a free other willing local governments Dare
V^W /
pound?
That's
>

what Sea Grant

copy of "Building and Using Crab Pounds
to Catch Peelers." The publication number
County, Fuller said.
precedent for
Nags Head may
other Tar Heel communities.
in

set a

marine agent Bob Hines used last spring is UNC-SG-BP-91-01. The address is Sea

and summer to catch the pre-molt Grant, Box 8605, North Carolina State
crustaceans. University, Raleigh, N.C. 27695.
Hines tested the pounds— a trap con- Coastwatch is published monthly except
sisting of a lead net, heart and box— in Julyand December by the University of
Orchard Creek in Oriental during June, If the town of Nags Head has its way, North Carolina Sea Grant College Pro-
July and August. no one there will be served on Styrofoam gram, 105 1911 Building, Box 8605, North
In other parts of the eastern United or any other polystyrene products. Carolina State University, Raleigh, N.C.
States, pounds have been effective in The town board is asking the legislature 27695-8605. Vol. 18, No. 3, March 1991.
catching peelers as they move in "runs" for the right to ban the use of polystyrene Dr. B.J. Copeland, director. Kathy Hart,
or "waves." in prepared meal packaging. editor. CR. Edgerton and Carla B.

When blue crabs shed their hard outer A ban would reduce the amount of Burgess, staff writers.

shell, they remain soft for a brief period of plastic litter along the roads and beaches,

105 1911 Building Nonprofit Organization

U.S. Postage
Box 8605
PAID
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC
Raleigh, NC 27695-8605 Permit No. 896

ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED

12713
STATS LIBRARY DOCS BRANCH
109 E JONES ST
RALEIGH MC 27611-

210119
&69

oastwatc UNC Sea Grant May/June 1991

Revisiting The
Lower Cape Fear

Wilmington's Bright Future.

PLUS
Beaches With Character.
N.C. DOCUMENTS
CLEARINGHOUSE ALSO
JUN 4 1991
Legend And Lore.

N.C. STATE LIBRARY

RALEIGH
 :

Coastwatch Staff
Kathy Hait, Managing Editor
C.R. Edgerton and Carla B. Burgess,
Staff Writers and Editors
L Noble, Designer
Julie Snyder, Circulation Manager

The University of North Carolina

Sea Grant is a federal/state program
that promotes the wise use of our
coastal and marine resources through
research, extension and education. It

joined the National Sea Grant College

Network in 1970 as an institutional

program. Six years later, it was desig-

nated a Sea Grant College. Today, UNC
Sea Grant supports several research
projects, an 11-member extension
program and three communicators. B.J.

Copeland is director. The program is

funded by the U.S. Department of

Commerce's National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration and the
state through the University of North
Carolina.

Change of address, subscription

information or editorial correspon-
dence: Coastwatch, UNC Sea Grant,
Box 8605, North Carolina State Univer-
sity, Raleigh, NC 27695. Telephone:
919/737-2454. Please use the subscriber
number that appears on your label

when changing addresses. Coastwatch

is published six times a year. A years
subscription is $12.

Postmaster: Send address changes to

Coastwatch, UNC Sea Grant, Box 8605,

North Carolina State University, Raleigh,
NC 27695.
 From The Top
Dear Readers: Carla Burgess poured over books, strolled through a grave-
Welcome to the new Coastwatch. We hope you'll enjoy yard and took a chair at Pollock's Shoeshine to get an insight into
reading our expanded magazine as much as we enjoyed the region's history. She'll tell you what she learned in three

researching and writing it. stories about the port city's past.

We chose as our initial topic: New Hanover County and the Then we'll introduce you to our new sections: Field Notes,

lower Cape Fear River. Marine Advice, Sound to Sea, Young Mariners, Back Talk, Aft
In my story, I'll introduce you to New Hanover County's Deck and The Bookstore. Some of these sections also have a New
largest city — Wilmington. I interviewed city leaders and Hanover angle.

economists to get an idea how the completion of Interstate 40 had We hope you like our first effort. This copy is free. But if you
impacted the port city and what role the four-lane would play in want to continue receiving our magazine, you must pay an
Wilmington's future. annual subscription fee of $12. You will be receiving subscription
C.R. Edgerton walked the boardwalk at Carolina Beach and information in the mail in a few days. Just return your form and
sifted the renourished sands of Wrightsville to contrast New your check, and we'll make sure you continue to receive our
Hanover's blue-collar and white-collar beaches. Edgerton also magazine.
toured uninhabited Masonboro Island, one of the state's estua- Hope to see you next month.
rine sanctuaries. You'll relive the visit. Kathy Hart

In This Issue

Wilmington: A Brighter Future Young Mariners

at the End of the Road 2 Mole Crabs: Can You Dig 'em? 14
Sister Beaches Have Little in Common 6 From Sound To Sea

Masonboro Island: An Unspoiled Gem 8 The Plant With an Unusual Appetite 15

Marine Advice

Relief For Ailing Shores 16

Field Notes

A Helping Hand for Nesting Waterbirds ... .1

Tracing Cape Fear Legend and Lore . 10

A County's Claim to Fame 11
Swapping Stories of Old Wilmington 12

The Aft Deck . 18

Back Talk 20
The Book Store 21
i
 T h e D a y
ACCAMAWj
s 4% %^
E

!«Rd
PARK

ilmington

By Kathy Hart All but one. North Carolina, it drew people from the
A decade ago Wilmington may Wilmington lacked connections. surrounding counties of Pender,
have been the best kept secret in North There was no main artery feeding Columbus and Brunswick in North
Carolina. the city a steady diet of commerce, Carolina and Horry County in South
The sleepy little port city that tourists and would-be residents. Wil- Carolina, says Joe Augustine, executive

hugged the left bank of the Cape Fear mington was the only major city on the vice president of the Greater
River oozed southern charm, hospitality Eastern Seaboard not linked to the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce.
and history. nation's interstate highway system. "Wilmington has become a regional
It was a city of church steeples, And halfway through this century, shopping center," Augustine says.

brick-paved streets, antebellum homes Wilmington lost its Atlantic Coast Line "People commute up to 75 miles to

and stalwart southern families who had Railroad to a merger. With the railroad come to Wilmington to shop for big-

laid down their foundations along with went much of New Hanover County's ticket items such as cars, boats and
that of the city. economic stability. furniture; for medical and educational
Adorned in azaleas, magnolias and The city that had turned the 20th services; and for recreation."

live oaks, Wilmington anchored New century as North Carolina's largest had And the beachfront building boom
Hanover County and southeastern stagnated while Charlotte, Greensboro of the 1970s and 1980s sent folks scurry-
North Carolina. It perched alongside a and Raleigh-Durham moved ahead to ing to the New Hanover shores of
river that brought tall ships, steamers become retail, research, banking and Wrightsville, Carolina and Kure beaches
and cargo vessels to call. industrial meccas. to buy seaside retreats,

It was graced with cool summer Many blamed that stagnation on "Weekend warriors," as they were
breezes and warm winter winds. It the lack of four-lane highways feeding called by native Wilmingtonians,
boasted a university by the sea and 36 into the port city. flooded the area from Friday until
miles of nearby public beaches. But in the 1980s, Wilmington Sunday as they traveled from points
It had all the elements that at- began to grow despite its lack of west to their second homes.
tracted thousands to Charleston and connections. But neither its weekend warriors

Savannah. As the largest city in southeastern nor its reputation as a regional shopping

2
A Brighter Future at the End of the Road
hub were enough to put Wilmington in special lights, planted trees and put a shot in the arm everybody anticipated.

the same league as Charlotte, the Triad few police on horseback all for the

or the Triangle. benefit of tourists. But that doesn't mean 1-40 will not
It still needed a four-lane highway Wilmington was ready. pay off.

to tie the port city to the rest of state. On June 30, 1990, 1-40 was "1-40 should have a steady, but
Finally, in 1984 the U.S. Depart- opened, completing the connection significant effect on Wilmington's
ment of Transportation approved plans between Raleigh and Wilmington. The growth," Hartgen says. "The opening
to extend Interstate 40 from Johnston four-lane, limited-entry highway was a watershed event similar to the
County to Wilmington, some say with opened the artery that connected coming of the railroad. It should be the
assistance from North Carolinian and Wilmington to the rest of North most significant event on the local
then-Secretary of Transportation Carolina and the nation, and it began economy for 50 years either side."

Elizabeth Dole. slowly to pump economic adrenaline "Now people are going to realize

Wilmington waited. into the city by the sea. there are two Wilmingtons on the East
Some businesses, such as hotels If Wilmington's business leaders Coast," says economist William Hall,

and retail shops, were so sure 1-40 was expected an overnight boom town, it referring to Wilmington, Del.

the golden egg Wilmington needed that was not to be. Hall and a colleague at the

they built ahead of the highway's "1-40 didn't open at the most University of North Carolina at
completion. auspicious of times," says David Wilmington, Claude Ferrel, have been
College Road, the planned termi- Hartgen, a professor of transportation at keeping a finger on the economic pulse
nus for 1-40, developed into a shopper's the University of North Carolina at of Wilmington for the past ten years.
paradise as several sprawling retail Charlotte. Hartgen has been authorized They project that the area's

centers were built side by side. Hotel by the state to complete an economic economy will double in the next ten

chains and fast food restaurants impact study of I-40's final link. years. Augustine says the Wilmington
jockeyed for position along the main The Persian Gulf deployment Chamber of Commerce forsees similar

thoroughfares of College Road, Market began a month later and the economy growth.
Street and Oleander Drive. was sluggish, Hartgen says. As a result, "We expect the next big explosion
people weren't traveling, vacationing or of growth in North Carolina to come in

To entice high-salaried profession- buying new homes last year, and 1-40 Wilmington," Augustine says.
als and rich retirees who might move to failed to be the immediate economic And it's already starting.
the river city, the late J.P. Goforth A new regional international

began development of a 2,200-acre airport located on the north side of the

exclusive residential haven. city has just opened. Its completion
Named Landfall, the development means Wilmington has all the right
sports two golf courses and one tennis connections — air, sea and land.
complex, all designed by big-name The airport has U.S. Customs and
pros. Lots, most less than an acre, U.S. Department of Agriculture inspec-
average more than $200,000; homes tion and international landing rights,

built on them cost $400,000 or more. which is prompting a growing stream

As the outskirts of Wilmington of foreign traffic.

developed, downtown spruced up too. "Our international anivals have

Using federal, state and local money, increased 30 percent over last year,"

the city of Wilmington built a riverfront says Robert Kemp, airport director.

park about one block from the heart of The first big international charter
downtown. began in May, flying between
Private investors renovated Wilmington and Jamaica. The New
Chandler's Wharf and The Cotton Hanover airport lies directly beneath
Exchange. Low-interest federal loans one of the main air routes to the

were offered to other downtown Caribbean, which may assure more

businesses for facade improvements. tropical flights in the future.

And the city laid brick streets, hung The airport also does a brisk
continued
business in cargo, corporate aviation Hall calculates that the university,

and military traffic. And three commer- On June 30, 1990, 1-40 was renowned for its marine science
cial carriers — USAir, American and opened, completing the connection curriculum, accounts for eight cents of
Delta — serve the public. between Raleigh and Wilmington. The every dollar spent in an area that
As for the future, the airport has four-lane, limited-entry highway opened encompasses New Hanover, Pender,
big ideas. Plans call for an adjacent the artery that connected Wilmington to Columbus and Brunswick counties.

commercial and industrial park that will the rest of North Carolina and the "That's two and a half times the

include a hotel and convention center. nation, and it began slowly to pump impact the port has on the same
On the south end of town, another economic adrenaline into the city region," Hall says.

transportation link, the state port, is

by the sea. In recent years, the university

beefing up its image and its facilities. elevated its academics to the same
After several years of running in the level as East Carolina, Western Carolina
red, the State Port of Wilmington is Wilmington, says Karen Fox, the ports' and Appalachian State universities.

showing a profit. public affairs manager. "UNC By The Sea" now offers master's

In competition with neighboring Although the military movement degrees, and it's working with North
ports in Virginia, South Carolina and gave the ports a short-term boost, the Carolina State University to offer a
Georgia, the Wilmington port has ports authority is looking to North Ph.D. in marine science.
lagged because it was not linked to the Carolina businesses to give it long-term Once seen as a regional university,

nation's interstate system, Hall says. stability. UNC-Wilmington drew its students

But the completion of 1-40, the North Carolina is among the top 10 from southeastern North Carolina. Now
introduction of intennediate transporta- states in the nation in manufactured its academic reputation attracts students

tion terminals in Charlotte and Greens- goods and the top in the Southeast. Yet from across the state and the nation,

boro, and a more aggressive marketing only 20 to 30 percent of ocean-bound and the completion of 1-40 makes
campaign spell a brighter future for the cargo leaving Tar Heel companies pas- access to the campus even easier.

Wilmington port. ses through our state ports, Fox says. University buildings and other
Wood pulp and tobacco are the The ports are striving to capaire a major Wilmington landmarks have
most prevalent cargoes leaving larger percentage of Tar Heel business. been a part of another major player in

Wilmington; steel is the top imported And if successful, the Port of Wilming- Wilmington's economy — the movie
item. But cargoes run the gamut from ton could have a greater impact on the industry.

soybean oil to mobile homes. city's future. Filmmaker Dino DeLaurentis

Almost 33,000 tons of military But for now, a larger player in opened shop in the Cape Fear city in

equipment, shipped from Fort Bragg Wilmington's economy is "UNC By The the early 1980s. At the height of

and Camp Lejeune to the Persian Gulf, Sea." production, his DEG Studios were
passed through the North Carolina The seaside university draws working on four films simultaneously

ports. This meant weeks of round-the- 7,000 students and is growing at a rate and pumping SI million a week into

clock, seven-day-a-week operations in of 6 percent a year, Hall says. the local economy, Augustine says.
 But DeLaurentis hit hard times and Economists are predicting that any teeming with shopping centers, fast

left town more than three years ago. new industries brought to the area by food restaurants and college students.
Many thought that would end 1-40 will locate in adjacent counties, "That area is being hit with a slug
Wilmington's role as a movie mecca. where land is more available and of traffic," Hartgen says. "It was
Not so. Carolco Pictures bought unemployment rates are higher. predictable but not well-planned."
DEG Studios and continued to reel off Even there, industrial growth on Now Wilmington and New
box office hits, though not at the same the Cape Fear River may be limited by Hanover County officials are scrambling
rate as DeLaurentis. Carolco uses the state water quality standards. to work out some solutions. They are
studios for its own features and One economic factor nobody discussing the possibility of an outer
commercials, and it rents to other wants to limit is tourism. Although loop to route beach traffic around the
filmmakers. Wilmington doesn't want to be known city.

Recent Wilmington films include as a tourist town, visitors still make the Others are concerned about the
"Sleeping with the Enemy" and "Teen- largest contribution to the New capability of Wilmington's water and
age Mutant Ninja Turtles II." Hanover economy. sewer systems to handle additional
But Hall questions the movie Most are drawn to the beaches at residents and businesses. And still

industry's staying power. Wrightsville, Kure and Carolina, but others worry about the effects of the
"They came here because it's an others come to play — golf, tennis, development on the nearby river and
inexpensive place to make movies," he sailing and boating. According to estuarine ecosystems.
says. "But if costs rise as Wilmington Augustine, 20 golf courses are scattered Many long-time residents, accus-
grows bigger, then they may start to across New Hanover County tomed to Wilmington's sleepier days,

look elsewhere." "The area is changing its image complain that the quality' of life in the

But others say the opening of 1-40 from a port city and beach community port city is declining. They rue the day
offers the studio added incentive to to a recreational community," Hartgen when 1-40 was opened.
stay. It not only makes Wilmington says. "The local economy will not be But if these folks are upset, econo-
more accessible to moviemakers, but it driven by residents but by those mists and planners say they "ain't seen
makes areas outside the port city coming from outside the area to spend nothin' yet."

reachable too. their disposable income." Hartgen predicts that the summer
As for industrial growth, New Han- But for all the positives 1-40 brings, of 1991 will be prosperous because the
over County is at its limit. "We're run- there's also trouble right here in river Gulf War has ended and the economy
ning out of space for any large-scale city. is rebounding.
industrial growth," Hall says. "There are One problem begins where 1-40 "You can't go back," Hartgen says.

a few sites in the northwest, and that's ends: College Road. The interstate is "The ribbon has been cut. Now all you
it." dumping 12,000 cars a day into an area can do is plan for the future."

5
 A subtropical wind coming off the Hanover County. They exhibit a curious

Sister ocean grabs sand and hurls

elaborate beach cottages
it against

and expensive
contrast of the wealthy

rich; the white-collar

and the not-so-
condo and the

Beaches cars.

Fashionably dressed beachgoers

search for shells among rusty pipes
blue-collar boardwalk; the tall-masted

yacht and the fiberglass

Unlike most North Carolina coastal
skiff.

Have called into service every winter to

resupply the sand-starved beach.

Sunbathers recline on lounge
communities, change
it hasn't always

A
been
century and a half ago,
is

this
slow here. But
way.
New
Little in chairs and
of surfers just
blankets, seemingly

beyond the breakers

unaware
and
Hanover's beaches were as barren and
uninhabited as Masonboro Island is

Common fishermen on the pier above.

now
A tern soars behind the island's

non-existent dune line. He finds

today. They were sought
refuge and recreation, yet their inacces-
sibility left them undeveloped and
as places of

By C.R. Edgerton little landing space, for the last lot on pristine.

Wrightsville Beach has been sold. That was before the Carolina Yacht
Farther south, at Carolina Beach, a Club made its appearance on Wrights-
young couple —honeymooners ville Beach. In the mid-1850s, several
perhaps — drift into the Seven Seas men, tired of rowing their small boats

deli and grill. He orders a sub, she a to the island only to have no bathing
hot dog. At the bar, a man in tattered facilities, joined forces to build the bath
clothes finishes a sandwich, gulps beer house. It was one of the first of its kind
and grabs a hot dog to go. in the nation.

"See you tomorrow," he tells the A railroad was built to the island

woman behind the counter. between Wrightsville and the mainland

About a hundred feet beyond the in 1883 and local folks began to catch a

deli, a woman squints as she walks vision of the playground the beach
from the Carolina Beach bingo parlor might become. Finally, the waterway
into the full light of the sun. Her hair is between Harbor Island and Wrightsville

curled and pinned tightly to her head. was breached by a walkway. The
A cigarette dangles from her bottom lip. development of the beach had begun in

She checks her huge leather pocket- earnest.

book and turns south down the The Wilmington Sea Coast Railway
boardwalk. Company played a major role in the

At the Kure Beach fishing pier, just development of Wrightsville as a

south of Carolina Beach, life goes on as rendezvous for the wealthy. The
it has for decades: folks from all over company offered moonlight excursions

the southeast sling their lines into the to the island.

swelling surf, hoping for the big one The beach's popularity grew and
that always eludes them. by 1897 about 50 beach cottages and
When the fishing's bad, some several hotels had sprung up where
wander off the pier and into Bud and before there had been only sand dunes

Joe's Tavern on the north side of the and sea oats.

parking lot, or the small restaurants on The greatest and perhaps most
the southside. famous of the structures was the

Sandwiched between the popular Lumina, a hotel ringed by hundreds of

beach resorts, Masonboro Island stands lights. The resulting night scene became
totally undeveloped, a monument to not only a symbol of prosperity on the

nature, a stretch of unspoiled coastline beach but a navigational aid for passing

amid overdeveloped shores. ships.

These, with the exclusive Figure The rich and famous cavorted on
Eight Island to the north and Fort Fisher Wrightsville Beach and gave to this

to the south, are the beaches of New narrow strand its reputation as a place

C. R. Edgerton
 fathers a juicy tax base.

And, at Carolina, old and unsightly

beach cottages have been renovated or
torn down and replaced by more
modern structures. Beach renourish-
ment and a recently completed facelift

on the town's once sagging boardwalk

attract new and return vacationers.

"There are some really great things

happening on our beaches right now,"

Peterson says. "There are chambers of
commerce at both Wrightsville and
Carolina Beach. The businesses are

organizing to promote things there."

Their efforts have created what
Peterson calls "a real spruce-up and a
of affluence. In the 1930s, the island's fishing and lots of things to do," tourism feeling.
electric cable car system was replaced Peterson says. "It has a great feeling of "We've even got someone who's
by a state-maintained highway and nostalgia." sponsoring a water taxi out to
more common folks invaded the The differences in the two beaches Masonboro Island," she says.
Wrightsville domain. Yet, through the are emphasized in her office's promo- Recent completion of Interstate 40
years, the wealthy have found a place tional material, Peterson says. into Wilmington can't hurt the flow of
of refuge on the island. "But both of the beaches realize dollars from the pockets of beachgoing
The story of Carolina Beach isn't how unique they are on the whole East tourists either.

glamorous. Carolina was developed Coast," she says. "Having seen beaches But, Peterson says, a new super-
primarily by Wilmingtonians who from Maine to Florida, I can say that highway doesn't automatically open the
desired a place at the beach away from ours are great." floodgates of tourism. So far, 1-40

the exclusive lifestyle at Wrightsville. Unique enough, she says, to foster hasn't been the economic pie-in-the-sky
For decades, the best route to lots of economic imput from local Wilmingtonians have longed for.

Carolina Beach was via one of Captain governments who have become "I don't think 1-40 has made a big

John Harper's famous Cape Fear River accustomed to a steady stream of difference in the amount of traffic itself

taxi boats. By the 1920s, state-main- tourist dollars. coming to the beaches," Peterson says.

tained roads were built and the commu- At Wrightsville, a S2 million, four- "But it has made it more convenient for

nity blossomed as a resort. year beach renourishment program those who do come."
For the average family with limited guarantees that the 25 to 30 feet of She sees the new highway more
vacation funds, Carolina Beach's shoreline eaten annually by Mother as a tool. "You see, it helps us market
primary attraction has been its board- Nature will be replaced. This gives what we do have," she says. "Now
walk, a long train of restaurants, visitors and permanent residents all the it's up to us to get out there and
amusement centers and gift shops. sand they want and assures the town's market it."®

Today, Wrightsville and Carolina

beaches still offer their own styles of

coastal life.

"Wrightsville is more of a family

vacation type beach," says Jane Peter-
son, executive director of the Cape Fear
Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Though parking is limited on this

island of 5,000 permanent residents,

several access points open the door to

the public beaches for day trippers and
college students from the University of
North Carolina at Wilmington.
"And Carolina is a fun beach with
Photo by C. R. Edgerton
Masonboro Island: An Unspoiled Gem
By C.R. Edgerton least terns and dune plants; to the west, beaches. Swimmers, sunbathers and
The wind whips up small white- it is extensive salt marsh. beachcombers cut their ties with the
caps in the tidal waters of Masonboro "This is great," says Taggert, who overdeveloped mainland and join gulls

Sound. oversees the island as part of the and terns, skinks and spiders on un-
The small boat pops the water like National Estuarine Research Reserve spoiled beaches and wind-kissed dunes.
a fishing lure. program. "I love coming out here." To many folks in New Hanover
From his seat on the bow, John And why not? Unspoiled Mason- County, Masonboro Island is a rare gem
Taggert points to a high dune near the boro Island is a dream-come-true for in a costume jewelry store.

north end of Masonboro Island. naturalists and others who enjoy And recent designation as part of
it's the highest point on the coming to the beach without worrying the estuarine reserve program guaran-
island," he says. "You'll be able to see about walking where they aren't tees an ecologically bright future.

most of the island from there." wanted. Taggert explains that Masonboro
The pilot cuts the engine and the The island is one of four Tar Heel Island's weaknesses - in terms of its

boat drifts to the small beach on the estuarine reserves under Taggert's care developability - are its major strengths.
sound side. The anchor holds fast in (the others are Zeke's Island south of For example, the island's uplands, those
the smooth sand, and we step ashore - Fort Fisher, a small section of Currituck areas that are never under tidal waters,
alone on a nine-mile stretch of unin- Banks near Corolla, and the Rachel are too nanow for buildings. The rest of
habited, undeveloped banier island. Carson Reserve on Bogue Banks near the island's 5,000 acres is salt marsh,
At the top of the small dune, we Beaufort). incapable of supporting development.
are amazed at what we see: no beach "The people around here love this

cottages, no streets, no high-rise condo- In winter, the island is seldom place," Taggert says. "Even the landown-
miniums, except those across the inlet touched by human feet. ers want it preserved as a natural area."
on neighboring Wrightsville Beach. To In warm weather, dozens of small They do indeed. Hundreds of acres

the east, the island is black skimmers, boats line up on the island's soundside have been ceded to the reserve by

8
conservation-minded landowners. "The people who use the island
Others aren't quibbling with the reserve are proud of the turtle sites and protect
designation, happily signing over their them well," Taggert says.

property to the federal government for a Other significant fauna that have
fair price. found safe refuge on Masonboro
"We still have some landowners include the threatened piping plover
who are holding out and some we and the endangered peregrine falcon.

haven't contacted about purchasing their The falcon uses the island as a stopover

land," Taggert says. "But I believe all of on its annual migratory routes.
them will come around." "These are the things that make
Taggert steps down the beach side Masonboro Island valuable not only to

of the dune. His feet sink into the warm the average person, but to researchers
sand, sliding past the hungry thorns of a and scientists as well," Taggert says.
prickly pear. He points to a flattened He gives much credit for the
"I love coming out to Masonboro,
hollow between the larger dune line island's preservation to a wide-ranging
and a smaller dune toward the beach. and it's always hard for me to leave. grassroots movement and "solid local

"Look here," he says. "Signs of

It's one of my favorite places to be.
legislative support," including efforts by
campers. The burned sticks, shells piled the members of the Society for
—John Taggert
up. Someone gathered them and just left Masonboro Island.

them there." "These people have been instru-

Camping is only one of the tradi- mental." he says. "You can tell they
tional uses of Masonboro Island. He says he'd like to see someone really love their island. It makes me feel

Though it's accessible only by boat, survey the island's users. "That would good about the future of this place."
mainlanders visit the island frequently in give us some idea of whether or not Back at the sound, we step lightly
warmer months, using its resources for we should regulate some uses," he into the small aluminum skiff. A rope is

typical beach activities. says. "Still, you can just look around pulled and the motor churns. As the
They leave hundreds of footprints and see that things are pretty much in boat cuts the water toward the ramp at

in the island's ecologically-sensitive their natural state." Harbor Island, we watch Masonboro
sands. But that doesn't worry Taggert. Perhaps that's why people aren't Island hide behind the high-rise condos
"People have been using the island the only users of the island. Because of on Wrightsville and the tall-masted
for many decades, even before Carolina its extensive undisturbed beach, logger- pleasure yachts lining Banks Channel.
Inlet was cut to the south and while it head turtles depend on the island as a "This is the part I always hate,"
was just an extension of Carolina prime nesting site. Turtle eggs laid at Taggert says, catching a last glimpse of
Beach," he says. "And, while litter Wrightsville and Carolina are some- the island reserve. "I love coming out
sometimes becomes a problem in the times transferred from those busier to Masonboro, and it's always hard for
summer, we don't think the island is beaches to the safer sands of me to leave. It's one of my favorite
''•
being abused." Masonboro. places to be

Photo by C R. Edeerton
 Tracing Cape Fear
Legend and Lore
By Carta B. Burgess the federal blockade at Fort Fisher, 18
Nearly two centuries of Cape Fear miles south of Wilmington. When
history sleep beneath the canopy of President Lincoln ordered his navy to
oaks, dogwood and Spanish moss in block all Southern ports, the inlet there
Wilmington's Oakdale Cemetery. The provided vital access for blockade run-
tiny lamb that shelters 6-year-old ners bringing supplies through the
"Annie," the mausoleums as big as town, the last major Southern port to
houses and the mass grave of Confed- fall.
feet deep under the most favorable
erate soldiers tell the story of this river Through this breach, swift,
conditions.
town. shallow-draft vessels with such names
After the war, talk of closing the
Just west, the river and its main as Beauregard, Banshee, Spunkie and
inlet resumed.
tributary from the northeast converge Night Hawk fueled General Lee's
Henry Bacon, whose grave marker
and begin a 30-mile southern journey Richmond army and the ire of federal
can also be seen in Oakdale, supervised
to the Atlantic Ocean. officials.
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' late-
In the days when rivers were One night in 1863, another woman
19th-century construction of the
highways, the 200-mile Cape Fear who desperately wanted to visit her
connected New Hanover to a family of son in England boarded the blockade
"Rocks," a rubble stone dam across

inland counties and their commercial runner Advance leaving Wilmington for
New Inlet and nearby swashes. More
than 181,000 cubic yards of stone were
offspring. In 1853. it was said to be the Nassau. Anna Matilda McNeill Whistler
outlet for the products of more than 28 was born in Wilmington, where she
used in the New Inlet dam, equivalent
to a wall 8 feet high, 4 feet thick and
North Carolina counties. Through its lived much of her childhood. A widow,
100 miles long.
mouth at the Atlantic breathed vital she had just visited her other son, a
To date, Bacon's enterprise is
trade between the West Indies, Spain Confederate army surgeon in Rich-
considered the most outstanding Corps
and other ports of call. mond.
project in the South Atlantic. Bacon's
As the wind whips around granite Mrs. Whistler's journey was safe.
son, Henry, buried nearby, is also
crosses and white stone angels in Her son "Jamie," an artist, took her in
credited with a memorable structure.
Oakdale's 160 acres, one can almost to his London home and later immortal-
hear voices whispering the Cape Fear
He was the architect of the Lincoln
ized her in a painting he called "Ar-
Memorial in Washington, D.C.
legend. Wilmington owes its existence rangement in Gray and Black." Most of
Other graves reveal less celebrated
to the river, whose waters carved this us know as "Whistler's Mother."
it

names, but famous stories. The tugboat

high, dry outpost for early settlers and War and commercial traffic
their ancestors. benefited from New Inlet, which was
captain who lost his life fighting a fire at

Front and Dock streets, buried with his

The river put New Hanover County cut by a hurricane in 1761. But al-
dog who tried to rescue him. A young
on the map and in the history books. though this second mouth made
girl who died at sea, preserved for
In Oakdale lies Rose Greenhow, a Wilmington more accessible, it let in
burial in a cask of rum and whiskey,
rebellious woman and Confederate spy sand and silt with every change of the
seated in a chair.
who drowned while attempting to run tide. The river's channel was barely 9
A Confederate soldier cast in

bronze guards the grassy repose of his

comrades near Oakdale's front gates.

Outside, the ghost of Cape Fear past

dances about olden streets and the

wrecks of wooden ships beyond the
river's bank.*

Engineer Henjy Bacon Sr. (in white

beard and long coat) supervises the
construction of "The Rocks" below
Fort Fisher.
Reproduced Courtesy of the New Hanover County Museum of the Lower Cape Fear
10
A County's fields
Verrazano's report of friendly
Indians, fragrant

and
bay
forests didn't
laurel, and vibrant
tempt the king,
first
The region

Carolina. Hinton
also lays claim to the

student of the University of North

James distinguished

Claim to preoccupied by troubles

settle the area.
at home, to himself further by reportedly walking
the 150 miles from his New Hanover
A settlement attempted near County home to Chapel Hill to enroll in

Fame present-day Wilmington by

Englanders in 1662 was abandoned in a
New 1795. For two weeks, he was the entire

student body.
By Carta B. Burgess matter of months. James, who earned his degree in

The saga of the lower Cape Fear In 1664, a group from Barbados engineering, was credited later with

region is a litany of firsts, bests and established Clarendon County along the some initial work to deepen the
biggests. west bank of the river. The settlement channel of the river in the 1820s. The
North Carolina's first lighthouse reportedly numbered 800 people and project, which included dredging and
was constructed at Bald Head Island, extended 60 miles along the Cape Fear, jetties, was the first effort made to keep
the southernmost tip of the cape. which they called Clarendon. Its capital, the Cape Fear navigable.

Lighted in 1795, it helped ships Charlestown, was the first English town Here are some other exclusive
navigate the treacherous Frying Pan in Carolina. claims made by the port city.

• The Prince of Parthia, the first

play written and produced in America,

was penned by the author the same
year he arrived in Wilmington, 1759.
Thomas Godfrey died four years before
its 1767 premiere in Philadelphia, and is

buried in St. James churchyard on

Market Street.

• The Temple of Israel, the first

synagogue in North Carolina, stands at

the southeast corner of 4th and Market

streets. When it was dedicated in 1876,

nearly 70 percent of the state's Jewish

population lived in Wilmington. •

Workers load naval stores on a wharf at Eagles Island.

For more information about the
Shoals that extend almost 20 miles Lack of British support and lower Cape Fear region, check these
outward from the river's turbulent hostilities from Indians that the settlers references:
mouth. tried to enslave contributed to the Chronicles of the Cape Fear River by

It was here that a group of 16th- colony's demise by 1667. James Sprunt
century Spanish explorers wrecked as The first permanent colony on the The Cape Fear by Malcolm Ross

they tried to enter the river. The vessel Cape Fear came much later with the Stories Old and New of the Cape Fear
Region by Louis T. Moore
they built to replace their ship is said to 1726 settlement of Brunswick Town. A
To Great and Useful Purpose: A History
have been the first built by Europeans rival town was settled opposite on the
of the Wilmington District, U.S.
in America. east bank in 1733- Called New
Army Corps of Engineers by Ronald
If Lucas Vasquez de Ayllon and his Carthage, New Liverpool, then New
B. Hartzer
fellow Spaniards had remained, the Town or Newton, the settlement was
Tales and Traditions of the Lower Cape
Cape Fear region would have been finally incorporated in 1740 under the Fear by James Spmnt
home to the first white settlement in name Wilmington. Land of the Golden River by Lewis
America. In addition to the river, early Philip Hall

Ayllon's predecessor is the first settlers recognized the value of the vast New Hanover County A Brief History
known visitor to the Cape Fear region. pine forests towering over them. The by Lawrence Lee
Verrazano, an Italian in service to the product of these trees - tar, pitch, Cape Fear Adventure: An Illustrated

king of France, explored the area in turpentine and rosin - eventually earn- History of Wilmington by Diane

1524 on a voyage to find a faster route ed Wilmington the distinction as the

Cobb Cashman

to Asia. world's leading exporter of naval stores.

11
 Days Gone By
Swapping Stories
By Carta B. Burgess
The sign in back of the narrow
room is a little dusty. But its plastic
letters plainly state the menu.
Shoeshine, $2. Pig feet, 75 cents. Alka
Seltzer, 30 cents.
If Haywood Graham is around,
you might also get an earful.

From the vantage point of Floyd

Pollock's Shoeshine Parlor and lifelong

residency in this port city, Floyd and

Haywood can give you a personal

history of Wilmington. Loudly. And

they don't always agree.
Ask them where television news-
man David Brinkley used to live in
Wilmington, and you might see their
arms pointing in more directions than

signs at an intersection. Consensus is

not an issue at Pollock's Shoeshine.

On an early spring day, Pollock
and Graham talk about old times over a
game of cards. A tiny gas heater takes

the chill off the small room and heats a

coffee can full of water.
Pollock was born in Wilmington in

1918 and is retired from Almont

Shipping Company on the waterfront.
He worked in the warehouse there "all
my life." His shoeshine parlor at 708 N.
4th St. keeps him busy and out of the
house, he says.
Graham was a longshoreman many
years on the lower Cape Fear River and
loaded and unloaded everything from
paper and tobacco to automobiles and with nitrate of soda — fertilizer in bulk. regulations have banned that practice.

fish meal. Graham says a crane would lower "The EPA don't play," Graham says,

"We had a gang system here in this a bulldozer onto the ship to move the studying his hand of cards. "Container-
port," Graham says, explaining how fertilizer so it could be placed in a ization" has become the name of the
they worked the waterfront. bucket and raised to the deck. The game, he says. "They don't want any-
Graham, a "header" or foreman, work could be dangerous, and long- thing but clean cargo in this port now."
would choose his crew from the group shoremen were sometimes killed. A few blocks southwest of
of longshoremen who "badged in" at "Sometimes it would take two or Pollock's business — in a spacious
the union hall each morning. Then he three days to get to the bottom of a building at 201 Chestnut St. — you can
was ready to start to work a shipment. ship," he says. The "hatch" or signal get a different historical perspective.

"I've got two crane operators, two man would be the liason for communi- Almost any weekday morning
bulldozer operators, and I got a signal cation between the crane operator and you'll find Robert Fales on the second
man and about 20 more men in the bulldozer drivers, he says. floor of the New Hanover County
gang," he says, describing how a gang The crew washed down the decks Public Library 7
. Since his retirement from
of workers would empty a ship loaded afterward, but tougher environmental 53 years as a Wilmington physician, he

12
of Old Wilmington
keeps regular office hours in the local salvaged the material to surface their the line, Haywood says. He would wait
history room. streets. with other children for the chance to
If you arrive before Fales does, the "When I was a child, everything pull the cord that would reverse the
librarian can point out exactly where was downtown, but scattered all arm over the car.
he'll sit. around the neighborhoods. Chinese "It didn't matter how long you had
He arrives dressed in a suit and laundries, we had lots and lots of been waiting, you just had to get up
sweater vest. Once seated, he talks for them," says Fales. there first," says Graham. "Then the
hours about the town. Back at the shoeshine parlor, a driver would throw you a nickel."
The native Wilmingtonian has thin, black man in sunglasses leans In the 20s, a nickel would buy you
studied the history of this region for 25 against the wall, listening. He is a trip across the river's toll bridge on
years. He started out collecting informa- exasperated because Floyd and foot or bicycle. It cost 35 cents for the

tion about doctors who practiced here Haywood aren't telling stories as Pollock family's old Dodge to pass.

during the past century. vividly as they usually do. Times were tough then. Pollock

O
Q

I
"As the work went along, I found I He's not as old, but he recalls 4th remembers going down to the river

could not separate it from the town Street in the 1940s as a center of bank with his mother to collect coal

itself," says Fales, who has written two activity. that the dredges had kicked up from
books on Wilmington history. "My "On a day like today, this place the bottom. This excess coal that had
father ran a wholesale at 116 South would be just like the mall," says the spilled from barges during loading kept
Water Street, and when I was not in man, who declines to identify himself. his family warm in winter.

school I was down there with him," he "There were gypsies telling people's The room is a haze of cigarette
says. "The only paved street we had fortunes for money and medicine men smoke, dust and late afternoon sun.
then was cobblestone." peddling medicine for corns." Graham apologizes for leaving, but he
The cobblestones came from An electric streetcar served the has to go pick up his wife. He steps out

wooden ships that sailed into the hustle and bustle in the city from 1893 into the bright light on the 4th Street
harbor, casting overboard the stone to 1939. sidewalk. Come back some other day
ballast used to stabilize the empty There was five cents in it for you if when he's got more time, he says, and
vessels. The ships left with a cargo of you helped the driver change direction he'll really tell you some stories.

cotton or turpentine; the townspeople when the trolley reached the end of

13
Mole Crabs: Can You Dig 'em?
Imagine spending your gulls and sandpipers hover- they can't bite you. VOCABULARY:
lifetime tumbling and ing over them. In the summer months, swash - swift, dashing
scurrying about in a surge of The crabs are also a tasty you may notice bright orange water.
sand and water. treat to fish such as pompano eggs clinging to the bellies of crustacean - one class

Now you know how a and flounder swimming in the females. of arthropods that usually live
mole crab feels. shallow waters. That's why Another thing you may in the water and breathe
As waves crash onto the experienced fishermen scout notice is how crabs of the through gills; they have a
beach and retreat, the egg- out soft-shelled mole crabs to same size tend to hang out hard outer shell and jointed
shaped crab pops out of the bait their lines. together at the beach. appendages and bodies.
swash, races to a new spot Next time you're at the "The big crabs like to surf zone - Area of the
and digs in the wet sand as a beach, take off your shoes stay where the waves are beach where the waves break
new wave breaks. and let the surf lap at your crashing harder, and smaller and recede.
Watching this over and bare toes. You might feel the crabs tend to be farther up antennae - a pair of
over again, you might think tiny creatures scurrying the beach where it's calmer," movable, jointed sense
the mole crab a hapless around your feet as you says Lundie Spence, Sea organs on the head of
creature. But this tiny wade. Grant's marine education arthropods such as insects,
crustacean is actually well- Scoop up a handful of specialist. crabs, lobsters, etc.

suited to its unstable home. wet sand and you'll probably Scout around, she says, — Carta B. Burgess
One of the few creatures catch a few. They may tickle and you should be able to

that can survive in the surf the palms of your hands but find crabs of all sizes.

zone, the mole crab adapts

beautifully to its rumble-
tumble life. Having no claws
or pinchers, the crabs use
feathery antennae on their

heads to sift food from the

water.
Its powerful legs help the
mole crab burrow backward
in a hurry. The crab orients

itself to the outgoing wave so

its antennae can filter

plankton — tiny microscopic

plants and animals — from

the water.
You may notice a pattern

of tiny Vs that remain on the

sand as the water retreats

from the burrowed crabs.

Meanwhile, these speedy
crustaceans have predators
from land, sky and sea. Mole
crabs that are too slow make
a mouth-watering meal for

14
 From Sound To Sea
Natural Wonders of the Coast

The Plant With an Unusual Appetite

Charles Darwin called it "the most wonderful plant in the leaves — perhaps attracted to the leaf's bright red lining —
world." tickling the tiny hairs that coat the surface.

The great naturalist had traveled the globe, seeking clues This action encourages the flow of juices stored under
to the mysteries of plants and animals. Yet, no plant fascinated pressure inside the plant, releasing the woody tissue hinge that
him more than the Venus' flytrap (Dionaea muscipula), a holds the plant's "jaws" open. The sides of the leaf snap shut,
botanical marvel found only within a 75-mile radius of often in less than a second, creating a cellulose prison. Over
Wilmington, N.C. several hours, the released juices digest the insect.

No one has come up with a satisfactory answer as to why

this strange plant does not prosper elsewhere, but legends
abound. One traces the original flytrap spores to a wandering
meteor that struck the earth millions of years ago.

Of course, that's hogwash to most botanists. But none can

explain the flytrap's choice of habitat. They will tell you,

however, that the Venus' flytrap, and other insectivorous plant

species, are ideally suited to the low-lying, semi-bog savannahs

common along North Carolina's southeastern coastal plain.

The soils in these savannahs are seriously lacking in the
one nutrient essential for plant survival: nitrogen. Over millenia,
the Venus' flytrap and its cousins developed ways of snaring
insects to supplement their diets, thus getting the much needed
element.
In the Croatan National Forest near New Bern, biologist
Wayne Starnes keeps a careful watch over these unusual plants.
Dionaea muscipula

Oddly enough, the tiny hairs on the leaf's surface require

Over millenia, the Venus' flytrap two "tickles" to begin the trapping process. This prevents the
plant from closing on a dead leaf or other inanimate object.
and its cousins developed ways of
The Venus' flytrap spreads its leaves close to the ground.
snaring insects to supplement their diet, In May or June, the plant shoots tendrils about a foot into the
air. On these tenderils grow small white or yellow blossoms.
thus getting the much needed element.
Many people touring the southeastern area of North
Carolina refuse to go home without buying at least one sample
of the amazing insect-eating plant. Plant stores and roadside
"They are extensive over the southern part of the forest," stands sell Venus' flytraps and bulbs that have been propagated
he says. "They love the little shallow areas between the sandy in private nurseries. Jimmy Northrop of Northrop Insectivorous
uplands and the mud bottoms." Plant Farm near Wilmington ships them around the world.
Starnes says the plants are not endangered, but are Someone once remarked that the existence of plants such
considered "sensitive." They are protected by policy, but not by as the Venus' flytrap has given rise to fictions involving "man-
law. People who take them from the national forest can be eating trees" and other hungry greenery.
fined, he says. But who needs fiction when the truth is strange enough?
Contrary to popular belief, Venus' flytraps do not actually — C. R. Edgerton
"eat" their prey. A small insect crawls onto the flytrap's oval

15
 Marine Advice
Extending Knowledge to the Coastal Community

Relief For Ailing Shores

As long as there have been wind and waves, there's been
coastal erosion. But people have made the problem worse. Peat Erosion Occurs at Normal Water Levels
Our intensive use and mismanagement of estuarine shoreline
has created even more of a need to preserve its condition. Deposition Storm Water Level
Methods of controlling estuarine erosion — such as

bulkheads, groins or breakwaters — are as diverse as the

Peat Forms from Roots . Normal Water Level
shoreline itself. A number of them work. Others are ineffec-
tive. Some are even environmentally detrimental. And all are Erosion y
expensive.
Sea Grant is looking at a new strategy, breakwater-marsh,
which actually combines two veteran erosion-control methods
— offshore breakwaters and planted marsh. Low Breakwater
"The method is combining very small wooden breakwa-
Protects Marsh Breakwater
ters with planted marsh grasses to provide a lower cost
alternative," says Spencer Rogers, Sea Grant's coastal engi- could backfill it, the state learned of the violation.
neer. "It's perceived as an environmental asset because it After some negotiation, the state allowed the camp to
turns an eroding shore into marshland." leave the structure in place as an offshore breakwater. A Sea
The Albemarle-Pamlico Estuarine Study has recently Grant researcher planted some grasses behind one section;
provided some funding so that Rogers and selected property other grasses sprang up voluntarily.
owners can construct marsh-breakwaters as demonstration "This breakwater was very low — about 6 inches above
models. high water, and in water depths of 2 to 3 feet," says Rogers.
"Sea Grant has been doing research in marsh grass for "A marsh very rapidly became established, and it built up a
erosion control for many years," says Rogers. Marsh grass good peat layer."

plantings alone can control erosion in some sheltered areas. After the church sold the camp, the property was subdi-
These usually control bank erosion for three to five years; vided and purchased by individual owners who, unaware of
some last even longer. its significance, removed the breakwater. Within six months,
But used to control an eroding shoreline, marsh grass has most of the marsh was gone; in two years it had completely
its limitations. In areas of moderate to high wave activity, a disappeared. The bank erosion returned.
short life is one of them. "Eventually all the property owners built bulkheads to
The grasses develop a dense bed of stems that gradually protect the shoreline," says Rogers. "There's no marsh or
dissipates waves, and form a root mat or peat layer that is beach now. And all that was needed to keep the marsh in
very dense and erosion-resistant on the surface. But the outer place was this very low inexpensive breakwater."
edge of this peat layer is gradually undermined and eventu- Construction of marsh-breakwaters costs $25 to $35 per
ally collapses and disappears. foot of shoreline protected, including the cost of planting
Combined with a small breakwater that protects the outer marsh grass. Typical bulkhead prices range from $40 to $75
edge of the marsh, grasses can be survive much longer. per foot.

"The purpose of the breakwater is purely to prevent the All areas aren't suited to a breakwater-marsh, Rogers says.
marsh erosion. It doesn't actually protect the upland," Rogers The method is most useful in areas where there's too much
says. "The marsh or breakwater alone would not control bank wave activity for marsh grasses alone to work.
erosion." To keep the cost reasonable, the offshore waters must be
A good test of the combination occured unintentionally in shallow — less than 3 feet deep 50 feet offshore.
the late 1970s on the Pamlico River west of Bath. The owners The demonstration projects will be constructed in the

of a church camp, struggling to deal with their eroding northeastern part of the state during the next year.
shoreline, built an illegal wooden bulkhead. Before they — Carla B. Burgess
16
 Field Notes
Insights into Current Sea Grant Research

A Helping Hand for Nesting Waterbirds

Jim Parnell's a little worried.

Worried that a beachcomber's dog
might play deadly havoc with a nesting
colony of royal terns.

Worried that unwary children

might think nothing of tramping
through a pelican hatchery or use
hundreds of bird eggs in a fight.

In short, he's wonied that one

careless human act could spell death
for thousands of terns, gulls, skimmers
and pelicans. He's hoping folks and
their animals will leave shorebird
nesting sites alone.
Photo by C. R Edgerton
Since the early 1970s, Parnell, a
Jim Parnell
professor of biology at the University of channels and dumped their spare sand Commission eventually got involved in

North Carolina at Wilmington, has been on the islands, sometimes destroying waterbird management. Through it's

counting and studying North Carolina's the habitat desired by many of the non-game species program, the

colonial waterbirds, those that nest in nesting birds. commission began to use Parnell and
colonies instead of individually. Now, The Corps wanted to stop this Soots' research to institute a program
with the counting done, he's recom- destruction, but they didn't know when aimed specifically at protecting nesting

mending ways to manage them. certain species of birds would be colonies of waterbirds.

He'd hate to see two decades work nesting on certain islands. And, the National Audubon Society

come to nothing at the hands of people Enter Jim Parnell and Bob Soots. uses the information in managing its

who just don't know what they're Through their research, they Battery Island refuge at the mouth of
doing. identified not only the numbers of the Cape Fear River. One of Parnell's

"These birds are still fairly common colonial nesting birds on the North former graduate students manages the

so they like to gather in large groups Carolina coast, but they learned when refuge.

for nesting," he says. "That makes them they nest, where they nest and in "So, both public and private lands

susceptible to disaster." which habitats the different species are being managed with our research

Through funding from Sea Grant thrive. and suggestions," Parnell says. "All this

and other agencies, Parnell and The Corps of Engineers was glad started with our initial Sea Grant work
colleagues have done away with at to gain this knowledge. Now they use that was funded in the early 1970s."

least one danger that these multitudes this information and plan their dump- But the work doesn't stop here.

of birds once faced. ing and dredging in conjunction with "We still need to learn to manage
In the mid-1970s, he and Bob the schedules of nesting waterbirds. better," Parnell says. "We need further

Soots of Campbell University discov- "It was a natural extension of our research on refining our waterbird

ered that many common colonial research," Parnell says. "My concern managing techniques."

waterbirds built their nests on the had been to institutionalize what we'd As the coast gets more crowded,

numerous dredge islands along the Tar been doing in our research, to get management becomes more important,"

Heel coast. established agencies to use the informa- he says. "Now, more than ever, colo-

These islands were the domain of tion." nies of nesting waterbirds are vulner-

the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. They The Corps program was so able. It's up to us to protect them."

frequently dredged navigational successful, the North Carolina Wildlife — C.R. Edgerton
17
 A Bulletin Board of Updates and Events

Copeland Chairs Board ies, aquaculture, coastal processes, sea- improve their handling procedures. As a
Sea Grant Director B.J. Copeland food technology and estuarine studies. result, annual exports of fresh tuna have
has been named chairman of the South Copeland says he was happy with soared from less than $300,000 to more
Atlantic Regional Marine Research the scope and quality of research than $2 million in just five years.

Board. The South Atlantic Board is one represented by this year's proposals. • The Japanese import more than
of nine such regional boards established The proposals will now undergo 7,000 tons of the seaweed, Gracilaria,
last year by federal legislation to protect intense peer and state agency review. every year for food and agar, a gelati-

the nation's water quality. These reviews will dictate which nous product used as an additive in

Each board will include nine proposals are selected for the Sea cosmetics, air fresheners and pharma-
members: three appointed by the Grant omnibus proposal that will be ceuticals. In fact, so much of the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric presented to the National Sea Grant seaweed is being harvested that natural
Administration, two by the Environmen- College Program in July. supplies are dwindling. But Hawaii Sea
tal Protection Agency and six by the Grant has supported basic research that
governors of the states located in the Sea Grant Programs Help may allow commercial cultivation of the
region. Reduce Deficit seaweed in fish ponds soon.
One of the NOAA appointees will The United States imports about • To reduce the need for imported
always be a Sea Grant director, who half of the seafood consumed by fishery products, Sea Grant scientists

will act as the chairman. Copeland was Americans, resulting in an almost $7 from Maine to Hawaii are improving
chosen by the administrator of NOAA. billion annual trade deficit. culture techniques for these species:

The South Atlantic region includes Across the country, Sea Grant mussels, clams, oysters, scallops, hybrid
North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, programs are funding research projects striped bass, crawfish, salmon and
Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin and extension programs aimed at prawns.
Islands. North Carolina is also repre- reducing this deficit by increasing
sented in the Mid-Atlantic region, which foreign sales of our own products. Buying and Cleaning Soft
spans from North Carolina to New Here are a few examples. Crabs
Jersey. • A U.S. company called on a For many seafood connoisseurs,
In their first year, board members North Carolina Sea Grant specialist to there's no greater coastal delicacy than a
will assess the coastal water quality of assist them in developing harvesting soft crab battered and fried.

the region and develop a plan for technology for blue crabs in Turkey. If you have a hankering for these

protecting and improving it. Today, this company is selling more soft crustaceans, then late spring and
In subsequent years, the board may than 3,000 pounds of blue crabs per early summer is the time to feed your

be given federal appropriations to fund day to European markets, with profits need for this seasonal catch.

research and extension projects that accruing to the U.S. firm. You can buy soft crabs from sea-
relate to water quality. • Virginia Sea Grant worked with food markets or from fishermen who
a seafood processing firm to develop shed the crustaceans for $1 to $2 each.
Proposals Flood Sea Grant at-sea chilling and handling procedures Soft crabs should be bought either
Office for scallops. The higher quality scallops alive, freshly dressed or frozen, says Sea
On April 4, the Sea Grant office in now being produced by this firm are Grant seafood education specialist,

Raleigh needed a traffic controller as a being sold in Europe and Hong Kong. Joyce Taylor.
banage of researchers and messengers • Until recently the Japanese If you buy them alive, be sure to
dropped by to deliver 1992-1993 turned up their noses at the tuna clean them before cooking, Taylor says.

research proposals. available in the United States. It wasn't To clean, use kitchen shears to

At the end of the day, 43 proposals fresh enough for their raw fish market. remove the eyes and mouth by cutting

were stacked on the floor of Director Recognizing the problem, Sea Grant across the body just behind the eyes.
B.J. Copeland's office. The proposals specialists along the East Coast began Turn the crab on its back. Lift and re-

fell into five research categories: fisher- working with tuna fishermen to move the apron and vein attached to it.

18
 Turn the crab over and lift one Paper pieces ranked fifth at 17,350,

side of the top shell. With a small plastic pieces sixth at 16,624 and plastic

knife, scrape off the grayish-white gills. foam pieces seventh at 15,060.

Repeat on the other side. Rinse with Plastic food bags represented 12,719
cold water and pat dry. pieces of litter and the number eight

Never store freshly dressed crabs item. In ninth place was plastic foam
in the refrigerator more than one day, cups - 11,889 were picked up. Pieces
Taylor says. Crabs have a short shelf of glass - 11,302 of them - came in at

life and spoil easily. It's best to use the 10th place. Metal bottle caps ranked

crabs the day they are bought. busters lead the attack on shoreline 11th, with 9,282 collected. And the 12th

Although most coastal cooks pollution. most prevalent item - representing

prefer to fry their soft crabs, the cushy The girl and boy, along with their 9,208 pieces - was plastic caps and lids.

crustaceans can be baked, broiled, aquatic animal companions, fish, bird

grilled, stuffed and used with sauces. and turtle, have their hands full — of Boating Tips for Cleaner
Here's a recipe for you to try. cups, plastic and other throwaways.
Water
Stuffed Soft-Shell Crabs: And you will too, if you join them in
As a boat owner, you can do a lot
8 soft-shell crabs, cleaned helping to clean our littered waterways.
to preserve the water whose resources
1/4 c. chopped onion This year's Big Sweep is Sept. 21.
you enjoy so much.
1/4 c. chopped celery Join the Big Sweep Bunch by ordering
Remember the following rules of
2 T. chopped green pepper your T-shirt now. They're available in a
the aquatic road.
1 clove garlic, minced variety of sizes for children and adults,
• Use onshore restrooms and
1/4 c. melted margarine priced at S7 and $8.
pump-out facilities when possible.
1 c. cracker crumbs Children's T-shirts come in small (6-
Never release garbage or raw sewage
2 T. milk 8) and medium (10-12), and cost $7
from your boat.
1 beaten egg each. Adult sizes, small (34-36), large
• Keep a trash container on board,
1 T. chopped fresh parsley (42-44) and extra large (46-48), cost S8.
keep it covered and make sure every-
1/2 tsp. dry mustard To order, write The Big Sweep,
one on board uses it. If you dispose of
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce Box 8605, North Carolina State Univer-
your garbage at a marina, follow their
1/4 tsp. salt sity, Raleigh, N.C. 27695. Checks should
recycling rules.
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper be made payable to The Big Sweep. • Avoid bringing disposable plastic
1/4 c. melted margarine Include SI per shirt for postage and
products on board.
Saute onion, celery, green pepper handling. Please specify size and
• Make it a rule that no trash goes
and garlic in margarine until tender. In quantity.
overboard, including old fishing line.
medium bowl, combine sauteed
• Retrieve trash found in the water.
mixture with crumbs, milk, egg,
Big Sweep '90's Dirty Dozen
Dozen has
• Make sure your motor is not
parsley, mustard, Worcestershire, salt
The Dirty finally
leaking gas or oil. Don't drain engine
emerged from the 165 tons of trash
and cayenne. Place crabs in a shallow,
fluid into the water. Be careful not to
picked up across North Carolina during
well-greased baking pan. Remove top
Big Sweep '90.
spill when adding oil to your engine.
shell from crabs, and fill each cavity
After analyzing the data recorded by
• Place a bilge pillow — an oil-
with stuffing mixture. Replace top
aborbing sponge available in marine
the 10,000-plus volunteers who cleaned
shell. Brush crabs with melted butter.
the state's waterways, the Big Sweep stores — in your bilge to remove oil
Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or
from your bilge water.
until shells turn red and crabs brown has come up with the 12 most preva-
• Clean your boat with non-
lent shoreline litter items.
slightly. Serves 4.
phosphate detergent and a scrub brush.
Cigarette butts, new to last year's
Big Sweep HOT OFF Avoid using toxic polishes or stain
T-shirts data cards, were number one -
removers on or near the water.
THE PRESSES volunteers picked up 77,080 in all. The
North Carolina is celebrating the accounted for 19 percent of
• Obey posted speed limits, and go
filthy filters

Big Sweep '91 with a brand new cast slow near banks that your wake can
all the trash items collected.
of characters. erode.
Metal beverage cans came in

"The Big Sweep Bunch" makes From Earth Guide: 88 Action Tips
its second, with 25,443 retrieved. Glass
debut on our white, all-cotton T-shirts, for Cleaner Water, published by the
and plastic beverage bottles followed in

hot off the presses. Against a vivid third and fourth places, respectively,
Connecticut, New York and New Jersey
splash of aquamarine, these five Sea Grant programs.
litter- with 24,073 and 20,704 recovered.

19
 Coastwatch encourages readers to write concerning In reality, skates and most rays are less dangerous than
topics relating to North Carolina beaches. We also seek bluefish, for example. Skates do not have stingers, hut a few
feedback on articles and features appearing in the pages of species of rays have barbed stingers on their tails. These barbs
Coastwatch. Letters should be no longer than 250 words and contain a toxin that can cause painful puncture wounds. If
should contain the author's name, address and telephone you catch a ray, exercise caution and cut or clip off the tail.

number. Send all correspondence to Coastwatch, UNC Sea For a free copy of our brochure about how to catch and
Grant, Box 8605, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC prepare skates and rays for the table, write to us at the above

27695. Letters may be edited for style. Opinions expressed on address.

this page are not necessarily those of UNC Sea Grant employ-
ees or staff. Our First Paid Subscriber!

Sharks and Rays at The Point Dear Coastwatch,

I know the first new 16-page magazine is free, but I

Dear Coastwatch, hope I'm the first to send in a subscription for the
Many years ago, about 10, we were on The Point (at balance. It's well worth it
Buxton) when local netters brought in their catch in I've been participating as a Coastwatch recipient
their nets. and sponsor for about 10 years now and aim to continue
I can never forget the giant manta or sting ray (and I as long as your good work does. Sign me up!
mean giant!) that they left on the beach to die, along Again, thanks and keep up the good work.
with all the sharks. Sincerely, Cornelius Cummings, Allentown, Pa.
I know they are hardened salts, and it is hard to
change them. I think they are not allowed to net at The Coastwatch Survey Revealing
Point anymore. I know how dangerous the rays are (my
husband was stung by one!), but can anything be done We learned a great deal about our readers in a recent
about this? survey of randomly selected Coastwatch subscribers.
I respect the fishermen and their ways, but what can We found that you liked our newsletter but would
be done? I will never forget that ray trying to get back to support an expanded magazine format.
the water. We also discovered that most of you are older than 35
Sincerely, Mrs. James W. Morrison, Wayne, Pa. years, have subscribed to Coastwatch more than three years
and share your copy with others.

You are cornet, it is illegal to use a net to catch fish at The The survey confirmed our belief that you are very

Point at Buxton. For those who may not know, The Point is concerned about what's happening on North Carolina's coast.

that narrow sand spit that juts farthest into the ocean at Cape Most said water quality and rapid coastal development are the
Hatteras. major issues facing the coast in the 1990s. In your opinion,
It is a shame that the fishermen you witnessed allowed the other important issues include tourism, coastal research and
rayand the sharks they caught simply to die on the beach. aquaculture.
They may have been afraid of the creatures or the large ray We asked you about the job we do here at Coastwatch,
may have been too heavy for the fishermen to lift. and here's what you think. You like the way we focus each
They probably did not know that both of these fish are issue on a single topic. You would like to see more pages per
edible. The shark, in fact, is a marketable fish. issue, more in-depth reporting, more nature writing and more
Sea Grant research has shown that skates and rays are a information about the results of Sea Grant research.
little known delicacy of the seas. The magazine you hold in your hand is the result of your

Many fishermen reject these broad, flatfish because they views about Coastwatch. We hope that you enjoy the
are considered a nuisance. This prejudice is a result of the changes and that you continue to let us know how you feel

fish's ugly appearance and the idea that they are dangerous about what we're doing. Most of all, we hope you will
because of their long, stinging tail, says Sea Grant researcher continue to support our magazine by subscribing.
David Griffith.

20
 Book Store
Publications to Enrich Your Coastal Library

Almost everyone makes a Poster ll-by-28 1/2 inches, botanically accurate drawings some areas, water was so
trip to the beach during the explains what causes the of dune plants frequently turbid that the gills of peelers

summer. Why not use a little dangerous cunents, how to found on Tar Heel beaches. being held in shedding trays
of your beach time to learn detect them and what to do if For a copy, write Sea would clog and the pre-molt

more about this salty environ- you're caught in one. Grant. Ask for UNC-SG-87-01. crustaceans would die.

ment. If you want to know This valuable informa- The price is $4.50. Now, Wescott has
how to spot a rip current or tion saved the lives of a developed a pool filtration

identify a shell, send for these Charlotte woman and six SALT MARSH PLANTS system that will remove
Sea Grant selections. swimming companions. It As a companion to our suspended sand, silt and
can save yours too. dune plant guide, Sea Grant debris from the water of

SEASHELLS BY THE For a copy, write Sea offers a smaller, but equally flow-through shedding

SEASHORE Grant. Ask for UNC-SG-86-09. informative Guide to Salt systems. Used in marginal

No day at the beach is The poster is free, but please Marsh Plants Common to water, the same filtration

complete without a shell enclose Si to cover postage. North Carolina. system prolongs the holding
search at the surf s edge. This guide describes the time for peelers.

We're all attracted to these DELIGHTFUL DUNES plants that live in the brackish To learn how to con-

wonders of molluscan Dunes are a beautiful tidal waters of the salt marsh. struct a filtration system, send
architecture, but how many of backdrop to the roaring Like their cousins on the for the four-page illustrated

us know a coquina from a ocean. But the sandy dunes, salt marsh plants also Blueprint, Improved Flow-
cockle? mounds and the plants that have some special features Through Shedding Using
To identify the shells you stabilize them offer more that allow them to adapt to Sand Filtration. Ask for UNC-
collect, send for a copy of than beauty. the tidal marshes. SG-BP-91-02. It's free.

Seashells Common to North They offer protection. To identify the marsh

Carolina. This 36-page They buffer inland areas from plants, this guide also When ordering Sea Grant

booklet lists more than 100 wind, waves, tides and includes botanically accurate publications, please use your
shells frequently found along storms. drawings of more than 25 mailing label from Coast-
Tar Heel beaches. Although sand makes shrubs, vines, herbs and watch or the customer
Most listings have a brief the dune, vegetation holds it grasses. identification number that

written description of the in place. And the plants that For a copy, write Sea appear above your name.
shell and an accompanying stabilize dunes have some Grant. Ask for UNC-SG-81-04. This will speed delivery. Also

photograph or drawing for special adaptive features that The cost is $2. be sure checks are made
easy identification. The guide enable them to withstand the payable to Sea Grant unless
can be used on the beach or harsh beach environment. HOT OFF THE PRESSES otherwise specified.

in the classroom. To learn more about the When it comes to soft Send all publication

For a copy, write Sea ecology and biology of our crabs, demand still exceeds requests to: Publications, Sea

Grant. Ask for UNC-SG-72-09. coastal dunes, send for a supply. Grant Box 8605, North
The cost is $2. copy of A Guide to Ocean But Sea Grant agent Carolina State University,

Dune Plants Common to Wayne Wescott has devel- Raleigh, NC 27695. If you

RIP CURRENTS North Carolina. oped some new technology wish to order multiple copies
This poster can save your This 72-page guide will that may increase supply of or need further assistance,

life. teach you about dune habitat these soft crustaceans. contact Carole Purser,

Rip currents can be and the plants - trees, Until recently, thousands publication distribution

deadly if you don't know shrubs, vines, herbs and of miles of waterfront manager, at 919/737-2454.
how to spot them and how to grasses - that call this property were unusable for
get out of them. environment home. It soft crab production because
Sea Grant's Rip Current contains more than 50 of poor, murky water. In

21
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 :

Coasfwotch
Coastwatch Staff
Kathy Hart, Managing Editor
C.R. Edgerton and Carla B. Burgess,

Staff Writers and Editors

L. Noble, Designer
Julie Snyder and Debra Lynch,
Circulation Managers

The University of North Carolina

Sea Grant College Program is a
federal/state program that promotes the
wise use of our coastal and marine
resources through research, extension
and education. It joined the National
Sea Grant College Network in 1970 as
an institutional program. Six years later,

it was designated a Sea Grant College.

Today, UNC Sea Grant supports several
research projects, an 11-member
extension program and three communi-
cators. B.J. Copeland is director. The
program is funded by the U.S. Depart-

ment of Commerce's National Oceanic

and Atmospheric Administration and
the state through the University of
North Carolina.

Change of address, subscription

information or editorial correspon-
dence: Coastwatch, UNC Sea Grant,
Box 8605, North Carolina State Univer-
sity, Raleigh, NC 27695. Telephone:
919/515-2454. Please use the subscriber
number that appears on your label
when changing addresses. Coastwatch

is published six times a year. A year's

subscription is $12.

Postmaster: Send address changes to

Coastwatch, UNC Sea Grant, Box 8605,
North Carolina State University, Raleigh,
NC 27695. € 3
 N.C. DOCUMENTS
CLEARINGHOUSE

From The Top \TE LIBRARY

Dear Readers: bass. He visited two farmers who have traded their fields for ponds.
Thanks for subscribing to Coastwatch. We look forward to Edgerton also traveled Carteret County backroads with Sea Grant
providing you a year's worth of reading pleasure. extension agent Skip Kemp to find out why there is so much
For this issue, we're focusing on coastal aquaculture. interest in shellfish culture.

At Sea Grant, folks frequently drop by or call to ask questions Carla Burgess visited South Brunswick High School where
about raising hybrid striped bass, catfish or crawfish or about aquaculture is part of the cumculum. She learned from a North

growing shellfish on leases. Carolina State University scientist how to make the garden grow
Some are fanners looking for alternative, more profitable crops. with some fishy byproducts. And an extension specialist showed
Others are entrepreneurs searching for a sound investment that her a barn dedicated to fish culture.

will yield substantial profits. I took on the task of investigating crawfish and catfish culture.

Many see aquaculture as the way of the future. As wild stocks Crawfish, a long-time Cajun favorite, are finding a home in Tar Heel

of fish and shellfish are overfished or contaminated by pollution, ponds. And farm culture has elevated the catfish from the river

aquaculture is frequently seen as a growing source of "safe" bottom to haute cuisine.

seafood products. We hope you enjoy learning about the culture of fish and
Gambling on this prophecy, many North Carolinians are digging shellfish. If you would like to know more, be sure to contact the
ponds or obtaining leases to become farmers of the sea. sources listed at the end of each article.

In Beaufort County, C.R. Edgerton learned what it takes to grow See you next issue,
the latest entry into the aquaculture industry — the hybrid striped Kathv Hart

In This Issue

Eastern North Carolina: A Hotbed for Hybrid Bass .

2 A Boom in Backyard Shellfish Fanning 13
Keeping Catfish Down on the Farm 6 Young Mariners

Cajun Favorite Comes to Carolina 8 Meeting the Big Sweep Bunch 14

Aquaculture in a Class By Itself 10 From Sound To Sea

Striped Bass: A Heritage of Good Taste 15

Marine Advice

Encouraging Oyster Culture 16

A Barn Raising: Will It Pay Off? 11

The New Greenhouse Effect:

Growing Fish and Vegetables Side by Side .

.12
Field Notes

Secrets of Striper Spawning 17

The Aft Deck 18
Back Talk 20
The Book Store 21

COASTWATCH 1
HARDY HYBRIDS

Eastern North Carolina:

A Hotbed for Hybrid Bass
Hybrid Striped Bass
:
Muiwie x morone chnsops
saxatilis

• -"IP .

St
• -a\ •

'
•1
a*

6 *
43

By C.R. Edgerton Within two years, four other area

The striped bass is a species in farming families had made commitments to

danger. raise hybrid bass in ponds.

Legendary for its size and strength at Now some folks call this small town
the end of a rod and reel, the "rockfish" is "the hybrid striped bass capital of the

not often seen in its natural habitat. state."

Overfishing and poor water quality "I just saw hybrid bass as a good
have taken their toll. opportunity several years ago," Brothers

But in Aurora a hardy hybrid of this says. "The wild catches of striped bass
prized fish is doing quite well. were declining, and I figured the demand
Aurora is like any other small town in would be there."

America. He was correct.

When the guy down the road finds a In his first year of operation, his fish

new way to make money on the farm, the were grabbed up by fish dealers along the

neighbors prick up their ears. East Coast. The price was very good.
Three years ago, Lee Brothers Now, Brothers has 30 ponds stocked
successfully harvested and sold North with 600,000 fish. It's a job that leaves him
Carolina's first batch of hybrid striped bass. little time for anything else.

The neighbors swarmed Brothers like "You don't get any sleep," he jokes.

a bee on honey. "The fish literally have to be watched 24

2 JULY/AUGUST 1991
 "

hours a day, especially during the rewards will be great. It should pay off.

summer." That's why we're doing it."

Because of his pioneering efforts with

"It's one of those projects Tom Ellis agrees.

hybrid bass, Brothers has become a gum As the N.C. Department of

to others who wish to follow in his that Sea Grant took a Agriculture's director of aquaculture and
footsteps. natural resources, Ellis sees a bright future

But new producers mean new chance on back in the for hybrid striped bass in the Tar Heel
competition. And competition means state.

lower prices. late 1970's , and it "We've got about 75 ponds in

"I developed my markets by trial and production right now, and we're going to

and mostly on the telephone," see that number grow he

error
turned into something. significantly."

Brothers says. "Over a period of years, I've says. He expects about 150 ponds by this

gotten good markets, and try to hold on fall and 400 by next fall. Ponds average
I
Ron Hodson
to them. But there's one thing I can't from three to six acres.

change, and that's the price. If more "And I think it's safe to say that this

people are selling fish, the price is going will increase even though the price per
down." potatoes and com." pound will go down," he says.

When he started, Brothers was getting She's convinced her dad and mom Ellis says the current rush to get into

about S3. 50 per pound for his fish. Today, and three brothers to set aside about 200 hybrid bass production will ease over the

it's about S2.45. acres of the family farm for hybrid bass next few years, especially as the "less

Brothers' competition comes mostly grow-out ponds. efficient people fall out" of the market-

from people he's known all his life. The first of an expected 60 ponds was place.

People like Nancy Tyndall. finished May 10 and filled with 50,000 Most hybrid striped bass fanners in

"Farming is a tight business," says the fingerlings in mid-June. North Carolina purchase their fingerlings

34-year-old Tyndall, sitting in a restaurant From here, the sky's the limit. Tyndall from hatcheries in other states, including

she owns next to Highway 33. "You've got says. Florida, Arkansas and Tennessee.
to diversify. There's no way to make a "Sure, it's a big investment," she says. In North Carolina, only the Brothers
good living from just selling beans, "But from all we've checked into, the
Continued

Holding tanks at the Pamlico Aqitaculture Center, Aurora, N.C

COASTWATCH 3
 CR Edgerton
Nancy Tyndall and her first hybrid bass growout pond.

operation produces hybrid striped bass The North Carolina coastal plain is an
fingerlings for its own use. ideal site for hybrid striped bass produc-

But setting up hatcheries won't

The North Carolina tion. "We have lots of water; flat, clayey

become a reality until scientists can make a soil; and a good climate," Hodson says.

breakthrough with broodstock, Ellis says. coastal plain is an ideal "And we're fairly close to northern

"Right now. we're getting our markets."

broodstock from the wild," he says. "What site for hybrid striped But there are problems.
we're after is the ability to control brood- One major hurdle in hybrid bass

stock to spawn at any time of the year. That bass production. production is what Hodson calls "closing

way. we can leave the wild fish alone.'' the loop," or having complete control of

UNC Sea Grant researchers Ron the life cycle of the hybrid.

Hodson and Craig Sullivan are leading the Although total control has been

way in hybrid striped bass broodstock 1985. Sea Grant was extending this accomplished with most cultured fish, a

research (see related article on page 17). knowledge to fanners, and by 1987, with major breakthrough in that area hasn't
"Their work may open up this industry in the help of the National Coastal Resources occurred with hybrid striped bass.

three to five years," Ellis says. Research and Development Institute, the "We still have to go to the wild for

"It's true; hybrid striped bass produc- nation's first hybrid striped bass pond both white and striped bass, the two
tion is going to be a major industry," says culture was set up on the Brothers farm. components of our breeding program,"
Hodson. "It's one of those projects that Sea "We'll look back in history and point Hodson says. 'We'll be able to close the

Grant took a chance on back in the late to that event," Hodson says. 'That was the loop when we have developed a domesti-

1970s, and it aimed into something." start." cated broodstock. Until we do that, we
Hodson credits the foresight of Sea And what a start it was. can't do anything about genetic selection,

Grant Director B.J. Copeland and former During the winter of 1988-89. which has advanced the production of
researcher Howard Kerby for the success in Brothers harvested and marketed his first other species like trout and catfish."

North Carolina's hybrid bass research. crop of hybrid striped bass. Last year, with Until that cycle is under control, the

"Ours was the first study to examine three other farmers hopping onto the hybrid bass industry will not advance

hybrid striped bass in ponds." he says. "All hybrid bass bandwagon, about 120,000 rapidly.

the striped bass work in the country started pounds were produced in North Carolina. "We're at the mercy of state and
in the late 70s and, before we started, the Nationally, more than 3 million pounds federal agencies who see us taking a

hybrid had been raised in cages, but not in were produced and marketed. limited resource from the wild," he says.

ponds." "And the industry could easily expand "And, until we have domesticated brood-
From that initial research, the body of to thousands of acres of productive water stock, this won't get anything but worse."

knowledge grew by leaps and bounds. By in North Carolina," Hodson says. Some progress has been made.

4 JULY/AUGUST 1991
 "

C.R. Edgerton

For two years Hodson and Sullivan, all the better."

an assistant professor in zoology at North Hybrid bass farming is not without

Carolina State University, have refined the pitfalls. Fish farmers must be willing to

process of administering the hormones manage their ponds intensively, spend

needed for striped bass spawning. Their money and time, and heed good advice.
work has been supported by Sea Grant, A lack of a coordinated marketing

the National Coastal Resources Research system could also hinder hybrid striped

and Development Institute, and the N.C. bass production in the next few years. Ellis

Agricultural Research Service. says most hybrid bass producers in the

Meanwhile, because striped bass state have to create their own markets, as

females spawn for the first time when they Brothers did.

are about 5 years old, it takes longer to "And another thing is that we still

develop a stock of sexually mature fish don't understand all the environmental

that can be used in experiments. factors for hybrid bass," Hodson says. "The
"It may take another five years before riskiest time is when they are harvested

we can close the loop," Hodson says. and handled. We still don't know enough
"That's when we'll be able to say to the about it."

Andy Ginnett tags a mature female

farmer out there: 'Here's the way to A key to success in this early stage is

do it.' hands-on research and the kind of for growers not to set their sights on what
Hodson and Sullivan are hoping research he and Sullivan are doing. they're getting per pound today, Ellis says.

farmers involved in hybrid striped bass "They may get something to work for "As more people get into it, the price

production will continue their own brand them, but they won't know why it's per pound will fall. But still, it's such a
of hands-on research. working," he says. "That's where we come high quality fish, it's going to sell."

"These farmers are impatient," he in. We will be able to provide a scientific Despite the drawbacks, Hodson
says. "They'll be working on developing basis for broodstock development." recommends that people interested in fish

their own ways of domesticating Tom Ellis says the state's Department farming give hybrid striped bass a try,

broodstock." of Agriculture is encouraging research into "They need to ask themselves is this

For example, Lee Brothers developed broodstock domestication. something they really want to do," he says.

a hatchery and spawned a few fish this "We need to be able to control the "Then they need to read everything they

year. quality of the fish," he says. "And we need can about hybrid striped bass. You don't

"We had some success, but we realize to get out of the hunter-gatherer mode and have to be a biologist or have a back-
it's a slow process," Brothers says. "We'll more into the agricultural side. If aqua- ground in biology to do it. In fact, the only

keep working on them." culture can produce without competing way to learn is by being willing to put in

Hodson says there's a difference in with recreational fishermen, it makes it the time it takes to do it." % 3
.

Ron Hodson checks striper eggs.

For more information

about hybrid striped bass culture

contact Ron Hodson at 919/515-

2454. Hodson's manual, Raising

Hybrid Striped Bass in Ponds, is

available for $6 from UNC Sea

Grant, Box 8605, NCSU, Raleigh,

NC 27695. Ask for publication

number UNC-SG-91-05.

C.R. Edgerton

COASTWATCH 5
FARMED FISH

Keeping Catfish
Down on the Farm
Channel Catfish
Ictalurus punctatus

By Kathy Hart In fact, channel catfish are the most Others raise catfish as a hobby or
Below the Mason-Dixon line where successful aquaculture species in the source of supplemental income.
grits, fried chicken and iced tea reign king, United States. In 1989, 340 million pounds Channel catfish is the species of choice

there's no truer sign of regional cooking of the finfish were seined from farm ponds for most culturists in North Carolina and
than a plate heaped high with golden fried located mainly in the Mississippi Delta. other states. Other species can be raised
catfish, cornmeal hush puppies and french But as the popularity and use of the but don't produce high yields.
fries. delicately flavored fish grows, so does Most Tar Heel catfish growers are
In fact, true Southerners, those born interest in its culture. And North Carolina specializing in grow-out production. They
and reared in the heart of Dixie, make farmers and entrepreneurs, quick to see the stock their ponds with young catfish, called

pilgrimages to family-style fish camps merit and possible profitability of catfish fingerlings, that measure 5 to 7 inches in

perched on banks of muddy rivers to feed culture, are adding more ponds to the Tar length. Then they raise the finfish to a

their cravings for this fried catch. Heel landscape. harvest size of 1 1/4 to 2 pounds, says

Outside of the South, the catfish's In North Carolina, catfish growers have Steve Rawls, an area aquaculture specialist

image doesn't fare so well. In other areas, about 1,200 acres of ponds in production. with the N.C. Cooperative Extension

the whiskered finfish is seen as a lowly Last year, these ponds yielded 2 1 2 million Seivice.

river-bottom scavenger, whose muddy pounds of catfish; this year, the harvest is Neil and Diane Bowen, owners of
flavor makes it unfit for the table. expected to weigh in at 4 million pounds, Swindell Fish Famis in Pantego, have just

But people who think catfish aren't says Tom Ellis, director of aquaculture and finished harvesting the second crop of
good eating haven't run their taste buds natural resources for the N.C. Department catfish from their 48 acres of ponds and are
across a mild-flavored, farm-raised fillet of Agriculture. ready for their third stocking of fingerlings.
fresh from the oven. Large producers of catfish in North Neil says the couple has learned a lot

Yes, aquaculture has taken the catfish Carolina consider the culture of the finfish a about fish production and hard work since

from the river bottom to the farm pond, full-time business. Their ponds measure beginning their operation two years ago.
making it a delectable choice at up-scale from 10 to 20 acres, are stocked with 5,000 "A lot of people think you throw those

restaurants, in supermarket seafood or more fish per acre and are intensely little fish in the pond and then go back
counters and on the plates of a growing managed to maintain good water quality, to nine months later and harvest them," Neil

number of Americans. promote growth and to prevent disease. says. "There's a lot more to it than that."

6 JULY/AUGUST 1991
 "

From March until November, the can make $200 to $1,500 an acre." product they harvest is sold to the

prime growing season for catfish, the But poor management or a quirk of company for processing in its Ayden plant.

Bowens spend long days keeping their fate can just as easily send your bank In fact, most North Carolina catfish

ponds in top shape for their fishy crop. account tumbling. producers have contracts with Carolina

They watch the levels of oxygen, And the Bowens caution that it can Classic, a company dedicated to a high

nitrite, ammonia and pH in the ponds. take a few years of production to pay back quality product, Ellis says.

They check their fish for diseases, which the start-up costs. And when it comes to competing with
are common in intensive culture situations. Rawls and Ellis agree. Both tell all those catfish marketed from the Mississ-

And they keep an eye on the blooms of potential growers that catfish culture can ippi Delta, quality is the factor that sets Tar

algae that color the water. Algae die-off in be profitable, but there are also a lot of Heel catfish apart, Ellis says.

a pond can deplete the oxygen faster than costs, especially in the beginning. Catfish harvested from the delta often
a Southerner can say aquaculture. In some cases, investors must pur- have an off-flavor, which can be attributed

"Water quality is our biggest concern," chase land, dig ponds, acquire equipment to poor quality water. But that's not the

Neil says. "Any stress, particularly low and buy fingerlings. Farmers, switching case in North Carolina.

So what does the

future hold for this

"As our estuaries and whiskered finfish?

Ellis predicts that

sounds and the fish that in five years at least

5,000 acres of ponds

live in them are poisoned will be in production.

He's had five inquiries

with pollution, more
from processors
people are going to considering the

possibility of locating
turn to the quality and plants in North

Carolina. And Southern

assurance offered by
States Cooperative Inc.

farm-raised fish ." is investing S3 million

in its Farmville feed

Neil Bo wen plant to install equip-

ment that will produce

catfish feed.

dissolved oxygen, can cause fish to die. from the plow to the pond, sometimes Neil Bowen is looking expectantly to
That's why in the summer I'm at the ponds come out cheaper because they already the future too.

until twelve, one or two in the morning own land and some of their equipment "My wife and I think we got into this
moving aerators and checking DO can be converted. business on the ground floor," he says.
(dissolved oxygen) levels." "I quickly tell people interested in "We really believe catfish and aquaculture
Do the Bowens regret the day they investing in catfish that it is expensive and is the hope for the future.

dug their first pond? has limitations," Ellis says. "I'd rather they "As our estuaries and sounds and the
"Absolutely not," Neil says. "We plan be discouraged from the first than invest fish that live in them are poisoned with

to hold at the acreage we have for awhile, their life savings blindly." pollution, more people are going to turn to

then expand in a couple of years. We Ellis also tells potential producers to the quality and assurance offered by farm-
could potentially have 1,000 to 1,200 acres line up a market for their catfish before raised fish." s.

of ponds in production." they "move any dirt for their first pond."
Neil's enthusiasm for catfish lies in the "There is a saying in the seafood
For infomiation on catfish
profitability of the crop. business I always use," Ellis says. "It goes
much more culture and production, contact
"It's profitable than 'If you don't sell 'em, you smell 'em'
growing corn, beans and wheat," he says. The Bowens are contract growers for
Tom Ellis at the N.C. Department
of Agriculture (919/733-7125).
"On farmland, you make about $200 an Carolina Classic Catfish Inc., the only large
acre year in and year out. With catfish, you catfish processor in the state. All of the

COASTWATCH 7
CRUSTACEAN CULTURE

Cajun Favorite
By Kathy Hart
Comes
exceeds the amount of product crawfish
to Carolina
A producer never removes all of his
The national popularity of Cajun producers can supply, says Aubrey Onley stock. He leaves some behind to pare next

cooking has boosted the image of the Jr., president of the N.C. Crawfish Produc- year's crop. The crustaceans breed during
lowly crawfish. The once maligned, ers Association.

swamp-loving crustaceans have risen to Those kinds of

new heights in culinary use. economics have
Until 10 years ago, most Southerners farmers taking a

used the small lobster-like crawfish for second look at the

bait. They called them crayfish or feisty crawfish.

crawdads. it's an excellent

But in south Louisiana, where the way to diversify your
swamps run deep and the 'gators grow existing farming

big, crawfish are as revered at Cajun tables operations," Gabel

as hot peppers and red beans. says. "They're a low

Now folks outside the Pelican State maintenance, low
are developing a taste for this bayou cost species to raise."

favorite. And although Louisiana still reigns And they take

king in crawfish production, farmers in less technical know-
CR Edeerton
other Southern states are beginning to see how than raising
this crustacean as a culinary delicacy and a catfish or hybrid striped bass, Onley says. May and June, and the female holds the

cash crop. But you can't just dig a crawfish pond sperm until she lays her eggs.
Crawfish culture is the largest anywhere. In July, the producer begins draining
crustacean aquaculture food industry in Gabel says you need flat land with his ponds at a rate of an inch per day.

the United States. In Louisiana, 70 to 100 enough clay content to hold water. You Meanwhile, the crawfish burrow in the

million pounds of crawfish are haivested also must be able to pump 100 gallons of muddy pond bottom. Eventually, they

annually with 60 percent of that harvest fresh water per minute per acre of pond. tunnel to a moist location just above the
coming from ponds. Ponds vary in size, but all are shallow, water table.

Crawfish take to pond culture like about 18 to 24 inches deep. After the pond has been drained, the

babies to milk. They flourish in less than In most cases, producers stock their producer plants a forage crop — rice, grain

ideal culture environments. They eat a ponds once with sexually mature crawfish sorghum or sorghum-sudan grass — to feed

variety of plants and animals, reproduce at a rate of 50 to 75 pounds per acre. At his crawfish when the pond is re-flooded.

often and numerously, and grow quickly. least 50 percent of the crustaceans should In most cases, the crop provides all the

In North Carolina, crawfish aquacul- be female, but it is better if the ratio is 60 nourishment the crawfish need, and the
ture is a fledgling industry, but one that is to 70 percent. producer doesn't need to supplement the
trying to make a splash among Tar Heel Unless water quality problems occur crustacean's diet.

consumers. or a reproductive class is lost, crawfish will In her underground burrow, the female
At present, there are 14 crawfish reproduce in ample numbers to restock lays 400 to 700 eggs in August or September
producers in North Carolina harvesting the pond from year to year. and holds them beneath her tail. The eggs
from 180 acres of ponds. Red swamp crawfish is the species of hatch two to three weeks later but remain

These producers harvest about choice for culture in the Southeast. It's beneath the shelter of their mother's tail

100,000 pounds of the clawed crustaceans hardy and lays an abundance of eggs. until the pond is re-flooded in late Septem-

between March and the end of June, says Some culturists also stock a small percent- ber or early October.

Steve Gabel, an area aquaculture specialist age of white river crawfish. But it is neither When the pond is re-flooded, the

with the N.C. Cooperative Extension as hearty nor as prolific. crawfish emerge from their burrows. During

Service. Most of their product is sold live In North Carolina, crawfish are harv- the fall and winter, they munch out on the

by the pound inside the state. ested between March and late June using forage crop and grow, periodically shedding

In fact, the demand in North Carolina traps that work and look like crab pots. their rigid exoskeletons.

8 JULY/AUGUST 1991
 "

By March and April, when it's time to expect $2 to $2.85 per pound this year, grocery store seafood counters.

harvest, the crawfish are a marketable size Onley says. That dollar figure is almost "People have got to tell restaurants

and sexually mature. double what Louisianians get for their they want to see them on the menu."

Sound easy? swampy catch. Gabel says. "And they've got to ask for

It is, says Onley. Why the difference? them at the seafood market. You have to

But one word of caution about the North Carolina producers offer a create demand."
Cajun favorites: Watch the level of better product, Gabel says. There's no wild Meanwhile, if you get a cravin' for the

dissolved oxygen in the ponds. Producers catch; all Tar Heel crawfish are farm- Cajun crustaceans, you can contact Gabel
should check their flooded ponds daily or raised. or the Crawfish Association (telephone

every other day to make sure there is And producers in this state purge numbers below). They'll send you a
enough oxygen in the water to keep the their crawfish before they put them on the brochure that will tell you how you can
crawfish alive. If oxygen levels get low. market. To purge, producers keep the get next-day UPS delivery of live Tar Heel

they should aerate the pond water. crawfish alive and wet so the crustaceans crawfish.

"There's really only three ways to kill will digest all of the food in their vein. What does the future hold for these

a crawfish," Gabel says. "You can poison A purged crawfish translates to less Cajun imports?
them with an accidental spillage of cleaning before cooking for the consumer. Gabel and Onley say a better image,
pesticide, allow your dissolved oxygen to And what do consumers think of more producers, more crawfish and the

get too low or let something eat them." crawfish? possibility of research providing an
At harvest, crawfish usually measure 3 "Ninety percent of the people who try extended harvest season. %
1/2 to 4 inches in length. It takes 20 to 25 it like it," Gabel says. "But a lot of people
of the clawed creatures to make a pound. are afraid to try something different." For more information about
But Onley says he trapped some The N.C. Crawfish Producers Associa- growing crawfish, contact Steve Gabel
crawfish in May that tipped the scales at a tion is working hard to introduce the at the N.C. Cooperative Extension
quarter pound each. Cajun favorites to Tar Heel diners. This Service office in Edenton. His number
The production of crawfish per acre year, the association sponsored crawfish is 919/482-8431.
of pond varies from producer to producer. boils at several locations across the state. For more information about buying
Gabel says. It depends on how intensively At the N.C. Farmers Market in Raleigh, the crawfish, contact Aubrey Onley Jr. with
the producer has managed his ponds. But association sold 1,100 pounds of crawfish the N.C. Crawfish Producers Associa-
Gabel estimates the average production in in about an hour. tion at 919/426-9980. Or write N.C.

North Carolina at about 500 pounds per But in most parts of the state, the Crawfish Producers Association, P.O.
acre. crustaceans are still a rarity on restaurant Box 1030, Edenton. NC 27982.
For their efforts, producers could menus, in seafood markets or along

What does a crawfish taste like? How do you increase the value of
Crawfish producer Dr. Clancy a crawfish?
Ballinger of Trenton Aquaculture says their Allow it to shed its shell.

taste is most like shrimp. Buyers shell out $10 to $12 a pound
Aubrey Onley Jr.. president of the N.C. for crawfish in their softened state.
Crawfish Producers Association, says their Crawfish, like blue crabs, must shed

taste is a cross between shrimp and lobster. their shells to grow. For a short time after
"They have a real rich flavor, " Onley they shuck their old duds, crawfish are

says. entirely soft and can be eaten whole.

But Joyce Taylor, Sea Grant's seafood How do you find one of these cushy
education specialist, says, "A crawfish tastes crustaceans?

like a crawfish. When you harvest crawfish, you look

When it comes to eating, Ballinger for the signs of an impending molt and
prefer the crustaceans cooked the Louisi- place these creatures in separate trays.

ana way: boiled in spices. But Onley says When they do take it all off you remove
the way to his heart is crawfish etoufee. them from the tray and freeze them.

COASTWATCH 9
SEAFOOD STUDIES

Aquaculture in a Class By Itself

By Carla B. Burgess When the ponds at a munitions depot program off and mnning. With an
The sign outside Barry Bey's class- at Sunny Point started drying out, it was associate degree in wildlife management,
room proclaims aquaculture the wave of Bey's students who joined the U.S. Army three years work for the N.C. Wildlife

the future. With that in mind, a lot of his Corps of Engineers in rescuing and Resources Commission and the design and
students are ready to "hang fin." relocating the threatened fish. development of his brother's catfish farm
Take Eddie Shannon, for instance. As part of their community seivice under his belt, he plunged into his first

The 16-year-old sophomore enrolled duties, the students stock nearby Boiling teaching job with no fear of the water.

in beginning aquaculture at South Springs Lakes each fall with largemouth The program was started on less than
Brunswick High School last fall. It was a bass, bluegill and fathead minnows. $9,000.

natural progression for Shannon. "It's become a legitimate career "He's one of the leaders in high
"I've always liked fishing — it's my
main hobby." he says. "I'm looking into

going into the wildlife protection agency

or just becoming a fish farmer."

After school, he works part-time on

nearby fish farms doing whatever needs to
be done — seining ponds to harvest or

transport fish and cleaning the fish for sale

to local restaurants. He has even helped a

local fellow put in a bulkhead to control

his pond erosion.

Shannon and the other students who

attend Bey's vocational aquaculture classes

are receiving a unique education — one

that only a handful of high schools offer
nationwide. At an early age, these students

are getting helpful insight into the fast- choice, not just an elective," Bey says of school education," says Tom Losordo,
growing aquaculture industry. the four-year-old aquaculture program. aquaculture specialist with the N.C.

Shannon's classmate, Julie Lampe, 15, This model program has achieved Cooperative Extension Service. Losordo
plans to put her expertise to work outside celebrity not only in North Carolina, but has been an advisor to the program, as has
the classroom. Equipped with the hows nationwide. The class even captured the Douglas Holland, president of Brunswick
and whys of aquarium maintenance, she international spotlight last year during a Aquafarms.
hopes to be tending the fish tanks at the television program, "Get Hooked on "He's into education as much as he is

N.C. Aquarium at Fort Fisher this summer. Aquaculture," which aired in the United business," Bey says of Holland, who uses
Her goal is a career in marine biology. States. Canada and overseas. the students in the afternoon to help with

In the combination classroom-and-lab, Bey has had no shortage of phone his catfish harvesting. "He set up in this

Bey's students have learned how to calls and letters from people in other states area because we had the available labor."

identify freshwater and saltwater species, who want to know the secret of his And with more than 5,000 acres of

how to recognize and treat fish disease, success. catfish ponds predicted for this locale

and how to manage water quality. South Brunswick Principal Mose within the next two to three years, the job

They have raised largemouth bass Lewis gets credit for the idea of a hands-on market for budding young aquaculturalists
from eggs to adults. They've also reared vocational education program about looks bright.

fathead minnows, white bass, grass carp, aquaculture. It made good sense in an area One of the first students to complete

bream, catfish, striped bass, tropical fish near 50 freshwater lakes and within 10 the program is now the assistant manager
and frogs. They've even culaired miles of the Atlantic Ocean. at a fish farm.

cherrystone clams. "It had a lot of support in the "We have had some of the kids go to

Outside of the classroom, they have community," says Bey. "Some of the first Cape Fear Tech and take marine biology;

applied their knowledge in ways that may students came from fishing families." one girl got a job with the EPA; some
eventually lead them to their life's calling. Bey was responsible for getting the others work in pet shops," says Bey.

10 JULY/AUGUST 1991
 1

"Some of them
families as
just go back
commercial fishermen."
to their
A Barn Raising: Will it Pay Off?
The most integral ingredient in South By Carla B. Burgess uralists to observe with optimism, but

When comes to studying the proceed with caution.

Brunswick's aquaculture program is the it

economics of aquaculture, North "All I say is wait. Let us spend the

students, who have distinguished them-
Carolina is staying in the swim of things. money first," he says. The N.C. Fish Barn
selves by undertaking tough projects.
At North Carolina State University, represents about a $150,000 investment.
This year, they raised a tank of
thousands of red tilapia make their The project is a joint effort of the
rainbow trout, a cool-water fish found
home in five state-of-the-art re-circulat- N.C. Department of Economic and
almost solely in the mountains. The
ing systems inside the largest demon- Community Development's Energy
students were successful in keeping them Division, N.C. Cooperative Extension
stration model of its kind in the country.
alive despite warm climate.
It's called The Fish Barn, a project Service, N.C. Agricultural Research

But more impressive was their attempt that may answer the question. "Is it Service and NCSU's College of Agricul-
this past spring to do a "reciprocal cross" economically feasible to raise fish in ture and Life Sciences,

of hybrid striped bass. In this experiment, tanks?" On this early summer morning,
usually attempted only by researchers and "We'll know in another year or so," Losordo has just led a tour of the barn

professionals, a female white bass and a says Tom Losordo in response to his for some N.C. Teaching Fellows. He's

own question. Losordo, an assistant given more than 25 tours since its
male striped bass are used to achieve the
professor of zoology and biological and opening.
hybrid.
agricultural engineering at NCSU, is the "It's used as a teaching facility for
The class decided to try the reciprocal
project's principal investigator and an whoever wants to learn — a farmer,
cross because the broodstock was
aquaculture specialist with the N.C. entrepreneur or students," he says. "The
available. Though the spawning was
whole idea behind the project to
Cooperative Extension Service. is

unsuccessful — a trace of chlorine and

In February, researchers stocked demonstrate state-of-the-art technology
uneven temperatures in the water killed and educate the public.
3,375 tilapia each into four 5.500-gallon
the eggs — the students learned by doing. tanks and 1,800 into one 2,200-gallon "We're demonstrating technology
"Even though the experiment failed, tank. and evaluating technology at the same
they got the learning experience from it," Four types of biological filters, used time," he says.

says Bey. "Next year, we can do it. We to removed suspended solids and Come fall, researchers will harvest

know the procedure now." ammonia, are being tested in unique their first crop of tilapia, which will be

Bey's classes — which include a 12- configurations for each tank. test marketed in the United States and

week, beginning and advanced course — Each tank can produce about 4,000 Europe by corporate sponsors. Losordo
pounds of fish every six months. says tilapia can bring $1.25 to $1.35 per
are a bundle of subjects in one. The
Losordo says the system could be a pound wholesale, and up to $5 a pound
program integrates science, business and
good alternative production system for from gourmet restaurants.
even engineering. The students did all the
fish farmers "that don't have enough The Fish Barn will be stocked with
plumbing and built all the stands for their
second crop through the and
water to grow them in ponds or on the a fall

500-gallon circular tanks, aquariums and researchers will attempt

coast in an area where they can't get a winter,
and troughs. Bey says. permit to discharge the water to hybrid striped bass production next
The class is not allowed to compete environmentally sensitive areas. summer.
with local businesses, but their payoff "They could run the small amount Other researchers, including some

comes in practical work experience. For of wastewater into the sewer or use it from other Sea Grant programs, are

example, the students maintain two ponds on a garden," he says. "A thousand conducting experiments at the facility. A
gallons of water would make a great Louisiana State University researcher
at nearby Walden Creek Fish Farm. They
lawn sprinkler and (would) be high in developed a prototype bio-bead filter
get local restaurants to buy from owner
nitrates." that is being tested with the re-circulating
Tom Jones. With the money he makes,
Each tank uses 100 to 500 gallons tanks. "It's the first two of this size to be
Jones pays the students to clean the fish.
per day of new water and re-circulates tried in the world," Losordo says.
Soon the students may have ponds to
200 gallons per minute. This summer and fall, Losordo is

call their own. Plans are underway to

conducting workshops that include a
"The whole idea is to make it an
construct four near the school's football lecture on the theory behind the tech-
energy-efficient and water-efficient
field.
system," he says. nology and four hours in the fish barn.

"They get the ideas and concepts But set-up costs can range from For more information about
here," says Bey. "Then they can go use thousands to millions of dollars. That's The Fish Barn, contact Losordo at

what they know on the large farms." % ;

why Losordo advises aspiring aquacult- 919/515-7587.

COASTWATCH 1
RESOURCE RECYCLING

The New Greenhouse Growing Effect:

Fish and Vegetables Side by Side
By Carla B. Burgess

With all the talk about chemicals in

our food, excessive use of water and too

much agricultural waste, it's easy to
wonder if we can sustain ourselves
without ruining the world.

A research group at North Carolina

State University has slow-cooked a partial

solution in a greenhouse.

It's called integrated aquaculture-

vegeculture. It employs all those concepts

that have become politically correct in the

90s — "recycling," "organic," and "conser-

vation." McMurty, Sanders and Sea Grant aquacul- It can also teach small countries how
The brainchild of Mark McMurtry, ture specialist Ron Hodson, a one-half acre to get more from their fishes and loaves.

who received his Ph.D. in horticultural integrated greenhouse system can gross up The inhabitants of the small African

science from NCSU, the system involves to S240,000, a net profit of about S24 per country, Namibia, might use the system to

growing fish and vegetables in a symbiotic square yard per year. A conventional raise their own native tilapia and produce
relationship. vegetable greenhouse nets about 50 cents a vegetable crop to feed their people.

"Mark came up with the idea of per square yard per year. Sanders and McMurtry are working on a

intermittently applying fish waste to a sand For each half acre, the integrated project that would export the system there.

bed and allowing this water to drain back system can produce 92,400 pounds of fish, But like any new idea, Sanders says it

into the fish tank," says Doug Sanders, a 110,000 pounds of tomatoes and 149,600 will take more time and experience to

N.C. Cooperative Extension Service pounds of cucumbers per year. provide conclusive results to the public.

specialist who is project coordinator and It also provides year-round produc- "I think it's something that has real

professor of horticultural science at NCSU. tion of food with minimal water consump- potential," he says. "It will require a careful

The pump removes fish feces and tion. marketing plan to do this. There is a

uneaten food that accumulates at the "Water is added only to make up for growing demand for tilapia."

bottom of the tank, reducing the ammonia evaporation and plant transpiration," says The research group is working on a
which can kill the fish. The wastewater is Sanders, adding that the water is new project to develop culture practices

pumped into a planted sand bed that recirculated 100 to 300 times. A given for "continually planting and harvesting
filters out the nutrients, simultaneously gallon of water is recycled repeatedly, fish and vegetables," Sanders says.

fertilizing the vegetables. The clean water staying in the tank 12 to 38 days. Meanwhile, a cooperator in Beaufort

is aerated and returned to the fish tank. The system conserves land resources County plans to construct a 1/4-acre

"The biofilter is the sand bed with the through its intensified culture. It works in demonstration system near Bath.

plants," Sanders says. "It cuts the ammonia areas with poor soil and climate, and "While we'll be doing some experi-

and nitrate level in half, which is a adapts to almost any region or culture. mentation, their aim is to make it commer-
reasonable level for the fish." It can be expanded for commercial cially feasible," Sanders says. ©
The system has produced tilapia, a use or scaled down for the backyard.

hardy, disease-resistant fish native to West McMurtry has drawn up a plan for high

Africa, and tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce school teachers to use in developing For more information about
and basil. demonstration projects for their students. re-circulating systems, contact

"We were able to grow all of these "It teaches symbiosis, re-circulation Sanders at 919/515-3283, or write

crops without any additional nutrients, and and conversion of nitrogen," says Sanders. IAVS Research Group, Department
sometimes without liming or adjustment of And what high-tech equipment would of Horticultural Science, Box 7609,

the pH," Sanders says. a teacher need? NCSU, Raleigh, NC 27695-7609.

The system is profitable too. "An aquarium, Rubbermaid dishpan

According to a paper written by and a pump," he says.

12 JULY/AUGUST 1991
 SOWING SHELLFISH

A Boom in Backyard Shellfish Farming

public," Ellis says. have taken advantage of a new law that

"That's why there's allows leasing not only the bottom but the

a requirement for a water column too.

certain amount of Hundreds of thousands of clams and

production on each oysters are reaching market size on the

lease." Brady lease at Harker's Island.

Then there are But there's a cost factor involved in

poachers. Thieves. leasing the water column that most small-
Ruthless people timers can't afford.

who prey on a In addition to the $5 per acre fee for

shellfish lease leasing the bottom, Brady pays another

when no one's $500 per acre for the right to use the water
looking. column.
"The law has For that money, he's allowed to grow

been changed in oysters off the bottom in bags suspended in

recent years to the water. He also has permission to fence

protect shellfish in his lease, effectively protecting the site

aquaculture as a from poachers and recreational water users.

commercial "It's expensive to do it that way," says

enterprise and the Sea Grant marine advisory agent Skip

By C.R.Edgerton penalties for poaching are high," Ellis says. Kemp. "But if you're a big time operator,

When it comes to shellfish, everyone "But that still doesn't stop the thief." you can do it."

wants to get into the act. And if that's not enough, environmen- Kemp says Brady's operation is the

Clam and oyster culture claim more tal factors like pollution and disease can exception in the shellfish business. "I don't

adherents than any other type of aquacul- often ravage a shellfish operation. Most think there's going to be any spurt of large

ture in the Tar Heel state. dreaded among oyster farmers are MSX operations coming in," he says. "In fact,

"There's more demand for clams and and dermo. two killer diseases. we're encouraging small-time operations."
oysters," says Tom Ellis, director of "It's hard to work an oyster bed, Meanwhile, Kemp and others involved

aquaculture and natural resources for the invest in all that time and money only to in shellfish culture are trying to persuade
N.C. Department of Agriculture. "That have it all destroyed by diseases," Ellis lawmakers to change legislation in favor of

makes shellfish aquaculture a more viable says. shellfish leaseholders, especially oyster

enterprise than ever before." When one considers the time it takes growers.

About 300 people hold shellfish to get a shellfish lease (on the average "The law needs to change in how-
culture leases in North Carolina's public about six to eight months), the monetary oyster culture methodology is defined,"

waters, Ellis says. "That's more than all the and time investment and the chance for Kemp says. "Oysters grow better when
other forms of aquaculture combined, poachers and disease, shellfish aquaculture they're kept off the bottom and grown in

including trout, catfish and hybrid striped doesn't sound like a viable enterprise. modular containers. Now, the law doesn't
bass." "I wouldn't go that far," Ellis says. allow that unless a water column lease is

Clams, oysters, even scallops are being "Like I said, there's more demand than obtained. And that can be expensive."
raised in mostly small operations up and ever for clams and oysters. And, when you One state that has responded to the
down the Tar Heel coast. consider that the average price for a particular needs of oyster growers is

Yet, shellfish culture is still in its bushel of clams is about $55, it looks a Florida, where culturists are allowed to use
infancy, at least technologically. little more attractive." up to 12 inches of the water column with-
"We're still in the gatherer stage with And sometimes it works on a large out acquiring an expensive lease.
shellfish," Ellis says. scale. A free water-column permit is

And there are other problems. Fish are Doug Brady, owner of Otis' Fish available to Tar Heel shellfish growers only
raised primarily on private land, but Market in Morehead City owns the state's if the use of the water column is experi-

shellfish must be cultured in public waters. largest shellfish production operation. His mental and in small amounts. The permit
"The shellfish producer must prove lease includes 10 acres of shellfish bottom. does not allow commercial-sized ventures. %
that what he's doing is benefiting the He is the only shellfish culturist to

COASTWATCH 13
 Young Mariners
Coastal Adventures for Curious Minds

Meeting the Big Sweep Bunch

Big Sweep is back with a brand new human life too! You can join them. creative names for these heroes of the

bunch of friends to help tackle the problem We've provided these finger puppets environment, and use them in your puppet

of trash in our oceans, rivers and lakes. We for you and your friends to play with. Just shows. Write and tell us what you named
call them "The Big Sweep Bunch." get a parent or a teacher to photocopy them them. We'd love to hear your ideas!

Litter is not only ugly, it can be harmful on thick paper, enlarging them so that Our address is The Big Sweep, Box
or even deadly to living creatures. they're about 5 inches tall. Color them; care- 8605, North Carolina State University,

When Sept. 21 rolls around, these five fully cut them out; and they're ready to go! Raleigh, NC 27695.

litter busters will be there with trash bags to Our girl, boy, fish, turtle and bird Have fun! @
help keep our shores safe for wildlife and haven't been named yet. Think of some Carta B. Burgess

14 JULY/AUGUST 1991
 oundToSea
Natural Wonders of the Coast

Striped Bass: A Heritage of Good Taste

Twenty-five years ago, anglers could wade knee-deep in the

Hatteras surf, cast a line just beyond the breakers and expect the
tug-of-war it took to haul in a 40-pound striper.

Not anymore.
Stripers, more correctly known as striped bass, have suffered
sharp declines in populations all along the East Coast during the
last 20 years. The reason? Pollution, overfishing and loss of
spawning habitat.

In fact, populations became so scarce that federal and state

fishery resource managers along the Eastern Seaboard slapped a

bevy of regulations, restrictions and moratoriums on the recre-

ational and commercial capture of stripers.

Everyone was interested in rescuing the fish that meant so

much to sportsmen, commercial fishermen and the history of this which are associated with their spawning rivers. Two of the
nation. populations. Roanoke River/ Albemarle Sound and Cape Fear, call

From his Jamestown settlement in Virginia, Captain John North Carolina home.
Smith made early note of the abundance and size of the striped Most striped bass are dark olive-green to dark gray along
bass he found in the rivers of the Chesapeake. their backs, silvery along their sides and white on the belly. They
"The Basse is an excellent Fish, both fresh and sake." he have seven or eight dotted dark stripes along their sides.
wrote. "They are so large, the head will give a good eater a dinner, Striped bass, like salmon, are anadromous. They move from
and for daintinesse of diet they excell the Marybones of Beefe. the ocean up rivers to spawn in fresh water.

There are such multitudes that I have seene ... so many as will Spring is spawning season for stripers. They like to choose
bade a ship of 100 tonnes." river areas where the water is fast-moving or turbulent.
The Plymouth colonists also found the striped bass in ample One large female striped bass is surrounded by several
supply and made them a regular part of their diet. In fact, they smaller males. The bass begin thrashing the water in a courtship
prefened the stripers to salmon. ritual fishermen call "rock fights." During the fight, the female
The Massachusetts colony became so zealous in their releases 3 million to 4 million eggs that the males fertilize.

consumption and use of striped bass as a fertilizer for farm crops If not caught, striped bass can grow to be large. A seven-
that harvests diminished. In 1639, the Massachusetts Bay Colony year-old fish can weigh 20 pounds and measure 36 inches in

ordered that neither striped bass nor cod could be used as length. By the time a striper reaches the age of 14, it can weigh 40
fertilizer. pounds and measure 40 to 42 inches in length.

A subsequent act in 1670 declared that income derived The largest striper ever caught tipped the scales at 125

from the Cape Cod striped bass, mackerel and hening fisheries be pounds. It was caught in Edenton in 1891. Biologists estimate that

used to build a free school. This legislation resulted in the first the fish measured at least 6 feet in length.
public school in America. It was made possible largely through the Although sportsmen love to haul in the big stripers, it's the
sale of striped bass. smaller ones that make better table fare. Striped bass are best eaten

After the colonial period, striped bass were abundant along when they weigh 6 to 8 pounds. As the fish grows heavier, its

the East Coast. Prior to the Civil War, stripers became a fashionable flesh becomes more coarse.
sport fish, and after the war, associations of sportsmen dedicated Today, because of catch restrictions, it's rare to see a striper

to their capture were formed in New England. grace the table. But fisheiy resource managers are hoping that
Stripers are distributed along the Atlantic Coast from the St. fishery restrictions and hatcheries will once again boost popula-
Lawrence River in Canada to the St. Johns River in Florida. tions of this popular fish. %#
Biologists divide East Coast striped bass into nine populations, KathyHart

COASTWATCH 15
 Marine Advice
Extending Knowledge to the Coastal Community

Encouraging Oyster Culture

As he drives past a mountain of wood
chips at the Morehead City poit, Skip

Kemp's eyes brighten for a moment.

"Hey. Oysters like to settle on wood.
If I could use wood chips for cultch
."
material. .

He fishes a notebook from his hip

pocket and writes, steadying the steering

wheel with his other hand.

"If I don't write it down, I'll forget it,"

he says, laughing. "I must be getting old."

Ideas are a major pan of Kemp's job.

As a Sea Grant Marine Advisory Seivice

agent, he's expected to help others come
up with better ways to use coastal "We've got a long way to go to in summer when oysters are spawning.

resources. oyster culture," Kemp says. "But we keep Contact DMF for facts on relaying oysters

Recently, he assembled his years of working on it." from polluted areas.

practical and applied research into a Here are a few of Kemp's tips on how • Monitor and manage your lease.

manual on how to raise hard clams on you can raise oysters — for your own use "You can't just leave them out there
leased estuarine bottom. or for sale — on leased estuarine bottom. without putting some work into the lease,"

The manual, published by Sea Grant, • Check the area to see if there are Kemp says. Keep the cultch clean and free

is going like hotcakes. oysters already there. If there are a few, of silt and other material.

These days, Kemp is concentrating on chances are the site will be good for oyster • Harvest your oysters in two to three

growing more and better oysters on that culture. Contact the N.C. Division of years. "It's not a fast process by any

same estuarine lease. Marine Fisheries, and tell them of your means, and the grower should be patient,"

"We've pretty much got clams down intentions. They'll tell you if your site is Kemp says. Oysters will grow faster if they

pat," he says. "Now, we want to grow closed because of pollution or disease. are growing off the bottom, but that

more oysters." They'll also tell you if salinity levels are requires a water column lease, which is

He pulls into the driveway at Charlie high enough for oysters. $500 per acre per year.

G. Brown's home near Harker's Island. • DMF will check your site for • Sell your oysters to individuals or to

Brown walks with Kemp to the shellfish culture. If it's a natural shellfish restaurants if you have small amounts, or
shallow sound bottom behind the house. bed containing 10 or more bushels per to seafood dealers if you have larger

The tide is low, and several clam and oys- acre, they won't grant you a lease. quantities. Dealers pay less. Do a little

ter beds are exposed to the morning sun. Otherwise, they'll recommend that you legwork, and find out when prices are

He calls the Brown "farm" an ideal apply for a lease. The non-refundable higher. Leaseholders can sell when the

situation. "The water is right; the bottom is application fee is $100, and it could take season for natural harvest is closed, and
sandy. It's just that, until now, there was about six to eight months for approval. If they can also sell oysters smaller than the

nothing for the oyster spat to settle on. approved, the lease fee is $5 per acre per 3-inch size limit for natural oysters.

Since we laid out this cultch material, this year, with renewal required every 10 years. If you're interested in oyster culture,

place will be productive for oysters." • When you have your lease, plant contact Kemp at his office in Atlantic

He turns over a few cultch shells. cultch material — shells or marl to which Beach. His number is 919/247-4007, #
Oysters are forming in clusters on some of small oysters can attach. Oyster shells are C.R. Edgerton

them. The method seems to be working. best for cultch. Put the cultch out in

16 JULY/AUGUST 1991
 Field Notes
Insights into Current Sea Grant Research

Secrets of Striper Spawning

They call it squeezin' season.

Every spring Sea Grant Associate

Director Ron Hodson and North Carolina

State University zoologist Craig Sullivan

become midwives, directing the birth of

thousands of hybrid striped bass finger-

lings.

It all takes place at the Pamlico

Aquaculture Center in Beaufort County.

And it's all part of a program de-
signed to control the life cycle of the

striped bass. With that kind of control,

broodstock — used breeding
fish for

purposes — can be domesticated. With

domesticated broodstock. the infant hybrid
striped bass industry could take off like a

space shuttle.

But why "squeezin' season?"

Striped bass females and white bass

males are caught in the wild during It's a complicated process that focus on three areas: developing reliable
spawning season in North Carolina lakes Hodson and Sullivan hope to make easier. methods of reproducing broodstock on
and rivers and brought to the center. The best way to simplify it, they say, demand using injectable hormones;
There, they are injected with hor- is to develop domesticated broodstocks acquiring a basic working knowledge of
mones that will increase the spawning and methods for spawning them on maturation of striped bass; and using the
urge and encourage the ripening of the demand. Discovering this secret will give new knowledge to shift the spawning
female eggs. Males are injected with the hybrid striped bass industry the lift it season to desired times.
hormones to increase sperm production. needs. Gaining this much control of the life

Then Hodson and Sullivan begin their "This is what we call 'closing the cycle of the striped bass would have a
watchful vigil. In about 36 hours, the fish loop,' " says Hodson. "It means having threefold advantage over current methods,
are ready for the careful hands of the complete control of the fish, from start to Hodson says.

researchers. finish." First, broodstock supplies would be

When their eggs are ripe, the female Unlike most other fish that are guaranteed. Hatchery operators would
fish are anesthetized and their lower farmed, the striped bass presents some have a reliable way of predicting spawning
bodies are squeezed. The eggs, resembling unusual problems in the creation of times and approximating the numbers of
a frosty lemon-lime drink, are deposited domesticated broodstock. fingerlings that might be available.

into a metal tray. The sperm from the male "Striped bass is considered more Second, the impact of hybrid striped
fish is mixed with the eggs until Hodson difficult to domesticate than white bass, bass aquaculture on wild stocks of striped
and Sullivan are sure fertilization takes and that's what we're concentrating on," bass would diminish significantly.

place. The fertilized eggs are then placed he says. "The specific details of spawning And third, controlled spawning would
in cylindrical jars where they are held in have been totally unknown. We don't open the door to year-round production of
suspension by circulating water, much like know what reproductive hormones control fingerlings and selective breeding of

they would be in nature. In two days, the the process. Those kinds of things." superior genetic strains. %
eggs hatch into "fry." Hodson and Sullivan's research will C.R. Edgerton

COASTWATCH 17
 The Aft Deck
A Bulletin Board of Updates and Events

First Citizens Bank N.C. Wildlife Commission, N.C. 4-H, Keep sources of North Carolina's waterway litter.

Joins Cleanup America Beautiful, Keep North Carolina If you want to volunteer on Sept. 21,

First Citizens Bank has been named Clean and Beautiful, Western North stop by your local First Citizens Bank
sponsor for Big Sweep Carolina Development Association, branch at the end of August and pick up
the title '91. The a

Sept. 21 cleanup will now be called the

WGHPiedmont 8. WRAL-TV, WSOC-TV. brochure with the cleanup sites. Or phone
First Citizens Bank Big Sweep '91. WLOS-TV, WWAY-TV and WITN-TV. The Big Sweep MCI hotline at 1-800-27-

The bank will aid in the production of SWEEP after Aug. 1. Volunteer operators

promotional materials that will encourage will be standing by to direct you to

public participation. Its branches, which cleanup sites in your area.

number more than 300 statewide, will If you know of a waterway that needs
serve as distribution points for Big Sweep a thorough cleaning, contact Big Sweep

brochures that will provide site locations headquarters at the Sea Grant office in

and contacts. Raleigh at 919 '515-2454. We'll direct you

In addition, First Citizens employees to a regional coordinator in your area.

will be out in force on cleanup day to help If you have other questions about the
clear litter from our state waterways. cleanup or would like to support the cause

"We're extremely pleased to have First by purchasing a T-shirt, contact us at 919/

Citizens Bank become part of The Big 515-2454.

Sweep '91," says coordinator Lundie We hope you'll be a part of the First

Spence, Sea Grant's marine education Citizens Bank Big Sweep '91. It's good,

specialist. "We're happy that they are clean fun.

concerned about environmental issues,

particularly the problem of litter in our Big Sweep '9 1 Set for "Don't Leave Your
state's wateiways. Sept. 21 Butt on the Beach"
"By joining our cleanup effort, First The First Citizens Bank Big Sweep '91, Cigarette butts were the most
Citizens is helping The Big Sweep make a the nation's largest statewide waterway prevalent item bagged on beaches during
commitment to the people of North litter cleanup, will be held Saturday, Sept. fall 1990 cleanups along the shores of 26
Carolina to reduce waterway litter," 21 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. states and three U.S. temtories. Volunteers

Spence says. "That's a commitment to be More than 18,000 volunteers are collected 531,828 butts, or the equivalent

proud of." expected to turn out at approximately 200 of 26,591 packs of cigarettes.

Stop by a branch of First Citizens sites across the state to remove debris from Although many smokers are obviously
Bank at the end of August to pick up a our shorelines — lakes, rivers, creeks, using our nation's beaches as ashtrays,

brochure. And take a moment to thank the estuaries and beaches. Lundie Spence says the use is probably
branch manager or teller for helping to We want to rid our waterways of litter unintentional. Spence is coordinator for
make The Big Sweep possible. because it can be harmful to people and the First Citizens Bank Big Sweep '91 and
Other sponsors of this year's event or wildlife. Every year, birds become Sea Grant's marine education specialist.

educational efforts include: ALCOA, R.J. entangled in abandoned fishing line and "Many people think filters are paper

Reynolds Tobacco Co., N.C. Wildlife die: turtles strangle after eating discarded and will easily degrade," says Spence.
Commission, N.C. Wildlife Federation, N.C. plastic bags; and fish become ensnared in "They flick the butts aside without a

Beer Wholesalers Association, MCI and six-pack yokes. second thought."

Texasgulf Inc. On Big Sweep day, volunteers collect But the truth of the matter is that most
The Big Sweep is coordinated by: two things: litter and data. As they bag cigarette filters are made of cellulose

UNC Sea Grant, N.C. Division of Coastal their trash, they record their finds on data acetate, a synthetic material that is

Management, N.C. Parks and Recreation, cards. The collection of this data is an classified as plastic. And plastic lasts for

N.C. Division of Environmental Manage- important part of Big Sweep because it decades.

ment, N.C. Division of Water Resources, helps organizers pinpoint the types and "We feel smokers just need to be

18 JULY/AUGUST 1991
educated about the problem," Spence says. specialist David Green has organized a

And R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.. one of the multi-faceted Seafood and the Environ-

world's largest manufacturers of cigarettes, ment Symposium to be held in Raleigh

agrees. Sept. 29 through Oct. 3.

R.J. Reynolds is joining the First The four-day symposium will kick off

Citizens Bank Big Sweep '91 with a "Don't with a reception Sunday night. The
Leave Your Butt On the Beach" campaign Tropical and Subtropical Fisheries

that the company is launching at 30 Technology Conference will meet from

selected beaches across the nation. iMonday through noon on Tuesday.
Wrightsville Beach is one of the designated Attendees will exchange information about
beaches. the latest developments in seafood

They will be using billboards and technology from production to utilization.

tentcards in local businesses to display Tuesday afternoon, participants will

on water
their cleanup message. receive a short course quality,
Big Sweep Lauded as
"We're happy that Reynolds is pollution prevention and regulations on
R.J.
Environmental Success
joining us." Spence says. "It's nice to see a seafood residues/wastes. Tuesday night,
The Big Sweep continues to bolster its
company such as RJR work with their exhibitors will be on hand to display the
national reputation as a significant
consumers to make them aware of our latest in food processing equipment and
environmental event.
litter problem. It's such a positive, pro- ingredient supplies.
The nation's first statewide waterway
active stance." Wednesday, the focus shifts to
litter cleanup has been accepted for listing
pollution prevention in the seafood

How to Stay Tuned to industry as the 1991 Seafood Environmen-

in the 1991 Environmental Success Index,

a unique clearinghouse of environmental

#
Big Sweep 91 tal Summit begins. The summit will focus
information made available to key public
If you want the latest news about the on water quality and waste reduction in
and private decision makers.
First Citizens Bank Big Sweep '91, tune in the seafood processing industry.
Being part of the ESI means that Big
to one of the television stations helping to Fishermen, seafood dealers, proces-
Sweep will be promoted as a model
coordinate this event. sors, government personnel and research-
program.
In Greensboro/High Point/Winston- ers should attend. The registration fee is
Tina Hobson, spokesman for the ESI,
Salem, turn to WGHPiedmont 8 for news, $160.
says Big Sweep's application was subjected
features and updates about the Sept. 21 For more information about the
to "a rigorous verification process" before
cleanup. In the Triangle, watch WRAL; in conference, contact David Green at the
being chosen for listing.
Wilmington, WWAY; and in the northeast, NCSU Seafood Laboratory in Morehead
Now policymakers, politicians,
WITN. For mountain viewing, catch the City at 919/726-0254.
citizens' groups, and public and private
evening news on WLOS, and in Charlotte,
organizations will be able to apply the
WSOC is the station to watch. Sea Grant Publications
knowledge gained by Big Sweep volun-
This year will be second year most of Are Winners
teers to their own litter cleanup campaigns.
these television stations have helped to S.E.A. LAB: Science Experiments and
And there's more.
bring more information about The Big Activities is a winner. Judges for the
The Big Sweep has again won the
Sweep to North Carolina citizens. Society of Technical Communication's
prestigious Take Pride in America national
"Each station has made a commitment International Publication Competition
award.
to help their viewers become more presented an Award of Merit to Sea Grant
For the fourth straight year. The Big
environmentally aware," says Kathy Hart, for its high school cuniculum guide for
Sweep has been recognized with one of
Big Sweep publicity coordinator and science teachers.
the nation's top environmental kudos.
Coastwatch editor. "The stations have The award was based on the writing,
The award was presented in Washing-
helped us make so many more people editing and design of the 200-page book.
ton, D.C. on July 22.
aware of this cleanup. Their involvement S.E.A. Lab also won a Distinguished
"Of course, we're very proud of what
has been invaluable." Technical Communication award from the
The Big Sweep has accomplished over the
Carolina Chapter of the STC. This award
years," says Lundie Spence, Sea Grant's
Seafood and qualified the book for the international
marine education specialist and coordina-
the Environment competition.
tor of the annual waterway cleanup. "And
Symposium Coastwatch also won a Carolina
we're always striving to do more to make
Sea Grant's seafood extension Chapter Award of Excellence.
our environment cleaner and safer."

COASTWATCH 19
 A Forum for Coastwatch Readers

Coastwatch wants to hear from you on topics relating to the There are two sessions each year. For information, contact Mac
North Carolina coast. Letters should be no longer than 250 words Currin. Box 1611. NCSU, Raleigh, NC 21695-1611.
and should contain the author's name, address and telephone
number. Letters may be edited for style. Send all correspondence A Few Encouraging Words
to Coastwatch, UNC Sea Grant, Box 8605, North Carolina State
University, Raleigh, NC 27695. Opinions expressed on this page Dear Editor.

are not necessarily those of UNC Sea Grant employees or staff. Enclosed is my check in the amount of S12 for a subscription to

the "new" Coastwatch. The format sounds great and I wish you
A Future Surf Fisherman? every success.

Thank you for the "old" Coastwatch. It has been most

Dear Editor. interesting and educational.

I have been a Coastwatch subscriber for so many years I Neil A. McNeil, Fayetteville, N.C.

can't remember. This is an excellent publication, and I will be

pleased to continue under the paid magazine concept. Concerned About Oyster Clusters
However, I'm writing you for another purpose. We have
been vacationing on the Outer Banks, specifically Ocracoke, for Dear Editor,

the last 15 years. This year I would like to take up surf fishing. I would like to see an article on digging clams and gathering
This is where I hope you can help me. oysters. I am always concerned about where it is safe (i.e. non-
I know nothing about surf fishing. What equipment do I polluted) and not damaging young clams and oysters. I hear people
purchase? What fish do you catch? Where and how do you catch say they get clusters of oysters. It seems to me that the mature
them? And last, but not least, when you catch a fish how do you oysters should be broken away from the young ones on the cluster

know what you caught and if you can eat it? with the young oysters and the cluster thrown back to grow.
Could you please send me information about the above, or I have enclosed my check for the subscription. I think

point me in the right direction to get this data. Coastwatch will be a successful magazine if you can show people
A surf fisherman to be, how to use coastal resources in such a way that we can preserve
Robert C. Ashman, Muncy, Penn. and grow rather than destroy.

Keep up the good work.

The best place to learn about surffishing is in the surf. Elisabeth Mikulewicz, Wilmington, N.C.
Fishing is a fine art, one that can t be taught entirely from books.

You need to talk to the experts, those men and women who Harvesting oysters and other shellfish in polluted waters is

spend a good portion of their time and effort practicing the art. prohibited by law. These waters are usually clearly marked by
Ask them. They'll tell you what kind of equipment you'll need and warning signs erected by the state's Division of Marine Fisheries. The

what type of bait to use. They'll show you how to cast a line, tie a division monitors the waters to make sure illegal harvesting is not

leader, cut a shrimp, slice a squid. taking place.

But don 't be surprised if they refuse to show you their favorite Often, the division will allow relay of clams and oysters from

fishing holes. No fisherman is expected to go that far. polluted to non-polluted waters. These shellfish can be harvested and
Sea Grant can help you in one area, though. If you're not sold only after they purge themselves ofpollutants (24 to 48 hows).
sure whether the fish you 've caught is edible, send for our Oysters do grow in clusters and, unfortunately, some people
publication "Recipes With a New Catch. " Our series of brochures harvest them without regard to size. North Carolina law forbids the

on underutilized species can help also. The recipe book is $2. Ask harvesting of oysters less than three inches long. If someone finds a
for publication number UNC-SG-86-06. The brochures are $2 for cluster of mixed sizes, the smaller ones must be broken off where

the two sets. Ask for publication numbers UNC-SG-85-09 through feasible and returned to the water.

85-18 and UNC-SG- 86-13 through 86-18. For more information concerning fish and shellfish regulations,

Finally, you might want to contact the folks at North Carolina contact the N.C Division of Marine Fisheries in Morehead City at

State University who sponsor the annual Sport Fishing School. 919/126-1021.

20 JULY/AUGLST 1991
 Book Store
Publications to Enrich Your Coastal Library

It's time for teachers to in childhood. Additional resources, films and understanding marine

start thinking about new That's why The Big references are listed. concepts can be an exciting

rosters of students and lesson Sweep, North Carolina's * Unit One, Coastal part of high school science.

plans, As you plan for the statewide waterway litter Geology (UNC-SG-78-14A) Sea Grant has a manual,

school days ahead, why not cleanup, began its educational focuses on plate tectonics, S.EA. Lab, designed to help

add a little marine science to effort with grade-schoolers. development of North high school chemistry, biology

your classroom curriculum? Ripples: A Big Sweep Carolina's coastal plain, and and physics teachers add
Sea Grant has a wealth of Elementary Activity Guide is a the wind and water move- marine science concepts to
marine science curriculum collection of 16 activities that ments that shape the barrier their curriculums.

guides for teachers from teach children about the islands and sounds. The 200-plus page book
kindergarten through high effects of litter in our aquatic * Unit Two, Seawater includes 60 activities that will

school. and marine environment. (UNC-SG-78-14B) concentrates help students leam about the
Children can solve a litter on tides, waves, ocean physics of waves, the biologi-

ELEMENTARY crossword puzzle, simulate chemistry and seawater cal clocks of ocean creatures
EDUCATION animal entanglement with a biology. and the behavior of gases in

There's no better way to rubber band or learn how to * Unit Three, Coastal the marine environment. And
learn than by doing. turn their trash into treasure. Ecology (UNC-SG-78-14C) there's lots more.
And that's the concept The activities are designed provides an introduction to For a copy of this

behind Sea Grant's Coastal for 9- to 11-year-olds. But marine organisms in North illustrated manual, write Sea
Capers: A Marine Education some of the ideas can be Carolina — where they live, Grant. Ask for publication

Primer. This booklet offers 20 modified for younger or older the adaptations that allow UNC-SG-90-01. The cost is S12.

hands-on activities that teach children. them to live in these areas and
grade-schoolers about the Ripples is ideal for use in the interrelationships of marine When ordering Sea Grant

coast. the classroom, Scout meetings, organisms and their habitats. publication, please include
For instance, children 4-H gatherings or church *
Unit Four, Coastal your mailing label from

learn how to weave a marine school — anywhere children Beginnings (UNC-SG-78-14E) Coastwatch or the customer
food web and how to clean up can be taught stewardship of centers on the past cultures of identification number that

an oil spill of their own our aquatic resources. coastal people. It explores appears above your name. This
making. By designing their For a copy of this Big anthropological techniques will speed delivery. Also be sure
own aquatic creatures, Sweep guide, write Sea Grant. used to study old cultures, checks are made payable to Sea
children learn how fish adapt Ask for UNC-SG-90-02. The Indian culture prior to 1585, Grant unless otherwise
to their environment. publication is free, but please early explorations of North specified.

The activities sharpen enclose Si to cover postage. Carolina and patterns of Send all publication
student skills in science, colonial settlement. requests to: Publications, Sea

mathematics, language arts, MANUALS FOR All of the manuals are Grant Box 8605, North
social studies and art. MIDDLE SCHOOL available from Sea Grant. Carolina State University,
For a copy of Coastal For middle school science Please specify which you are Raleigh, NC 27695. Ifyou wish
Capers, write Sea Grant. Ask and social studies educators, ordering. Unit One costs $3.50. to order multiple copies or need
for UNC-SG-84-05. The cost Sea Grant offers four marine The other units are $2 each. further assistance, contact
is $3.50. education manuals designed to Carole Puner, publication
bring the coast to the class- HIGH SCHOOL distribution manager, at 919/
AN EARLY room. EXPERIMENTS 515-2454.
EDUCATION Each manual has a similar From designing a

ABOUT LITTER format. Activities and labora- dichotomous key for seashells
Many of our adult tory exercises provide students to learning about salinity

patterns and habits are set with hands-on experience. stratification in the estuary,

COASTWATCH 21
C.R, Edgeiion
UNC Sea Grant September/October 1991

I N C L U D I N G
A Coastal Weather Report

PLUS
North Carolina's Hurricane Heyday

ALSO
Fishermen Talk About Weather
Coastwatch
Coastwatch Staff
Kathy Hart, Managing Editor
C.R. Edgerton and Carla B. Burgess,
Staff Writers and Editors
L. Noble, Designer
Julie Snyder and Debra Lynch,
Circulation Managers

The University of North Carolina Sea

Grant College Program is a federal/state
program that promotes the wise use of our
coastal and marine resources through
research, extension and education. It

joined the National Sea Grant College

Network in 1970 as an institutional
program. Six years later, it was designated
a Sea Grant College. Today, UNC Sea
Grant supports several research projects,
an 11 -member extension program and
three communicators. B.J. Copeland is

director. The program is funded by the

U.S. Department of Commerce's National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
and the state through the University of

North Carolina.

Change of address, subscription

information or editorial correspon-
dence: Coastwatch, UNC Sea Grant, Box
8605, North Carolina State University,
Raleigh, NC 27695. Telephone: 919/515-
2454. Please use the subscriber number
that appears on your label when changing
addresses. Coastwatch is published six
times a year. A years subscription is $12.

Postmaster: Send address changes to

Coastwatch UNC Sea Grant, Box 8605,
North Carolina State University, Raleigh,
NC 27695.

/ Foster Scott
 Coastwatch RALEIGH
UNC Sea Grant College Program
Box 8605
North Carolina State University iom was called Hazel, wreaked

Raleigh, NC 27695-8605
;r have on recreational and
ss got the scoop on the topic of

cperts themselves. And in talking to

;ess got an earful of colorful

3 you.
le.

See you next issue,

Kathv Hart

In This Issue

Winds, Rains and Hurricanes 2 Young Mariners

The Fisherman's Angle on Weather and Fishing .10 The Science of Offshore Weather Patterns ... 17
Of Bulls' Hides and Red Skies 12 The Aft Deck 18
Back Talk 20
The Book Store 21

COASTWATCH 1
 Keeping Track of the Coast
Yes! I want to subscribe to Coastwatch. I'd like the most current news and
information about the North Carolina coast for just $12.

Name

Address

City State Zip

Please enclose this card with your order and make your check payable to Coastwatch.

Grant College Program is a federal/state

program that promotes the wise use of our

coastal and marine resources through
research, extension and education. It

joined the National Sea Grant College

Network in 1970 as an institutional

program. Six years later, it was designated

a Sea Grant College. Today, UNC Sea
Grant supports several research projects,
an 11-member extension program and
three communicators. BJ. Copeland is

director. The program is funded by the

U.S. Department of Commerce's National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
and the state through the University of
North Carolina.

Change of address, subscription

information or editorial correspon-
dence: Coastwatch, UNC Sea Grant, Box
8605, North Carolina State University,
Raleigh, NC 27695. Telephone: 919/515-
2454. Please use the subscriber number
that appears on your label when changing
addresses. Coastwatch is published six

times a year. A year's subscription is $12.

Postmaster: Send address changes to

Coastwatch, UNC Sea Grant, Box 8605,
North Carolina State University, Raleigh,
NC 27695.

/ Foster Scott
 N.C. DOCUMENTS
CLEARINGHOUSE

RALEIGH

Dear Readers:
Welcome to the world of weather. This month, Coastwatch ladies, the most notorious of whom was called Hazel, wreaked
concentrates on the weather patterns and events that have, on havoc in coastal counties.

occasion, literally shaped the North Carolina coastline. What effect does the weather have on recreational and
In our first story, I'll tell you why the weather makes for more commercial fishing? Carla Burgess got the scoop on the topic of
than just passing conversation along the Tar Heel coast. Water- weather and fishing from the experts themselves. And in talking to

spouts, northeasters and hurricanes can threaten the lives and longtime coastal residents, Burgess got an earful of colorful
property of those who live, work and play along our shoreline. weather sayings to pass along to you.

Then C.R. Edgerton will look back to the 1950s, when six We hope you enjoy this issue.

hurricanes came to call on North Carolina within 13 months. These See you next issue,

Kathy Hart

In This Issue

Winds, Rains and Hurricanes 2 Young Mariners

Breezing Through a Lesson in Weather 14

From Sound To Sea

Way Down Upon the Scuppernong River 15

The Year of the Hurricanes

An Ash Wednesday to Remember

Marine Advice

Satellite Guides Fishermen to Their Catch 16

Field Notes

The Fisherman's Angle on Weather and Fishing .10 The Science of Offshore Weather Patterns ... 17
Of Bulls' Hides and Red Skies 1 2 The Aft Deck 18
Back Talk 20
The Book Store 21

COASTWATCH 1
 Winds, Rains and
By Kathy Hart
Put two people together anytime,
anywhere and the conversation will always
turn to the weather.

"Hot enough for ya?"

"Say, that was some storm we had last

night."

For landlubbers, weather talk is just a

way to make idle conversation. Only on

rare occasions does it affect their. lives or

their property.

But it's a different story along the

coast.

Along this edge between the land and

sea, the weather can take on an ominous,
more life-threatening significance.

From June until November, the threat

of hurricanes hangs over the heads of

coastal folks like the impending dread of
bad news. And as soon as the door is

closed on hurricane season, it's time for

nor'easters to come calling.

These active and sometimes violent

coastal weather patterns are enough to
keep forecasters hopping.

Summer Thunderstorms and

Waterspouts

In the summer, the coast is subjected

to what Al Hinn calls the "sea breeze

effect." Hinn is a meteorologist at the

National Weather Service's Wilmington perience thunder, lightning, heavy down-

office, and he's had 16 years experience pours and an occasional tornado. As a re-

forecasting coastal North Carolina weather. sult of the mid-summer heat and humidity
During summer, the warm, moisture- and the sea breeze effect, July is usually

laden sea breeze blows westerly from the the wettest month of the year for these

ocean toward inland counties. About mid- coastal counties.

day, the moisture starts to form swelling During the night, the thunderstorms
clouds over coastal counties. move offshore only to regenerate over the

By afternoon, the breeze has picked Gulf Stream. Hinn warns that evening
up speed, adding increasing amounts of hours nearshore and daybreak near the
moisture to the building clouds, which Gulf Stream are often dangerous times for
heighten to thunderstorm proportions. By offshore boaters and fishermen.
evening, they often begin their march to Occasionally the storms formed by

the sea. the sea breeze effect or those associated

Those caught in their paths may ex- with a passing cold front spawn water-

Along this edge between the land and sea, the weather can
A waterspout.

2 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1991
 Hurricanes
low clouds near the sea surface or from The famous Ash Wednesday north-
showers. They are usually small and last easter of the 1960s terrorized communities

from two to 20 minutes. along the Outer Banks. But the New Year's
Hinn says that waterspouts are most Eve northeaster of 1987 wreaked havoc
prevalent along the Tar Heel coast in the along the southeastern shore.
fall when very warm water temperatures Three types of northeasters travel

contrast 'with cool air temperatures. The North Carolina's offshore waters.
warm air rising off the water and the cool The first type moves from the Gulf of
air descending from above can be set into Mexico to the South Atlantic, typically

a circular motion by the earth's rotation. close to Cape Hatteras. There, the storm

Waterspouts can be dangerous. Hinn draws strength from the warm waters of
says. Any boat caught in the twisting fun- the Gulf Stream before hurling northward.

nel can be torn apart by strong and shift- These systems are called Hatteras
ing winds. If boaters spot a waterspout, lows, and in the 1980s, a team of scientists

they should determine its direction, Hinn assembled in North Carolina to study the
says, and then move at right angles away formation of these famous storms.
from the whirling funnel. Researchers from North Carolina
State University's Department of Marine,
Northeasters Earth and Atmospheric Science played a

major role in the study. And now their re-

From late winter until early spring, search is paying off in the design of mod-
coastal residents anticipate the arrival of els that will help forecasters predict the
northeasters with the same dread they feel notorious winter troublemakers (see Field
for the arrival of their least favorite relative. Notes, page 17).

Like the unwanted guest, these win- Another type of northeaster forms
ter stomis come on strong, stay too long when a strong low pressure system in the

and leave destruction in their wake. Great Lakes or the Ohio Valley transfers its

Northeasters are counterclockwise energy to a developing low-pressure sys-

rotating low-pressure systems that travel tem along the Mid-Atlantic coast.

northward along the Atlantic Seaboard. The third variety of these winter

They are frequently laden with battering storms derives from a rare alignment of
winds, driving rain or snow, and lashing weather systems. A strong high-pressure
Scott Taylor
waves that can lick up vast quantities of system in the Northeast combines with low
spouts, or tornadoes over water. beach sand. pressure in the Southeast to make for

Waterspouts come in two types: those Northeasters are notorious for hurling strong northeast winds, building waves,
associated with severe thunderstorms and their erosive forces at the North Carolina rough seas and higher high tides.

those that form in very instable atmo- coast. In fact, in recent years these stomis Northeaster activity along the Tar
spheric conditions in the fall. have been more destructive and costly for Heel coast varies and depends on the
Severe thunderstorm spouts often start our coastline than hurricanes. presence of an upper level trough of low
over land as true tornadoes and then move Besides their winds and waves, north- pressure over the Southeast and the posi-
over water. They come complete with sin- easters also possess an enduring quality. tion of the polar and subtropical jet streams.
ister, snake-like funnels, enormous over- These winter storms can park off the coast
head clouds and a frenzied roar of rapidly for days, battering the shoreline on high Hurricanes
rotating winds. Sometimes they whirl tide after high tide, says Spencer Rogers,
across the ocean's surface for more than Sea Grant's coastal engineer. From Currituck to Calabash, coastal
an hour. And where these storms do the most populations are burgeoning. Most of the
The cold-air spout forms only over damage depends on the orientation of the newcomers are taie-blue landlubbers who
water, developing as spiraling funnels from shoreline and the position of the storm. never hung a gill net, cleaned a crab or
experienced a hurricane.

take on an ominous, more life-threatening significance...

Continued on the next page

COASTXXATCH 3
 They don't know what it's like to look of receiving a name. Four of these stonns Take Hugo for example. It struck the
a Hazel or a Hugo in the eye; what it's like willbecome hurricanes, and one of the South Carolina coast head-on. And that

to be lashed by winds of 120 mph, bat- four will become a Category 3 or higher means the storm's strongest sector, the

tered by waves more than 15 feet tall or storm, Hinn says. right front quadrant, slammed ashore from
inundated by a storm tide that exceeds 12 Oddly enough, weather patterns in Folly Beach to Brunswick County. Not sur-

feet; or what it's like to drive away from a Africa may play a key role in affecting hur- prisingly, these were the areas that sus-

home of possessions and memories know- ricane activity in the United States. tained the most damage,

ing they might not be there tomorrow. If rainfall amounts are above normal Hinn says the right front sector tends

But this lack of experience with hurri- in Africa, then weather patterns favor the to be most severe because the energy
canes isn't limited to North Carolina. All formation of tropical waves across the con- from both the hurricane's forward and ro-

along the East and Gulf coasts, officials

with the National Weather Sendee are

working to educate the growing number
of transplanted inlanders about the hazards
of hurricanes.
In North Carolina, it isn't just new
seaside residents who need an education.
Many long-time coastal dwellers don't
have much knowledge of these ferocious
stonns either.

Since the 1950s when Hazel and her

sisters came calling (see story, page 6),

hurricanes have shied away from the Tar

Heel coast. During the last decade, Diana

played tag with the southern coast in 1984,
NOAA airplanes fly into the eye of a hurricane.
Gloria brushed by the Outer Banks in

1985, Hugo spread its fringe effects into tinent. These waves become imbedded in tating motion are concentrated there. In

Brunswick County in 1989 and Bob the westward-blowing tradewinds and, contrast, the left front sector poses the

skirted by Cape Hatteras in 1991. under certain conditions, intensify to be- least threat. The wind direction in this area

But Bob, Gloria and Diana certainly come hurricanes in their trek between Af- is mostly offshore. That's why Bob's pas-

weren't in the same class of hurricanes as rica and the Caribbean, Hinn says. sage east, instead of west, of the Outer

Hugo, Hazel and Camille. These cata- "By and large, most of the hurricanes Banks meant good news.
strophic stonns are among the 12 most that have struck North Carolina developed A tropical storm becomes a hurricane

costly and deadly storms of the century. between the Leeward Islands and the Ba- when its maximum sustained winds ex-

Hugo and Hazel were what the hamas," Hinn says, "The exceptions were ceed 74 mph. The winds blow in a coun-
weather service classifies as Category 4 Hazel in 1954 and Donna in I960." terclockwise spiral around a calm center

storms. Their winds ranged from 131 to Hinn adds that the Outer Banks are — the eye of the hurricane.
155 mph, and their storm tides, or surges, the most likely target for these tropical The winds within this whirlwind spi-

reached 13 to 18 feet. cyclones. Including Bob, 23 hurricanes ral at a faster and faster rate as they near

Camille, which came ashore along the have left their mark on the Outer Banks the hurricane's center of low pressure. The
Gulf Coast in 1969, was one of only two this century, but only nine have tangled fastest winds, those within the wall cloud

Category 5 hurricanes to strike the United with counties south of Carteret. surrounding the eye, can easily gust to

States this century. Her winds exceeded Hinn attributes the difference to the more than 200 mph.
155 mph, and the storm surge measured shape of the North Carolina coast. Because Although a hurricane's winds are a
more than 19 feet. Cape Hatteras juts eastward into the Atlan- force to be reckoned with, they are one of
If a storm of Camille's magnitude tic, it's more likely to be clipped by these the least destructive aspects of these cy-

struck the Tar Heel coast, the majority of northbound freight trains of atmospheric clones. It's the storm surge that causes the

the barrier islands would be under several energy. most damage to structures and nine out of
feet of water, says Rogers. Although close calls by hurricanes the 10 deaths associated with hurricanes.

But luckily, storms that size don't oc- such as Bob and Gloria are not to be The storm surge is the rise in water

cur often. During an average year, 12 scoffed at, they're nothing like a direct hit level that occurs as the hurricane moves
tropical disturbances become tropical from a storm traveling perpendicular to the ashore. It does not include the waves that

stomis and receive the dubious distinction coastline, Hinn says. ride atop it.

If a storm of Camille's magnitude struck the Tar Heel coast, the majority of the

4 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1991
 storm's progress.
A hurricane warning is issued when
the cyclone is expected to strike within 24
hours. The area under a warning is smaller
because forecasters can now narrow the

possible location for landfall.

When warnings are posted, residents
and visitors along the beachfront, in low-
lying areas or in mobile homes should
leave. If local and state officials ask for
evacuation, everyone should go.
The weather warning system works.
The death toll in the United States from

hurricanes has decreased as the weather

service's warning ability has improved.
But hurricane forecasters are worried
that the time schedule for warnings and
watches may not be enough to safely

evacuate an ever-increasing population of

coastal residents over bridges, roads and
highways not designed to meet evacuation
demands.
The alternative of offering greater lead

times for evacuation is equally wrought

with problems.
Arrows show where hurricanes have made landfall in the last 105 yean.
Long-range forecasting for the landfall
This dome of water, which can ex- fell on houses, cars and other valuable of these great storms is still uncertain, de-
ceed 15 feet, can submerge low-lying tidal possessions. By the time agricultural dam- spite improvements in technology. To give
areas. It can undermine houses by scour- age was added to property losses, Diana more time for evacuation would mean that

ing away sand. And it can pull at walls, ran up bill of more than S70 million. hurricane warnings would have to apply to
pilings and foundations, causing them to With so much to lose in property larger chunks of coastline — much of
collapse. and life, it's easy to see why the weather which may never feel the effects of the
Riding atop this surge are hurricane service's National Hurricane Center in storm.
waves that can reach 15 feet in height. Miami has developed sophisticated equip- And forecasters know that the public
But that's only half of it. ment to track these killer storms. will not continually evacuate when, in fact,

Water weighs about 1,700 pounds per The day has passed when a hurri- no storm comes ashore.
cubic yard. Throw that weight against a cane could develop and go unreported That's not to mention the costs of hur-
building over and over, and you have a until it slammed ashore. Satellites, ricane preparation. Officials with the
nature-made hammer that can demolish weather reconnaissance planes and radars weather service estimate that advance
any structure not specifically designed to track hurricanes from their conception to preparation — boarding up homes, closing
withstand such force. their landfall to their final dying gasp. down businesses, losing sales and sending
And there's more. By using all the means at its disposal, tourists home — can cost a coastal com-
Hurricanes can drop six or more the weather service attempts to predict munity millions of dollars.

inches of rain in a matter of hours over the the path of these enatic tropical cyclones With sums like that, coastal communi-
areas they pass. The resulting floods can and adequately warn coastal communities ties can't afford to prepare often.
cause major property damage and loss of of impending danger. So to avoid being compared to the
life even to inland areas miles from where Forecasters issue a hurricane watch boy who "cried wolf," the weather service
the hurricane made landfall. when a storm may threaten an area is standing by its present system of hurri-
Diana, a rather mild Category 2 within 36 hours. The area under the cane watches and warnings. But they're
hunicane, pelted Wilmington with 15 1/2 watch may be extensive since the location striving harder to educate the public about
inches of rain over three days in 1984, of the hurricane's landfall is uncertain. the dangers these great storms pose.
Hinn says. The one-two punch of heavy Residents in these areas should take pre- And the education won't be a minute
rains and strong winds uprooted trees that paratory action and stay abreast of the too late. Increased development and popu-
lation growth have made the coastal sec-
tions of the United States more vulnerable
barrier islands would be under several feet of water... to hurricanes than ever before. W
COASTWATCH 5
 The Year
By C.R. Edgerton wonder just how long this pelting of their
Milton Berle was making us laugh. property would continue.
Timmy and Lassie were making us Nearly 40 years later, most of the six

cry. hurricanes have long been forgotten. At

And Carol. Edna. Hazel. Connie. least one of them — the powerful Hazel
Diane and lone were destroying our — lives on in the memories of thousands
coastline. of people who witnessed the most severe
In the 13 months between Aug. 30. hurricane ever to punch the breath out of
1954 and Sept. 19. 1955. these six hurri- The Old North State.

canes staick on or near the North Carolina There are theories — some credible,

coast, leaving death and destaiction in some based on pure conjecture. But most

their wakes. scientists will tell you that they aren't sure

Never before or since has such a why such a large number of hurricanes
rapid succession of hurricanes hammered made landfall in such a small area and in

Tar Heel shores. such a limited amount of time.

Merchants boarded windows, ripped "Five years ago, I would have told

the boards off, and boarded them again you that this is all random, that hurricanes

and again. Fishermen tied their boats don't really have a pattern to them," says
down, loosened them and repeated the Joe Pelissier, deputy director of the
process. Tourists wondered if their National Weather Service office at Raleigh-
vacation would be the next to be mined Durham International Airport.

by a storm from the sea. "But now, with all we know 7

about
Lifelong coastal residents had hurricane data, I might say that hurricanes
weathered many storms, but had never can be predicted to a certain degree,"

seen anything like this. They began to Pelissier savs, adding that there are
What Hazel left behind...

Aug. 12, 1955 hurricane patterns that might be related to

other meteorological events.

Sept. 19, 1955 He points to the work of William

Gray, a professor at Colorado State
CAROL
Aug. 26, University. Over the last six years. Gray
1954 has developed statistical models based on
certain weather-related events — the
Pacific El Nino water-warming phenom-
IDNA
enon, the amount of rainfall in Western
Sept. 10,
Africa, biennial east-west winds above the
1954
equator and lowering of air pressure along
with increased upper-atmospheric winds in
the Caribbean Sea.
All these phenomena affect when and
where hurricanes occur and the power
they contain, Pelissier says.
"Some think it's a statistical fluke, but

the evidence is convincing," he says.

A coupling of the data associated with

the hurricanes of 1954-55 in North Carolina

The paths of the hurricanes of 1954 - 1955. with the other weather phenomena in

In the 13 months between Aug. 30, 1954 and Sept. 19, 1955, these six hurricanes struck

6 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1991
 s

Gray's prediction model might reveal clues empathy when they learned the next day since. Her name was Hazel, and even to

to why six hurricanes slammed into North that Carol had made landfall in the New mention her sends chills down the spines
Carolina in 13 months. England states, causing costly destruction of those who survived her wrath.
"But people should remember, in and killing 60 people. The Caribbean Sea gave birth to

meteorology ... you're rarely going to get Edna — Only 15 days after the brush Hazel in early October. In her 13-day life,

anything that's exact," Pelissier says. with Carol, Outer Bankers were told that she caused widespread damage from Haiti
Here's a rundown of the six storms yet another hurricane, this one named to Canada. In North Carolina, she created

and the damage they caused: Edna, was traveling their way. Residents $100 million in damage (think what that

Carol — Hurricane Carol fanned in braced themselves again, but again they would be in 1991 dollars), killed 19 people
the Bahamas on Aug. 26, 1954 and were spared as the great storm passed and injured 200 others. At least 30 Tar
brushed North Carolina just east of Cape about 60 miles east of Cape Hatteras in the Heel counties reported damage to
Hatteras about 10 p.m. Aug. 30. Because On Sept. 10, winds of about 70
Atlantic. buildings.
the beaches were on the west side of the mph were recorded at Cape Hatteras. Hazel struck the North Carolina coast
storm's counterclockwise winds, damage Some crops were damaged, some piers near Shallotte around 10 p.m. on the 15th
was not severe. Some crops were de- were slapped, and a little more of the with sustained winds as high as 150 mph.
stroyed, and some houses and fishing piers Outer Banks highway washed out. Again, The following is excerpted from a
were damaged. New Englanders bore the major brunt of report written last year by James D.
At Cape Hatteras, where winds were this hurricane. Stevenson of the National Weather Service
measured at 90 to 100 mph, about 1,000 Hazel — On Oct. 15, 1954, a storm in Wilmington: 'Wind-driven tides
feet of highway was undermined. Folks unlike any other struck the North Carolina
along the Outer Banks cringed with coast with a ferocity not seen before or Continued on the next page

on or near the North Carolina coast, leaving death and destruction in their wakes...

COASTVC'ATCH 7
 .YOA4 Sational Weather Service

devastated the immediate oceanfront from Connie's drenching were drowned by

the South Carolina line to Cape Lookout. Diane's.
All traces of civilization on that portion of About 1.000 people were evacuated
the immediate waterfront between the from low-lying areas, especially near

state line and Cape Fear were practically sounds and rivers. In Belhaven, water was
annihilated." reported at 3 feet above street level in some
Stevenson says the dune line, which stores. In New Bern's downtown district,

in some cases was 20 feet tall, was washed the Neuse and Trent rivers swelled and
away, So were the houses and cottages carried waist- deep water into buildings.

that had been built behind the dunes for lone — For a little more than a month,
protection. residents of North Carolina's coastal
In Long Beach, 352 of the town's 357 counties had been walking in the mud and
buildings were "washed into the sea." This mire brought on by Connie and Diane.
story was repeated up the coast at Holden Then, on Sept. 19. 1955. Hurricane lone
Beach, Carolina Beach and Wrights ville. made landfall at Salter Path, about 10 miles
But the winds weren't the only west of Morehead City.

problem. Storm surges and tides as high as lone was a strong lady while swirling
14 feet above normal were common. At in the Atlantic, but quickly lost her gusto
Will it happen again'?
the Holden Beach bridge, water measured when she slammed into the beaches. But
Will Tar Heel residents face a similar
a whopping 18 feet above normal. The she brought a tremendous storm surge and
onslaught of hurricanes in the future?
Cape Fear River at Wilmington reached its another abundance of rain to our coast.
highest point on record. That town ••••••• At New Bern, tides were reported to

suffered major damage and was without be more than 10 feet above normal, flood-
the North Carolina coast on the morning of
electricity for three days. ing at least 40 city blocks. Several hundred
Aug. 12. 1955. Connie probably will be
Hazel's destruction was not limited to homes in the area were washed away.
best remembered for the amount of water
coastal areas. After striking the shore, she Unlike Connie and Diane, lone was a
bullied her way through North Carolina's
she dumped onto Tar Heel farmlands.
killer. Seven deaths were reported across
Thousands of acres were flooded.
heartland, destroying crops, homes, barns the state, five from drowning and two from
Because she was slow-moving, this
and buildings. car accidents on rain-swollen roads.
stomi caused pounding waves to eat away
At Raleigh, she uprooted trees and In the 4l-day period from the begin-
at the Carolina coastline from Southport to
caused thousands of dollars in damage. As ning of Connie to the end of lone, unprec-
Xags Head. Beach erosion was estimated
far inland as Smithfield her winds were edented amounts of rain fell on North
worse than that caused by Hazel 10
recorded at 90 to 100 mph. Carolina. At the National Weather Service
months earlier. The towns of Oriental.
After cutting a path into Virginia, she substation at Hoffman Forest (near Mays-
Belhaven, Plymouth and Elizabeth City
continued northward, pouring torrential ville), almost 49 inches of rain were
received the brunt of Connie's winds and
rains in several states and flooding two recorded.
rains.
Canadian provinces. She was last detected
over Scandinavia where she finally fizzled.
Diane — Coastal residents were in
Will it happen again? Will Tar Heel
the process of estimating the cost of
Experts have called Hazel a freak, but residents face a similar onslaught of
Connie when they heard the horrible news
other folks have labeled her a judgment hurricanes in the future?
over radio: yet another hurricane, the fifth
from a higher power. She was a severe The answer, says Joe Pelissier, lies not
in 12 months, was churning in the Atlantic
hurricane that jumped ashore in North in the minds of men, but in the fickle
on a beeline to the North Carolina coast.
Carolina on the exact date of the highest imagination of Mother Nature.
of the year — the
Her name was Diane, and she was
tide full moon tide of "If conditions are right, a hurricane will
expected to strike land in the early
October. form," he says. "And a hurricane doesn't
morning hours of Aug. 17.
Locals call this the marsh hen tide know it's heading for a certain area; there's
Diane made her appointment at
because salt water rises in the marsh nothing that directs it to the North Carolina
Carolina Beach on schedule, bringing with
grasses, floating marsh birds above their coast in particular.
her winds measuring 74 mph. Like her
protective cover and making them easy "We can do a certain amount of
targets for hunters.
sister of a week earlier, Diane ferried walls
general prediction of hurricanes now," he
Connie — After several days of
of salt water inland, eating away at
says. "But where it's going to land, that's

sloppy, sluggish movements

Ocean, Hurricane Connie slammed into
in the Atlantic
beaches and flooding already inundated
farms. Crops that had managed to survive
anyone's guess." ^

In Long Beach, 352 of the town's 357 buildings were "washed into the sea."

8 SEPTEMBER' OCTOBER 1991

An Ash Wednesday
to Remember
NOR'EASTER!

Wind Direction Direction of Travel

The typical nor'easter's counterclockwise winds pound the coast as the storm travels northward.

By C.R. Edgerton dwellings were destroyed. Thousands Some of the footprints left in the sand
Well-known Outer Banker David Stick more were heavily damaged. by the Ash Wednesday Storm were:
called it "a horrifying experience." The Ash Wednesday Storm was what — A 200-foot-wide inlet two miles
Aycock Brown, the self-styled meteorologists refer to as an extratropical north of Buxton (later filled in by the U.S.

promoter of the state's easternmost barrier cyclone. These storms have many of the Army Corps of Engineers).
islands, labeled it "The Ash Wednesday same characteristics as a hurricane, but — Sinking of the Liberian tanker Gem
Storm." without the central warm air mass and the about 100 miles southeast of Cape
Meterologists call it "The Great well-defined eye. The ship split
Hatteras. in half, and one
Atlantic Coast Storm of 1962." The primary problems associated with crewman drowned.
Whatever you name it, the 60-hour an extratropical cyclone are severe — Total loss of the protective sand
northeaster that pounded the Atlantic flooding and erosion, both of which were dune line from Kill Devil Hills to the
Coast from March 7 to 9 in 1962 was one adundant during the Ash Wednesday Virginia line. Only the tallest dunes —
of the worst non-hurricane storms to ever Storm. The fury and power of this such as Jockey's Ridge and Penny Hill —
bring its fury to the Tar Heel coast. particular storm places it alongside many and those most inland were spared.
Stick, who was in charge of imple- of the state's worst hurricanes. — Near record high tides of 8.2 feet

menting Dare County's emergency disaster To complicate matters, The Ash (plus a storm surge of 3.6 feet) at Hatteras.
plan on the North Banks, reports that more Wednesday Storm made landfall when the — Sustained winds of 60 mph
than 500 miles of shoreline along the Mid- sun, moon and earth were aligned recorded at Hatteras.

Atlantic states were affected by the storm. perfectly for one of the highest tides of the — Damage to hotels, motels, summer
He says total structural damage was year. cottages, highways, piers and permanent
estimated at $234 million. About 1,800 residences estimated at $12 million. ©
Meterologists call it "The Great Atlantic Coast Storm of 1962.

COASTVCATCH 9
 The Fisherman's Angle
By Carla B. Burgess

The sun has been ambivalent on this

late summer day. Tucked beneath a

blanket of rain clouds the color of steel

wool, it emerges now and then in a
teasing gesture during my drive east to

Roanoke Island.

No rain has fallen, but in the 90-degree

humidity, I almost want to wring the damp

air like a towel. At Manteo, the clouds give
way to a tentative shower, bringing the
eighth straight day of rain to this coastal
community.
I couldn't have picked a better day to

talk to fishermen about weather and

fishing. With the rain of the past week Omie Tillett

fresh on their minds and their decks too,

squalls just pass on through. You're not in A customer in the store agrees. He's
the charter boat captains at Oregon Inlet
it all day long." been fishing for flounder in the sound,
Fishing Center are chatty.
Nearly 60 miles south, at the tip of using shrimp for bait. The only clamoring
My final destination for the day, the
Hatteras Island, Steve Hissey is not as on his line today has come from calico
fishing center is as full of activity as a
forgiving. Four solid weeks of muggy, crabs.
kicked-in anthill. The charters are just
southwest winds have rendered small-boat "I think the fish are confused because
returning from their day at sea, and the
offshore fishing in this neck of the woods the weather's so confused," says Hissey,
sprinkle of rain has subsided.
"non-existent," he says. The co-owner of reaching for his ringing telephone. He
I maneuver through the center
Pelican's Roost Tackle Shop in Hatteras is looks up over his shoulder at his televi-
carefully, ducking around throngs of
losing patience with Mother Nature. sion, which is tuned to The Weather
charter fishennen and tourists with
"To me. the fish can feel the pressure Channel.
cameras admiring the catches of the day.
changing. They feed better before a cold "We got two more inches dumped on
The fish line the dock neatly
marks: bulky tuna, blunt-headed
like pelagic
front and before a wind shift, but we've us today — I'm growing gills," he tells the
tick
had nothing but rain the last week and a caller. "I don't think we've weighed a
yellowish dolphin and skinny Spanish
half," he says. "A southwest wind like this citation pompano since you've been gone;
mackerel.
puts warm water on the beach and puts the water's so awful."
If I expect complaints about the
crabs in the surf. You can't keep bait on a It was a friend from Maryland, Hissey
weather, I hear no cross words from the
line." explains as he hangs up. He says he
captain of The Sportsman.
"Sometimes the bad weather helps you Steve Hissey

fish," says Omie Tillett. Inside the cabin,

the Wanchese native looks weathered

himself. He sits on the bench and leans

back, clasping his hands together on his
lap and stretching his tan, bare feet.

"Pretty weather is good 'cause you

don't lose no trips. But too much of one
thing is not good for anything," he says in

a soft voice, it takes a change in the

weather to bring the fish in.

"A northeaster helps, but then it might

cut you out of a week's work," he says,

shrugging.
"The rain doesn't bother us too much,"
he says. "We're 35 to 40 miles out, and the

10 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1991
on Weather and Fishing
receives nearly 3,000 calls each year about Fishennen farther south can do without amount of coliform bacteria in runoff, Sea

the weather and the fate of the fishing. the rain their northern neighbors are being Grant agent Bob Hines says; fisheries

After all, fish are as picky about the served. But pass the southwesterly wind, planes are flying over Bogue Sound telling
weather — and about eating — as we are. please, says Capt. Billy Truitt of Oriental clam fishermen to stop harvesting.

Spanish mackerel like their water clean; later in the week. Truitt and his wife, No matter where you are, storm
rough winds and sloppy conditions in Lucille, have spent their lives crabbing, conditions — especially thunder and
inshore waters don't make for pleasant fishing and shrimping in the waters of the lightning — have their own way of making
dining. Neuse River and Pamlico Sound. fish moody.
However, Hissey says, you still have "This rain we're having right now is the "Fish don't bite that good during or
your bottom feeders — croaker, spot, worst thing you could have for a fisher- after a lightning storm," says Sea Grant
mullet — if you can get to them. "If the man," he says. "What makes good fishing marine agent Jim Bahen.
wind blows too hard, the cunent is so here is a light sou'wester and dry weather." Capt. Eddie Haneman of Wilmington
strong you can't even fish for those; the When the Outer Bankers have a northeast says fish know when to prepare for the
grass blows in and tangles with the line." wind, "their tide comes in here and floods tempest. "A lot of times the fish will feed
right good, eating up for a storm," he says.
Even my dad has something to say on
the subject. He's known fish to feed
through all kinds of commotion.
"Some of the prettiest trout I have
caught came off a northeaster," says Sam
Burgess, describing a two-hour squall that

"If you could figure it all out,

you wouldn't be fishing for a living;

you'd be a genius."

James Fletcher

he and a buddy fished through on a

Topsail Beach fishing pier. "The old pier

just rocked; it rained; the wind blew."
Dad says he acquired a respectable
mess of fish, and when the squall ended,

the fishing did too. "When it left, the fish

some irony to fishing, says Sea

There's us," he says. didn't bite another time. Not a nibble did
Grant agent Wayne Wescott of Manteo. As for rain in this area, the prescribed they do," he says.

"Northeasters blow our Gulf Stream in, and amount is "just enough to suit the farm," There's no set formula for weather and

with that billfish, sailfish and blue marlin. Truitt says. Too many showers will fill the fishing. If there were, there probably

It makes access to fishing better," he says. Neuse River and Pamlico Sound with wouldn't be fishermen who keep detailed

"But on the other hand, if it's a undesirable runoff. logs of location, wind velocity and direc-

northeast wind, it's probably going to be In the long run, rain itself can have a tion, barometric pressure and temperatures

blowing too hard to go," Wescott says. profound effect on various fisheries. while they're out on the water.

The fishing conditions desired at An overly wet spring can be bad for Of all the folks I talked to, I think James
Hatteras or Oregon Inlet may be com- shrimping; the decrease in salinity can Fletcher at Wanchese Fish Company said it

pletely different from those sought at other send young shrimp out of the estuaries in best: "If you could figure it all out, you
points along North Carolina's scalloped-out search of saltier water, where predation is wouldn't be fishing for a living; you'd be a

coastline. high. This wet August has increased the genius."

m
COASTWATCH 11
 Of Bulls' Hides
By Carla B. Burgess

A sundog never fetched anything but a

heap of bad weather.
So say Lucille and Billy Tmitt of
Oriental.

"We came from a long line of fisher-

men back in the 1700s, and they went by

what the old Indians used to see," says

Lucille. "A sundog, seeing two suns, means

there's gonna be a sudden change — and
we've seen a many of 'em."
Double suns and moons have long
been seen as portents of bad weather.
Even more feared are the lights of St.

Elmo's fire dancing in a ship's rigging.

Bloody sunrises don't sit well with sailors

either, apparent in the saying, "Red sky at

morning, sailors take warning. Red sky at

night, sailors delight."

Throughout histoiy, folks have set their

beliefs and observations to rhyme, if not

for poetic intent, then to make them easier

to remember. Signs and sayings are woven

tightly into the weather lore of fishermen

and sailors.

And for people like the Truitts. who

have fished the waters of the Neuse River

When the glass falls low.

Prepare for a blow;

When it rises high,

Let your kites fly.

and Pamlico Sound most of their lives,

they demand as much respect and

attention as the local weather forecaster.

Maybe more.
"A backing wind is no man's friend,"

says Arvin Midgett, who captains the

charter boat Miss Boo out of Oregon Inlet.

"I've known that saying all my life, and

I've come to see the wisdom of it."

Counterclockwise winds almost always

mean trouble — from colder air approach-
ing to menacing hurricane winds. "If it

(wind) comes from the northeast, back to

the north, then from the northwest, why
you look for another cold front coming
through," says Midgett.

12 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1991
Skies
Wind can affect the fish as much as the

people catching them.

"We have a saying here, 'wind out of

the east, fishing least,'" says Jim Bahen, a

Sea Grant agent based at Kure Beach and
a fisherman himself. "Fishermen up around
Carteret talk about a 'mullet blow,' a wind
out of the northeast that makes the fish
move.
"The fisherman who relies on it (the

weather) year-round has got a pretty good

handle on his own method of predicting,"
says Bahen.
Cloud formations, the direction of the
wind, even the behavior of animals are
telling signs.

"Gulls way high up means there's a

front moving in," says Bahen. "Biting flies,

the wind's gonna change.

"Back in the old days, people living on
the coast didn't have the weather forecast.

They had to rely on local knowledge," he

says.

If Billy Truitt sees "bulls' hides" and

"mares' tails" in the sky, he's going to cut

his fishing trip short.

"If there's a bunch of clouds looking

Rain on the flood,

Only a scud.
Rain on the ebb,

Sailois to bed.

like buffalo running across the plains, it's

gonna blow a gale that day," he says. His

wife adds that you shouldn't let still waters

fool you into thinking otherwise.

"Even if it's pretty and slick calm, you

might as well know," Lucille Tmitt says.
"We'll go up a creek and anchor some-
where."
Capt. Eddie Haneman of Wilmington
agrees that streaking clouds, which are
caused by the wind, should not be
ignored.

"Mackerel skies and mares' tails make

m loftier ships carry little sails," he says.
|P
'
:

Sieve Murray

COASTWATCH 13
 Breezing Through a Lesson in Weather
Wind is an important part of coastal

weather conditions. At the beach or along

the sound, wind affects work and play.

People who make their living on the

water know that some winds are better
than others for fishing and navigation. And
of course, "blow boaters" and windsurfers
depend on wind for their pleasure.

You don't need a fancy barometer or

weather station information before you can

learn about the weather. There's a lot you
can find out just by feeling the wind and
looking up at the sky.

A trip to the coast is a good time to

learn.

The first thing you want to determine

is from which direction the wind is

blowing. After all, the source of the wind

is what gives it its name. For example, a

southwest wind is coming from the

southwest, a northerly from the north, and
so on.
Put your face into the wind, and turn
your head so that you can feel, and maybe
even hear, the wind equally in both ears. Wind velocity or speed is another There are some winds that are different

Once you sense a balance, your nose will helpful thing to know. Admiral Sir Francis from the "big" weather pattern. One kind
be pointed toward the origin of the wind. Beaufort of the Royal Navy invented a of "local" coastal wind is the sea breeze.
If you have trouble telling with your handy scale for determining wind speeds During the day, the land warms more
own nose, you might get some clues from by watching waves. quickly than the ocean. So in the after-
sea birds perched atop pilings or standing If you're riding across a bridge at the noon, the warm air over the land rises,

on the beach. Which way are their beaks coast or standing on a fishing pier, you're pulling in cooler air from over the ocean.
pointed? Gulls and terns usually face the in a good position to observe the waves. This cool air moving toward the shore is

wind. They don't like to have their feathers If you see only small wavelets and no called the sea breeze.
ruffled. foam, this is "light air," which ranks "1" on Have you noticed when you're at the
Once you've discovered the wind the Beaufort scale. The speed of the wind beach, gnats and mosquitos tend to be
direction, notice its temperature. A is between 1 and 3 mph. A "moderate worse at dawn and dusk? There's no sea
southerly wind often brings warmth and breeze," numbered "4" on the scale, will breeze to carry them away from you.
humidity. Does the air seem almost whip the waves into whitecaps. Winds are If you're just learning to waterski, you
tropical to you? between 13 and 18 mph. might fare better in the morning or late

Winds out of the northeast are often A "strong breeze," ranking "6" on the afternoon, when the sea breeze isn't

cold. Hard northeasters sometimes bring scale, brings winds 25 to 31 mph. You chopping up the waves. On the other
fierce and lengthy storms. should see cresting waves and "wind hand, if you're a beginning sailor you
Knowing the wind direction might help streaks" on the surface of the water. A might choose mid-afternoon for better
you decide where to tie up a boat or how wind streak is a straight line of foam wind in your sails.

to anchor it. pushed ahead of a wave. Good luck in your weather adventures!
Carta B. Burgess

14 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1991
 Natural Wonders of the Coast

Way Down Upon the Scuppernong River

"He won't bite. And if he does, it

won't hurt too much."

With those strange words of assur-
ance, David Wojnowski of Elizabeth City

maneuvered his canoe — with the

reluctant help of his canoeing partner —
next to a gum log jutting into the Scupper-

nong River.

On the log, a brown water snake

sunned himself.

In one swift move, Wojnowski

grabbed the reptile and threw him into a

cloth bag in the bottom of the canoe. The

slight wind carried the musty scent of the
frightened snake downriver.
Later, Wojnowski showed the other
members of the canoeing party his right
hand. Blood trickled from a series of tiny
wounds on his knuckles. He smiled.
"It was worth it to get a snake like

that," he said, explaining that he would

keep the snake alive and show it to his

students. fell into a freshwater lake (Lake Phelps), Finally, aboard a headboat in Oregon
Snakes included, the Scuppernong wiggled its way into the Scuppernong, Inlet, they learned of the raindrop's final

River is one of North Carolina's best kept flowed into the Albemarle Sound estuary, earthbound destination. They discovered
secrets. and finally came to rest in the warm how the raindrop squeezes through the

Quiet and unassuming, the river's waters of the Gulf Stream off North inlet to mix with the offshore waters,
dark pocosin waters flow from just north Carolina's Cape Hatteras. eventually evaporating and returning to

of Lake Phelps to Albemarle Sound. The teachers discovered the unique the sky.

There are few signs of man. characteristics of Lake Phelps, retracing the Why all the fuss over a tiny raindrop?

No littered shorelines. No trampled probable course of Indians who paddled "If you look at our state, you won't
banks. No fire rings or newly-blazed trails. dugout cypress canoes on the lake find any watershed system that is more
Perhaps this pristine beauty is the centuries ago. They studied the huge trees compact than the one we chose for
reason Lundie Spence, Sea Grant's marine in one of North Carolina's last remaining Paddle-to-the-Sea," Spence says. "From
education specialist, chose the Scupper- stands of virgin timber. lake to river to estuary to ocean, it's all

nong River as one leg in her recent On the Scuppernong, they took water there."

Paddle-to-the-Sea project. The program samples, noted the river's bankside flora Spence says it's important for teachers
was designed to give science and math and fauna and paddled to one of the last to instruct their students in the fundamen-
teachers from the state's northern coastal stands of Atlantic white cedar on the East tal truth that a watershed is not just one
counties a chance to experience coastal Coast. lake or one river or one stream.
nature first hand. In turn, that knowledge In Roanoke Sound, the teachers "They need to teach that a watershed
will be passed along to their students. waded in ankle-deep water, took more is a whole system and that a commitment
Wojnowski was one of those teachers. water samples, collected more plants and to teaching about the watershed is a

The five-day adventure traced the animals, and gained an appreciation for commitment to teaching about the
course of a single imaginary raindrop that the myriad forms of life in the estuary. system," she says.
C.R. Edgerton

COASTWATCH 15
 Marine Advice
Extending Knowledge to the Coastal Community

Satellite Guides Fishermen to Their Catch

All offshore fishermen, recreational and Atmospheric Admin-

commercial, know fishing is a hit or miss. istration's National
Some days are good; other days you Environmental Satellite

couldn't lure a fish to your line if you had Service in Miami. They
the only bait on the Atlantic coast. received satellite images
But what if you had a little help from that allowed them to plot
above? the Gulf Stream.
Not divine aid, mind you. But a Using infrared
satellite telling you where the fish are. photography, a circling
In an age when we use satellites to satellite could differenti-

predict tomorrow's weather, to pinpoint ate the warmth of the

Iraq's nuclear arsenal and to complete Gulf Stream from the
complicated communications connections, colder surrounding
why not use these circling sensors to do a waters of the Atlantic
little fishing too? Ocean.
Jim Bahen, Sea Grant's marine advisory Only during summer
agent at Ft. Fisher, thought the overhead when the continental
orbs might be just what offshore fishermen shelf waters are heated

needed to find the Gulf Stream. He knew to nearly the same

that locating the meandering current of temperature as the Gulf
warm water often meant finding fish. Stream is detection of the
Pelagics such as marlin, wahoo, current's position

swordfish, dolphin and mackerel like the impossible. But most of

warmth of the Gulf Stream and rarely stray the year, the current

from the confines of its heated waters. could be accurately

But finding this haven for fish can be plotted. Several recreational anglers subscribe
tough. So Bahen decided to be the link just so they'll know the Gulf Stream's
"For a long time, people thought the between the readily available satellite location during the lucrative billfish and
Gulf Stream could always be found at the information and the fishermen who mackerel fishing tournaments.
edge of the continental shelf," Bahen says. needed it. For other anglers, it's the location of
"But that just isn't true. He began a service to send subscribers the unusual formations — peninsulas and
In reality, the warm-water current a weekly map charting the position of the eddies — that form along the current's
fluctuates in position, responding to the Gulf Stream along the Eastern Seaboard. boundary that make Bahen's chart a good
wind, current and storm patterns of the He charges S20 a year to cover the cost of investment.
Atlantic. It can change location by several postage, envelopes and photocopying. Often warm-water pelagics are trapped
miles in just a few days time. The map arrives on Wednesday, and in these pockets, not daring to venture into

To find this wandering warmth, Nancy Martin, Bahen's assistant, sends it to colder waters. Therefore these areas
"fishermen used to spend a lot of time and a mailing list of about 100 people. become prime fishing areas that would go
fuel running around in the ocean looking She also encloses other Gulf Stream unnoticed without Bahen's chart.

at their temperature gauges," Bahen says. information — its speed, its direction, its If you would like more information
But now Bahen has devised a system average temperature and its width at about Bahen's Gulf Stream chart, call him
that can save commercial and recreational various points along the East Coast. at 919/458-5498. If you would like to

fishermen the search. Bahen says the subscribers to the subscribe, send $20 to: Gulf Stream Charts,
Several years ago, Bahen began talking service are varied. Most are recreational or Sea Grant, Box 130, Kure Beach, NC
to the folks at the National Oceanic and commercial fishermen. 28449. Make checks payable to Sea Grant.

Kathy Hart

16 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1991
 Insights into Current Sea Grant Research

The Science of Offshore Weather Patterns

If you could travel

30 miles east of Cape

Hatteras on a cold

January day and then

shoot straight up about
15,000 feet, you'd see it.

You'd see warm,

moist air rising off the
Gulf Stream, like steam
rising off a warm
highway after a cool

summer thunderstorm.
And if you looked
west, toward the

Appalachian Mountains,
you'd see blue, cold air

damming up in front of

the mile-high range.

And, if you waited
around long enough,
you'd see a phenomenon
unique to the Carolina
coast: the formation of a

major East Coast winter

storm.
This event happens about 13 to 15 formation of these winter storms. "Nowhere in the world do you get
times every winter in the area over the Their research should lead to a better this kind of heat flux," Raman says.

ocean just east of Cape Hatteras. understanding of the storms and more Because of this, he says, these storms can
These storms cause considerable reliable methods for correctly predicting sometimes form within the 12-hour span
headaches. Each year, they are responsible when and where they will occur. between weather balloon launchings.
for millions of dollars in agricultural "We've been looking at these storms "That's why these storms have been
damage. And they are dangerous. In through satellite images since 1978," so unpredictable in the past," Pietrafesa
February 1989, the Presidents Day Storm Pietrafesa says. "And we discovered that says.

paralyzed the East Coast with snow and the events that occur off Cape Hatteras are Now, however, with a better under-

ice. In April 1982, several people lost their unique in the world." standing of the upper atmospheric
when a Hatteras-formed storm
lives Raman agrees. He says a "freezing dynamics of such systems, predictions can
dumped heavy snows in the Mid-Atlantic line" of low pressure air forms off the be more accurate.
states. coasts of Virginia and the Carolinas when Pietrafesa says the more we know
Sea Grant researcher Len Pietrafesa, the Gulf Stream begins its annual winter about these storms, the more we'll under-
chairman of North Carolina State Univ- migration toward the Outer Banks. stand other processes that are affected by
ersity's Department of Marine, Earth and Northeast winds roll down from the them — things like flooding, erosion,

Atmospheric Sciences, has teamed up with New England states into this low pressure transport of sediments and fish spawning,
two other scientists — meteorology and formation, combining with the warm air the latter of which seems to occur more
oceanography professor Sethu Raman and over the Gulf Stream and the dammed up often just before these storms begin.
graduate student Joe Cione — to study the cold air from the mountains. C.R.Edgerton

COASTWATCH 17
 The Aft Deck
A Bulletin Board of Updates and Events

Know Your Critical Coastal p.m., and for Oct. 29 in Wilmington at the
University of North Carolina at Wilmington
Regulations Concerns
(SB Building, Room 108) from 7 p.m.
The N.C. Department of Environment, The N.C. Division of Coastal Manage-
to 9 p.m.
Health and Natural Resources has published ment needs the public's help in identifying
If you have questions or comments
a guide to natural resource and environ- the state's most critical coastal issues.
about this procedure, contact Jim
mental regulations. The 1991 North The 1990 reauthorization of the federal
Wuenscher, N.C. Division of Coastal
Carolina Environmental Permit Directory is Coastal Zone Management Act created the
Management, P.O. Box 27687, Raleigh, NC
a comprehensive introduction to environ- Coastal Zone Enhancement Grants
27611-7687. Or call 919/733-2293.
mental regulations and an overview of Program, which encourages achievement
requirements governing the wise use and of coastal management goals. But to make
protection of the state's natural resources. the achievement of these goals responsive

The director/ can be used as a manual, to public needs, the division needs your
or handbook, to guide businesses through input.

the permit maze or as an educational Specifically, the division would like to

primer for people interested in environmen- know how you would rank the following
tal protection. objectives:

The directory includes: — protect, enhance or create coastal

— a list of all state environmental and wetlands.
natural resource laws and their statutory — prevent or reduce threats to life and
citations; property by controlling coastal develop-
— an informative grid that lists the ment and redevelopment in hazard areas,
environmental permits required for 40 and anticipate and manage the effects of

businesses commonly operating in North sea level rise.

Carolina; — increase public access.

—a series of frequently asked ques- — reduce marine debris.

tions about permits; — and manage the cumulative

assess
—a list of permit processing times; and and secondary impacts of coastal growth
— a list of permits by area and by and development.
agency. — prepare and implement special area Fall Flora at the Shore
Each permit summary includes a management plans. When the first cool air of fall finally

description of the type of project requiring — plan the use of ocean resources.
for pushes south, most people head westward
this permit, the statutory authority, the — adopt procedures and policies for to the mountains for a dose of seasonal
administrative code citation, the require- siting energy and government facilities and beauty. But the coast also offers some
ments, process time, fees and contact activities. spectacular examples of change.
information. In addition to determining critical
Look first at the marshes, says Sea
The directory also includes regulatory issues, the Division of Coastal Management Grant marine education specialist Lundie
requirements of other state and federal is also seeking ideas on how to address Spence. Interspersed among the marsh
agencies such as the N.C. Department of these areas of concern. grasses is the delicate sea lavender. Its fall

Cultural Resources and the U.S. Army Corps With federal guidance and public bloom is a tiny purple flower.
of Engineers. input, the division will prepare a draft Another plant, the short, segmented
It costs S5 and is available from: assessment. Public review and comments glasswort covers the salt barrens. Its finger-
Department of Environment, Health and of the draft document will be accepted like projections turn flame red in fall as the
Natural Resources, Division of Planning and through the end of October. cool breezes cause the plant's green
Assessment, P.O. Box 27687, Raleigh, NC Public forums to discuss the draft chlorophyll pigment to break down.
27611-7687. assessment are scheduled for Oct. 15 in The groundsel tree graces the marsh's
Manteo at the N.C. Aquarium from 7 p.m. upland side, and this time of year, fluffy

to 9 p.m., for Oct. 22 in Beaufort at the white hairs bearing tiny fruits reveal the
N.C. Maritime Museum from 7 p.m. to 9 plant's other name — cottonbush. Some

18 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1991
local people also call it mullet bush, which needs no refrigeration as long as it Oman Oasis
perhaps because its fruiting coincides with is unopened. The Sultanate of Oman is an undis-
the fall mullet runs, Before using picked crab meat, always covered Middle Eastern jewel.
Around the dunes, seaside goldenrod examine it for shell fragments, Taylor says. Wide, sandy beaches and high,
is in its glory now, and camphorweed, a And remember that picked crab meat has nigged mountains make Oman among the
beautiful yellow aster, is dotting the back been cooked. When using it in recipes, be most beautiful of the arid countries of the
of the dunes. In the depressions between sure not to overcook it, she says. You'll Persian Gulf.
dune tops, purple muhly catches dew, and usually need to cook it just long enough to Walter Clark. Sea Grant's coastal and
the five-petal marsh pink still blooms. heat it thoroughly. ocean law specialist, is working to make
Wax myrtle, a common coastal shrub, For a crabby taste treat, Taylor suggests sure this oasis remains a viable environ-
sprouts clusters of small bluish berries that this recipe: mental showcase.
call out the season. Clark is one of a team of American,
While observing the splendor of the Crab Meat and Mushrooms in Canadian and German specialists whose
flora, you'll likely see the fall migration of Wine Sauce ultimate goal is to write a set of rules and
the monarch butterfly. These beautiful regulations that will protect Oman's coast
butterflies migrate from Canada to Florida 1 pound backfin crab meat from development brought on by an
and central Mexico. They stop for food, 2 T. margarine expected influx of tourism over the next
feeding on the nectar of fall flowers such 2 T. flour few years.
as goldenrods and camphorweed. 1/2 cup milk Until recently, Oman was a closed
North Carolina's barrier islands, 1/2 cup dry white wine country, Very few tourists were allowed in
especially sites near inlets, are excellent 1/2 tsp. dry mustard to witness her splendid shoreline beauty.
locations to watch for these migrating 1/4 tsp. dried tarragon With the country's oil reserves
beauties. 1/2 tsp. salt
expected to nin out by the turn of the
1/4 tsp. freshly ground white pepper century, Oman's monarch, Sultan Quaboos
Crazy About Crab 1/4 tsp. Tabasco sauce Bin Said, wants to open the country to
This has been the year of the blue crab 1/4 pound sliced fresh mushrooms limited tourism.

for coastal fishermen. The clawed 3/4 cup dry bread crumbs But with people come problems.
crustaceans have been as abundant as 2 T. melted margarine The sultan is seeking ways to develop
mosquitoes on a windless night. his country for tourism but leave the

If you favor the sweet, succulent meat Melt 2 tablespoons margarine in large
environment intact.

of this shellfish, now's the time to feed skillet over medium heat. Saute mush- "It's called sustainable development,"

your need. rooms until tender. Blend in flour. Add Clark says. "They want to allow develop-
Most folks buy crab meat that is milk, stirring constantly. Add wine, ment without destroying the resource that's

already cooked, picked and ready to eat. mustard, tarragon, salt, pepper and attracting the development in the first

Picked crab meat is available in several Tabasco. When heated, add crab meat and place. They also want to preserve their

forms, says Joyce Taylor, Sea Grant's sea- mushrooms. Place in lightly greased cultural identity."

food education specialist. The four most casserole. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and For Clark, it's an exciting adventure.
common are lump, backfin, special and drizzle with melted margarine. Bake, "We're going into a country that's

claw. uncovered, at 350 F for 30 minutes or until

relatively unspoiled," he says. 'As a

Lump, or jumbo lump, comes from the lightly browned and bubbly. Serves 4 to 6.
lawyer, to be involved with a project like
large white lumps taken from the area this from the beginning is unique. We're
adjacent to the backfin appendage. usually trying to fix things after the fact."
Backfin consists of some lumps plus the Clark will interview government
rest of the meat from the body. officials and look at information provided
Special, also called regular or flake, is by a coastal engineer, a planner and a

the white meat without any lumps. Claw geomorphologist.

meat, often a brownish color, is used in From that information, he will draft

recipes where a white appearance is not laws that will be reviewed by Oman's
important. Ministry of Environment. From there, the

Picked crab meat is also available in laws are likely to become decrees of the
pasteurized form, which extends its sultan, and thus, law of the land.

storage life. Pasteurized crab meat may be The project is being sponsored by the
kept unopened in the refrigerator for up to United States Agency for International
six months. Development and administered by James
And you can buy canned crab meat, Dobbin and Associates of Alexandria, Va.

COASTWATCH 19
 A Forum for Coastwatch Readers

Coastwatch wants to hear from you on topics relating to the

Pier Muncher is a Bore
North Carolina coast. Letters should be no longer than 250 words
and should contain the author's name, address and telephone
Dear Editor,
number. Letters may be edited for style. Send all conespondence
I have an odd question for you on the maintenance of piers
to Coastwatch, UNC Sea Grant, Box 8605, North Carolina State
in salt water. I live in retirement at Topsail Beach on Banks
University, Raleigh, NC 27695. Opinions expressed on this page

are not necessarily those of UNC Sea Grant employees or staff.

Channel — great place!

Eight or nine years ago, I was told if I removed the growth

my warm
Shaking A Bad Image and barnacles from
could prolong the life
pier several times in the

of the pilings. This year is the

weather,
first year I
I

physically couldn't clean them myself so I paid a man to do the

Dear Editor,
pilings.
I am a resident of Carolina Beach and have been so for five
Now I'm told that cleaning does no good except where my
years now. I read with much dismay your article regarding the
boat might rub against them.
comparison of our beaches (May/June 1991). I must tell you that I
Tme or false? I had a lot of good exercise these last few years
am weary of writers and everyone else constantly comparing the and wonder if I did any good!
two beaches of Wrightsville and Carolina. It is apparent that Margaret L. Moore, Holly Ridge, N.C.
Wrightsville Beach is an affluent town. However, much money and
time has been spent by the taxpayers of Carolina Beach to build Outside of abrasion to your boat, you needn 't worry about
up and beautify our beach. barnacles, says Sea Grant coastal engineer Spencer Rogers.
This beach is growing, and many, many new residents are
Barnacles don 't damage the wood; they just hang around on the
moving in here each year. These people are no different from the outside.
people who reside over in Wrightsville Beach. The residents of
The real culprits in damage to wooden pilings and decks are
Carolina Beach have taken pride in the accomplishments that have shipworms and limnoria. The shipivoim a
is relative of the clam. It

been made here. There are many positive aspects to our beach doesn't eat wood, but bores into it, creating tunnels in which to live.

and the boardwalk is not one of them. However, if you were to go You can see only the tiny hole where the earthworm-sized creature
to Johnnie Mercer's Pier in Wrightsville Beach, you would see the pokes its head from and feeds. The destmctive mazes within the
very same situation. Your glowing report of Wrightsville is
wood remain hidden.
wonderful, but I really feel like you did not give Carolina Beach a
The limnoria, which is kin to a shrimp, does eat wood. This
fair shake and the credit it deserves for building up and becoming 1/4-inch creature will even munch through creosote. Its snackings
the beautiful beach that it is today. We who live here are proud to leave a trademark hourglass-shaped piling.
call Carolina Beach "Our Town." The only way to guard against these nuisances is by using
Arlene L. King, Carolina Beach, N.C. properly treated lumber (chromated copper arsenic is recom-
mended) during constmction. Existing untreated pilings are
Don't Kill Sharks and completely vulnerable to these creatures, which have been known to

Rays Needlessly destroy a pier in less than six months.

Dear Editor, Highs and Lows, Ebbs and Flows

I had to write you to request a con-ection in the Sharks and
Rays at the Point article (Backtalk, May/June 1991). In your article Dear Editor,

you stated: if you catch a ray, exercise caution and cut or clip off How do they calculate high and low tide times?

the tail." It should say: if you catch a ray and plan to keep it to Eddie W. Scott, Mebane, N.C.
eat, exercise caution and cut or clip off the tail." Maybe you just

don't realize how many fishermen cut off the tails of skates and Tide variation of the tides is caused by the complex relation-
rays and then throw them back into the water to suffer and most ships between the earth, moon and sun. Although time tides vary
likely die. widely from place to place, it is possible to predict high and low
Roxanne D. Dorman, Wrightsville Beach, N.C. tides. Since tide times repeat themselves over the years, careful

records ofpast tides aid in the prediction of current tides. The

longer records are kept, the more accurate the prediction.

20 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1991
Coastwatch
UNC Sea Grant College Program
Box 8605
North Carolina State University

Raleigh, NC 27695-8605
 Keeping Track of the Coast
Yes! I want to subscribe to Coastwatch. I'd like the most current news and
information about the North Carolina coast for just $12.

Name

Address

City State : Zip

Please enclose this card with your order and make your check payable to Coastwatch.
 Publications to Enrich Your Coastal Library

Sea Grant has some fresh artificial reef users and and choose from informative THE CAPE
offerings. Several new and re- examines their general publications on coastal topics of
HATTERAS
printed publications, on a variety knowledge and use of artificial interest to you — recreation,

of topics, are hot off the presses. reefs. It also identifies their fishing and aquaculture,
-
LIGHTHOUSE
Since 1871 the Cape
views on artificial reef seafood, education and our
Hatteras lighthouse has been a
THE SCOOP administration, funding, siting, changing coast.
welcome sight for sailors
ON DIOXIN construction, information, The publication is free. For
entering the treacherous region
evaluation, conflict experi- a copy, write Sea Grant. Ask for
What is dioxin? Where does off North Carolina's Outer
ences and acceptance of UNC-SG-91-04.
it come from? How much of the Banks known as the Grave-
chemical
management restrictions.
is in posted waters? Is it
yard of the Atlantic.
safe to eat fish from some rivers?
For a copy, write Sea SUCCULENT At 208 feet high, the
You'll find the answers to
Grant. Ask for UNC-SG-91-03. SURIMI tallest lighthouse in the
it is

The cost is $3.50. The Japanese have been

these and other questions in country and has been called
Dioxin: Sources, Health Risks, eating it for years, and now it's

Alternatives, a four-page fact HOW TO HANG popular in America too. What

North Carolina's most famous
landmark.
sheet developed by UNC Sea A GILL NET is the dish that has gained
Through the years, it has
international popularity?
Grant and the N.C. Coopera- Along the East Coast, gill withstood the ravages of
tive Extension Service. nets are among the most Surimi, It's a fish paste
humans and nature, but its fate
The fact sheet provides popular nets for both commer- made from Alaska pollock,
is in question. In Cape
answers for some of the public's cial and sport fishing. The and it's shaped into pseudo-
Hatteras Lighthouse: Sentinel of
most frequently asked questions versatile gill net can be used to seafood products such as crab
the Shoals, Dawson Carr tells

about dioxin. catch a variety of fish — from flakes, crab legs and scallops.
the story of the noble light-
This chemical is produced as trout to hake and flounder. Now Sea Grant researcher
house and speculates on its

a by-product of the bleaching It can easily be staked, Tyre Lanier and the Technical
precarious future.
process in papermaking and has anchored, allowed to drift or Subcommittee of the Surimi
For ordering informa-
been found in risky quantities in pulled by a boat. Committe have standardized
tion about this 144-page
fish and sediments in some of Making your own gill net is
the procedure for evaluating
paperback, call the Univer-
North Carolina's coastal waters. one easy way to cut down on the fish paste produced in the
sity of North Carolina Press
This paper describes dioxin, fishing costs. How to Hang a United States.
at 919/966-3561.
its health risks, and ways to Gill Net outlines steps for The procedure will allow

assure safe eating of fish that doing this, including tips on surimi producers to accurately
When ordering Sea Grant
may be contaminated with the buying the supplies, hanging write reliable buyer-seller
publications, please use your
chemical. the net, and following contracts, to ensure quality
mailing label from Coastwatch
For a free copy, write Sea regulations. control and to predict the
or the customer identification
Grant. Ask for UNC-SG-FS-91-01. For a copy, write to Sea surimi's useability.
number that appears above
Grant. Ask for UNC-SG-79-03. This standardization
your name. This will speed
ARTIFICIAL REEF The cost for this 16-page, procedure is now available in
deliver)'. Also be sure checks are
a manual produced by Sea
MANAGEMENT illustrated booklet is $1.50.
Grant and and the National
made payable to Sea Grant,
People who fish or dive unless otherwise specified.
among artificial reefs in ocean PUBLICATIONS Fisheries Institute.
Send all publication requests
For a copy of A Manual of
waters off North Carolina, Texas CATALOG Standard Methods for Measur-
to: Publications, Sea Grant, Box
and Florida were surveyed in Sea Grant Publications has 8605, North Carolina State
ing and Specifying the
this paper, which offers sugges- been reprinted and includes University Raleigh, NC 27695
Properties of Surimi, write UNC
tions for management of these up-to-date listings of the If you wish to order multiple
Sea Grant. The cost is $6. Ask
resources. books, booklets, brochures, copies or need further assis-
for UNC-SG-91-01.
The 59-page report, User posters and other materials tance, contact Carole Purser,

Views of Artificial Reef Manage- published by our program. publication distribution

ment in the Southeast, profiles Flip through our catalog, manager, at 919/515-2454.

COASTWATCH 21
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 UNC Sea Grant November/December 1991

Coastal
Stewardship

'

at
• .... u.I.,
1 111

INCLUDING
A Guide to Coastal Advocacy Groups

PLUS
Where Does Government Fit In?

50
66 Ways to Help Clean Our Coast
Coastwatch
Coastwatch Staff:

Kathy Hart, Managing Editor

C.R. Edgerton and Carla B. Burgess,

Staff Writers and Editors

L. Noble, Designer
Julie Snyder and Debra Lynch,
Circulation Managers

The University of North Carolina Sea

Grant College Program is a federal/state
program that promotes the wise use of our
coastal and marine resources through
research, extension and education. It

joined the National Sea Grant College

Network in 1970 as an institutional

program. Six years later, it was designated

a Sea Grant College. Today, UNC Sea
Grant supports several research projects,
an 11-member extension program and
three communicators. B.J. Copeland is

director. The program is funded by the

U.S. Department of Commerce's National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
and the state through the University of
North Carolina.

Change of address, subscription

information or editorial correspon-
dence: Coastwatch, UNC Sea Grant, Box
8605, N.C. State University, Raleigh, NC
27695. Telephone: 919/515-2454. Please
use the subscriber number that appears on
your label when changing addresses.

Coastwatch is published six times a year. A

year's subscription is $12.

Postmaster: Send address changes to

Coastwatch, UNC Sea Grant, Box 8605,
North Carolina State University, Raleigh,

NC 27695.

Cover photo by Scott Taylor

Inside front cover photo by Steve Murray
Give all the
special people
on your
Christmas
a gift of
list
excitement
and education.

Give them
Coastwatch!

This is one of
the easiest
ways to give
your friends
and family
some of the
adventure and
wonder of
coastal North
Carolina.

They will love

to explore
each new
issue, finding
the latest
information
on all manner
of seaside
subjects. And
they'll love
you for it!

See the
attatched gift
cards for more
information.
It's a present
that will
delight and
entertain the
entire year.
Give all the
special people
on your
Christmas
list a gift of
excitement
and education.

Give them
CoastwaHh!

This is one of
the easiest
ways to give
your friends
and family
some of the
adventure and
wonder of
coastal North
Carolina*

They will love

to explore
each new
issue, finding
the latest
information
on all manner
of seaside
subjects. And
they'll love
you for it!

See the
attached gift
cards for more
information.
It's a present
that will
delight and
entertain the
entire year.
 M.C, DOCUMENTS \

CLEARINGHOUSE

From The Top STATE LIBRARY

RALEIGH

Dear Readers, advocacy groups and their accomplishments and priorities for the

This month, Coastwatch focuses on stewardship. future.

From the beaches to the sounds and seas, from national C.R. Edgerton takes a look at government's role in protecting

seashores to wildlife sanctuaries, we all can claim ownership of the state's coastal resources. His article records the viewpoints of
coastal resources. an environmental lobbyist and the director of the state's Division
And ownership carries the responsibility to wisely use and of Environmental Management.
help manage these resources. Whether we work alone or seek the And there's a list of 66 things you can do to help make the
strength found in numbers, we can impact everything from local coast a more environmentally safe place to live and work.
zoning ordinances to federal policies concerning use of offshore
waters. See you next time,
Carla Burgess gives us a rundown of some of the coastal Kathy Hart

In This Issue

Strength in Numbers: Pooling Resources to Make an

Impact 2

rr-
mi
Making Government Work for You 8

Young Mariners

Is There Enough Nature to Go Around? 14

From Sound To Sea

A Howling Success 15
Clean Up Your Act and Care for Marine Advice

Your Coast II Taking the Middle Road 16

Field Notes

Stalking a Dangerous Bacteria 17

The Aft Deck 18
Back Talk 20
The Book Store 21

COASTWATCH 1
Strength in Numbers:
Pooling Resources to
iVtake an Impact bycariaB. b u rgess

The United States, captured at night by a space shuttle ies, declining water quality, preservation of habitat. We all

camera, is ablaze with incandescent light. Illuminated have a say in what happens.
towns and cities form an almost perfect outline of our "Portions of the coastal environment belong to all of
country's coast. us, " says Michael Corcoran of the N.C Wildlife Federa-

The result is more than just a pretty picture. tion. "We need to exercise the rights of ownership.
It's a graphic illustration of the dense population in our Thousands of individuals are making their voices
country's coastal plain. Demographers have predicted that heard as members of a chorus. Conservationists have
by the end of this century, 75 percent of Americans will banded together to speak out on environmental regula-
live within 75 miles of coastal waters. It's a prediction that tions; developers have grouped to push for balance in

some think has already come true. economic growth.

Growth along the North Carolina coast is keeping with No matter what the position, people have found that
the trend. By the year 2000, populations in Dare, Carteret working together as an organized group increases their
and New Hanover counties are expected to be triple the effectiveness and their ability to get relevant and accurate
1980 count. information.
With this shift comes an increased pressure on our Some of these groups are and familiar in
large in scope

watery natural resources and a growing concern over name — Sierra Club, Nature Conservancy, Audubon
how to maintain and preserve them. The issues we face Society. Others are small but determined.

are countless — protection of wetlands, dwindling fresh All play a role in keeping an eye on our coast.
water supplies, sewage disposal problems, waning fisher-

NORTH CAROLINA
COASTAL FEDERATION
When a city drainage project clouded the waters of a

Wilmington creek with clay last spring, nearby residents were a

little concerned. But when a developer proposed a community
pier to stretch 350 feet into the waterway, it was time to call a

meeting.
"Hewlett's Creek is a small estuary, but it drains a very large

area of our city," says Betsey Talley, chairman of the newly formed
Hewlett's Creek Watershed Association. A primary nursery for
shellfish, the creek is shallow — less than a foot in some areas at

low tide, she says.

The residents wonied about increased traffic and pollution.

"There is simply not enough water to support boats, unless it's just

a little johnboat," says Talley.

The association won its fight; the plans for the pier were
withdrawn. But Talley and the other members didn't disband.
"We became aware of many things that needed our attention

and that the residents along the creek needed to be better

stewards of the area ourselves — to sort of watch these things and

catch them before they happen," she says.

2 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1991
 It sounds like something Todd Miller would say. And with "We view our role as helping citizens to spend their time

good reason. The N.C. Coastal Federation's executive director was wisely if they want to do something to help the coast," he says,
present at that first Hewlett's Creek meeting. He's continued to "We make sure they don't waste a lot of time barking up the
give advice as the group has worked to influence the county's wrong tree."

land-use plan.
"We're trying to get citizens less reactive to a crisis and more Pamlico-Tar River Foundation
involved in helping set the agenda for what happens on the coast," If it were possible for the Coastal Federation to have a prize
says Miller, who's been with the federation since its beginnings in pupil, the Pamlico-Tar Paver Foundation would be a likely

1982. "Too often people become aware of problems when it's candidate.
really too late to do anything about them." "We're sort of the prototype of what we would want all the
With 55 organizations under its umbrella and 2,800 individual Coastal Federation groups to become," says executive director
members, the Coastal Federation seems to be everywhere at once: David McNaught. "The Coastal Federation is extremely valuable to
serving up seafood at coastal heritage festivals; joining other us more as a colleague; we tend to be partners in most ventures."
environmental groups in a lawsuit to protect remaining wetlands in Formed in 1980 over concerns about degradation of the
the East Dismal Swamp; coaching a fledgling environmental group Pamlico-Tar River watershed, the foundation provides education,
at a neighborhood meeting. advocacy, monitoring of water quality and scientific research. It

Recently, the federation has worked with citizen groups that also offers recreational outings to inspire an appreciation for this

want to have input into their local land-use plans. Under the state's natural area.

Coastal Area Management Act, plans must be reviewed and The watershed, which spans 8,200 square miles, has been
updated every five years. plagued in recent years by fish kills, nutrient pollution and
"Traditionally people have always relied on the feds or the nuisance algal blooms. Municipal sewage treatment plants have
state to take care of problems," says Miller. "But these local groups exceeded their effluent discharge limits; bottom grasses have
are really critical to seeing that adequate safeguards are being vanished; commercial catches have declined.
taken. Local governments have the power to take care of the coast But McNaught says the foundation can claim many victories.

but generally have not used it.

Continued on the next page

COASTWATCH 3
In its early years, the foundation joined the National Wildlife That's when Egan and his surfing friends got busy; LegaSea
Federation in successfully suing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, was born.

winning protection for peat-based wetlands in what is now the "I didn't want to see happen in North Carolina what happened
Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. in Louisiana," says Egan. "This is one of the last stretches of

In 1989, the watershed won a "nutrient sensitive" designation beaches that is pristine. There's a vibrant economy based on
from the state Division of Environmental Management and special tourism and fishing, both of which are dependent on clean water
protection against nutrient input. and clean beaches.
The foundation has worked with other environmental groups, "We began a process of educating ourselves," he says. Through
industry and government to develop a new wastewater discharge newsletters and meetings, the group now educates the public,

permit for Texasgulf Inc. in Aurora. The company's proposed providing background on the issue, updates on legislative activity

wastewater recycling system should reduce its phosphorus and information on how to take action.

discharge into the Pamlico River by 90 percent. And the group formulated its position and purpose — to fight

PTRF's priorities for the future will include implementing a offshore drilling until scientific research projects no negative impact
comprehensive management plan for the basin and "maximizing on the marine environment or the socioeconomic stability of the

the degree of protection for wetland resources," McNaught says. coastal zone.

As the issue heats up, LegaSea has expanded beyond its core

LegaSea group of surfers; its 500 members include residents, recreational

When Michael Egan moved to the Outer Banks from Louisiana and commercial fishermen, hotel and motel owners, and real estate

in 1983, he brought with him more than a love for surfing. He agents, Egan says.

came with some first-hand observations on the nature of the In 1990, Congressman Walter B. Jones helped secure passage
offshore oil drilling business. of the Outer Banks Protection Act, which postponed drilling

''I worked on the cargo vessels that hauled cargo to the oil rigs approval until October 1991 and until the Secretary of the Interior

in the Gulf," Egan says, describing the toxic wastes he saw spilled can certify to Congress that the information is adequate. It also

overboard and seeping from rigs. He says he left behind an area created a panel of scientists to review the environmental and socio-

economically devastated by a transient industry and ruined by economic impacts of oil exploration off the North Carolina coast.

toxic pollution. This panel has released a draft report for peer review, says

At Cape Hatteras, he found a surfing mecca and an unspoiled Donna Moffitt, director of the state's Outer Continental Shelf Office.

stretch of banier island. But the oil industry was not far behind. A final report is expected by the end of the year.
In 1981, the federal government sold 43 10-year leases off the In the meantime, the folks of LegaSea are employing an
North Carolina coast to major oil corporations for the purposes of offensive strategy.

drilling for oil and natural gas. In 1988, Mobile Oil Corp. submitted Egan and others are pushing for public support of a National

an exploration plan that proposed drilling 38 miles due east of Marine Sanctuary designation that would include the area off Cape

Hatteras Island. Hatteras National Seashore known as "The Point." Under this

federal program, established in 1972, unique marine areas receive

4 NO MEMBER/DECEMBER 1991
special study, considerations and protection. The proposed
"Hatteras/Gulf Stream National Marine Sanctuary" would cover
1,000 square miles.
Egan believes that the area meets some of the criteria of
sanctuary designation. In this zone, the Outer Continental Shelf
drops from 20 to 1,000 fathoms, forming a 6,000 foot undersea
cliff, he says.

Nearby, the cold northern waters of the Labrador Current meet

the warm Gulf Stream, mixing northernmost and southernmost
species of birds, marine mammals and fish.

Ocracoke Committee formed in opposition to a "monstrosity"

— a 350-foot dock and pier proposed in August 1990 and now

completed — says spokesperson Charles Runyon. Residents were
worried about how increased boat traffic would threaten the
organization of 800 members looks at issues "not in a 'not in my
sound, which supports lush eelgrass and "wonderful clamming,"
backyard way,' but in a fairly scientific way."
says Runyon.
The Pender group has been a mentor for the newly formed
The group appealed the developer's CAMA permit but was
Friends of Black River, who organized to oppose a proposed
refused a hearing before the N.C. Coastal Resources Commission.
landfill near the river banks.
Represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center, the

committee won a Superior Court judgment to rescind the permit,

Friends of Hatteras Island is a group that fosters stewardship
but the state is appealing, says the center's director.
of the sands, air, woods and water of this banier island.
The Ocracoke Committee continues to work with the county
The group is a voice for the state's largest remaining maritime
commissioners on a land-use plan update.
forest, Buxton Woods. Friends of Hatteras formed in opposition to

a large proposed development in the woods, which they saw as a

Carteret County Crossroads and its 500-plus members aim to
threat to the island's water quality and supply.
preserve the natural and cultural environment of Carteret County,
Lobbying efforts by the group and a request by the Siena Club
says president Allyn Powell. The group has invited people from
for a state designation of the woods as an "area of environmental
the Corps of Engineers and the Southern Environmental Law-
concern" prompted the Dare County Board of Commissioners to
Center to help educate their membership on the issue of wetlands
pass its own protective zoning ordinance.
preservation and development. They also closely follow the
Almost 500 acres of the woods are now under state control and
offshore drilling issue and activities of local military bases.
1,000 acres are national park land; the remaining 1,500 acres are
privately owned.
Sunset Beach Taxpayers Association has successfully fought
Friends' secretary Ricki Shepherd hopes the state will acquire at
zoning changes and blocked a high-rise bridge through legal
least another 500 acres of the maritime forest.
action, says spokesperson Minnie Hunt.
In the meantime, the group has a lease-purchase agreement for
a 10-acre soundside tract of Buxton Woods. They're planning a
Penderwatch and Conservancy monitors stream water
library and resource center in an existing building and are also
quality, attends meetings of the county commissioners and
constructing nature trails.
planning board, and stays abreast of issues affecting quality of life

in Pender County. Co-vice president Howard Sterne hopes the

Friends of Roanoke Island advocates citizen involvement
and empowerment in government and public education. The
group holds land-use planning seminars, networks with other
groups on wetlands issues and monitors water quality.

NORTH CAROLINA
WILDLIFE FEDERATION!
Started in 1945 by a group of hunters and fishermen, the N.C.
Wildlife Federation has a long history of fighting for enhancement
of natural resources statewide. Specifically, it prompted the
legislation that created the state's Wildlife Resources Commission,
says executive director Michael Corcoran.

Continued on the next page

COASTWATCH 5
 In the early 1950s, the federation was fighting for stream

sanitation laws. Today's 50,000-member organization continues its

involvement in protecting the quality of water and surrounding

habitats.

Coastal resources preservation is high on the organization's

agenda, including intensified political activity on issues such as

wetlands and outstanding resource waters, Corcoran says.

"We were very active in petitioning the Coastal Resources
Commission not to back off its beach hardening prohibition," says
Corcoran, noting that seawalls and groins make public beach
disappear.
The organization has spawned another conservation organiza- take it free too," says Katherine Skinner, director of the state office.

tion, the N.C. Alliance for Conservation Action, a grassroots The Nature Conservancy owns 31,000 acres in North Carolina

political lobbying group. and protects another 336,000 through conservation easements or

As for its combined bent toward sportsmen's issues and ownership by a state or federal entity.

mainstream environmentalism, Corcoran says the Wildlife "Up and down the coast, we have some pretty interesting
Federation's "muddy boot ecologists" are comfortable with their success stories," says Skinner, citing the donation of 118,000 acres

feet in both worlds. "While they love to hunt and fish, they're now known as the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge.

really committed and ardent conservationists," he says. "Our mission is to protect endangered and threatened species
and their natural communities," she says. "One of those communities
N.C. ENVIRONMENTAL is maritime forest."

DEFENSE FUND The Nature Conservancy owns 420 acres in Nags Head Woods,
its only staffed preserve in the state, and manages another 300 acres
If one polluter of a river can't afford to curb its own discharges, of the woods for the Town of Nags Head. Together, the town and
could it opt to clean up someone else's pollution instead? the conservancy recently purchased another 389 acres of the forest.

It could under an innovative management plan proposed for Beech trees, big hickories and red oaks give Nags Head Woods a

the nutrient sensitive Tar-Pamlico watershed. unique feel, says preserve director Jeffrey Smith.

For example, a wastewater treatment plant might not be able "Most maritime forests in North Carolina are dominated by

to meet its discharge limits for nutrients without costly capital evergreen species that can withstand the harsh conditions along the

improvements. But under this plan, the plant could opt to invest in coast, such as salt spray and lack of fresh water," he says. "Nags

better agricultural practices on nearby farms, thus reducing Head Woods is surrounded by a system of high dunes, so a very

nutrient-rich runoff in the watershed. lush deciduous forest has grown up on this island right next to the

This alternative strategy, also called "pollution reduction ocean."

trading," was developed by the N.C. Environmental Defense Fund Thanks to the Nature Conservancy, this precious piece of nature

and other environmental groups in cooperation with a coalition of has been preserved for future generations.

dischargers in the basin. "The town of Southern Shores has been developed on what once
"The philosophy behind our organization is creative problem was a maritime forest like Nags Head Woods," says Smith.

solving, using legal, scientific and economic strategy," says EDF The Nature Conservancy is 600,000 members strong internation-

senior scientist Doug Rader. ally; it counts 16,000 members in the Tar Heel State. The organiza-
EDF works closely with the Pamlico-Tar River Foundation and tion is tight-lipped about its future projects; such a disclosure could

the N.C. Coastal Federation. Along with those groups and others, make land prices soar, Skinner says.

EDF helped develop by which Texasgulf

THE SIERRA CLUB AND
a permit will reduce its

THE AUDUBON SOCIETY

phosphorus input into the Pamlico River, Rader says. It has also
defended North Carolina's dioxin standards against assaults by the
pulp-and-paper industry.
The organization's coastal agenda includes water quality These established conservation groups also count coastal

protection and wetlands preservation, especially the unregulated caretaking among their diverse priorities.

conversion of forested wetlands to tree farms, Rader says. National flood insurance reform, offshore drilling, maritime
forests, wetlands and water quality keeps N.C. Sierra Club coastal

NATURE CONSERVANCY issues chair Ray Lee jumping.

The Audubon Society keeps an eye on 10 seaside sanctuaries

If environmental groups don't like the way land is treated, why from Southport to Ocracoke, says Walker Golder, manager of N.C.

don't they just buy it and manage it themselves? Coastal Islands program.

That's exactly what the Nature Conservancy does. But the The program protects and manages this critical habitat — the
group isn't full of money. "We try to get it (property) as gifts; we primary nesting and feeding sites for 16 species and 13,000 nesting

pairs of colonial waterbirds. Q

6 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1991
ECONOMIC ALLIANCE OF NORTH CAROLINA creation of citizen advocacy groups opposing development.

There are plenty of groups to represent the pocosins and The N.C. Marina Association is a voice for the other side.

the piping plovers, but who speaks for the developer, the "The Marina Association is strongly in favor of a good
banker and the homebuilder? environment," says executive director Susan Hebert. "But we
"Someone has to create a voice that can strike the also think regulations shouldn't kill small business."
balance," says Ken Stewart, director of the Economic Alliance The association keeps abreast of proposed policies and
of North Carolina. regulations governing marinas and seeks to represent and
While environmental watchdogs are guarding the coast, promote the marina industry.

the alliance is watching the watchdogs. And when the Hebert says marinas probably get picked on by environ-
Environmental Management Commission, Corps of Engineers mentalists "because they are highly visible and they border on
and Coastal Resources Commission meet, the alliance is there industrial."

too.
SOUTHERN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER
Stewart says many environmental groups are "extreme" in
The natural resources of North Carolina and five other
their positions. The alliance, he says, figures compromise and
southern states have a legal leg to stand on, thanks to the
leniency into its stance from the beginning. "We take the
Southern Environmental Law Center.
middle ground and fight for it tooth and nail," he says.
A substantial portion of this non-profit, public-interest law
"We're not opposed to oceanfront setbacks or strong limits
firm's legal resources is dedicated to coastal work, says Lark
on oceanfront (shoreline) hardening structures," says Stewart,
Hayes, director of the North Carolina office.
who is a former director of the state's Division of Coastal
"Our relationship with coastal groups has enabled us to
Management. "What we are opposed to is excessive regula-
play an active role in most of the important coastal issues,
tions of any of these things that don't have technical founda-
including wetlands protection, maritime forest preservation,
tion, that don't consider the effects on private property rights
coastal water quality and offshore oil drilling," says Hayes.
and economic development."
The center is the pro bono counsel for the environment.
The alliance names among its members Weyerhaeuser and
Sometimes this means simply giving advice and counsel about
the developers of Landfall and Bald Head Island. But Stewart
strategies. Other times, "it means taking on a major legal
says there are many developers who "would not be welcome"
battle to protect a special area or to get an important issue of
in the organization.
coastal law resolved," she says.

N.C. MARINA ASSOCIATION SELC has 1,900 individual members and relies on founda-
Construction of new marinas is often the catalyst for the tion grants for sustenance. El

Our story includes only a sampling of the established environmen-

tal, conservation and development groups in North Carolina. Many of
them have literatureand newsletters to keep the public apprised of
coastal issues. Below are the contacts and numbers for the ones we
mentioned:
N.C. Coastal Federation. Todd Miller, 919/393-8185
Hewlett's Creek Watershed Association, Betsey Talley, 919/791-4103

Pamlico-Tar River Foundation, Dave McNaught, 919/946-7211

LegaSea, Michael Egan, 919/473-5888
Ocracoke Committee, Charles Runyon, 919/928-5811
Carteret County Crossroads, Charles Runyon, 919/728-8769
Sunset Beach Taxpayers Association, Minnie Hunt, 919/579-2124
Penderwatch and Conservancy, Howard Sterne, 919/270-9733

Friends of Hatteras Island, Ricki Shepherd, 919/986-2703

Friends of Roanoke Island, Sybil Basnight, 919/473-6365
N.C. Wildlife Federation, Michael Corcoran, 919/833-1923
N.C. Environmental Defense Fund, Doug Rader, 919/821-7793
Nature Conservancy, Katherine Skinner, 919/967-7007
Siena Club, Ray Lee, 919/830-0312
Audubon Society, Walker Golder, 919/256-9783
Economic Alliance of N.C, Ken Stewart, 919/256-2881

N.C. Marina Association, Susan Hebert, 919/249-0200

Southern Environmental Law Center, Lark Hayes, 919/967-1450 E2

COASTWATCH 7
Making Government
Work
OR.
by
For You
Edgerton

Some folks think the government is the last place to go for overwhelming public support for maintaining the seawall ban.

answers to coastal environmental problems. "In this case, private citizens were able to sway the commis-
But Bill Holman, a "green" lobbyist, and George Everett, one sion," Holman says. "It showed that working through the proper
of state government's top environmental watchdogs, say the channels, through the government's own guidelines, you can make
legislature is the best route to travel when protecting the state's a difference."

natural resources. Another important element in the success of the anti-seawall

Holman, a lobbyist for the Conservation Council of North group was the fact that several environmental groups joined forces.
Carolina and the N.C. Chapter of the Sierra Club, believes in "Usually environmental groups work in coalition," he says.

solving environmental problems through legislation. It's the only "It's easy to get frustrated and cynical, and change is often slow.
sure way of guaranteeing your agenda, he says. You can do much if you work together."

"The state's legislature is fairly representative of the people of There is strength in numbers, but sometimes the most

North Carolina," he said. "And most of them take being a legislator successful work is done by an individual like Holman who, as a

seriously. That's why input from a lobbyist or input from citizens lobbyist, has one of the loneliest jobs in Raleigh.

can make an impact." "My job is to provide infonnation to legislators," he says. "To
Changing laws that may have an adverse affect on the educate them on why the Sierra Club, for example, supports a

environment takes time and effort. "It takes persistence and a long wetlands bill. I also inform environmentalists throughout the state

range goal," he says.

Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose.

Here's an example.
Last year, Rep. Bruce Etheridge introduced a bill that would
provide what Holman calls "modest" protection to the state's

freshwater wetlands.
The bill was referred to the House Environment Committee
and from there to a subcommittee. The subcommittee held
informal hearings, inviting experts to comment on the bill.

"It was highly controversial," Holman says. "And it was

strongly opposed by the forestry industry, the Homebuilders
Association and the Martin Administration."
Opponents and proponents of the bill contacted supporters in
their respective legislative districts. Because of the large volume of
people against the bill, no vote was ever taken. It never left the

subcommittee.
"The problem was that we (the proponents) got outworked
and outspent by our opponents," Holman says. "But Etheridge

used a parliamentary trick to keep the bill alive until the 1992 short
session of the legislature. You can bet there'll be another major
fight on the floor at that time."

In the case of the Etheridge bill, the environmentalists lost.

Sometimes, the tables are turned.

"Some people, the Town of Topsail Beach in particular,

thought the state's policy against constructing seawalls needed

changing," Holman says. "And these people had been able to get

the ear of the Coastal Resources Commission."

The CRC is a commission appointed by the governor to make

decisions regarding regulations associated with the Coastal Area
Management Act.

Hearings on the seawall policy were held in July and at that

hearing — and in the mailboxes of CRC members — there was
8 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1991
about what's going on in the legislature in order for them to tent. We win a lot of battles, but sometimes it seems we're losing
participate." the war. We need to win over the legislators. That's the only way
He believes in what he calls "the heat and light theory." to win in the long run."
"I provide information as "light" to the legislators," he says. While Holman and others like him can take sides in the war
"But there must be some heat with the light. You see, if they don't over the environment, there are others who can't plant their flags

get the heat, they won't see the light. in either camp. Their jobs depend on being as neutral as possible.
"The information by itself won't convince them. They have to Such is George Everett, director of the state's Division of

hear from their constituents. The letters people write, the phone Environmental Management. His branch of government adminis-
calls they make, the public hearings they attend. All of it matters." ters and oversees the laws and regulations affecting the state's

Walter Clark, Sea Grant's ocean and coastal law specialist environmental well-being.
agrees. "People can come to us if they see something they don't like
"I've seen citizens turn things around," Clark says. "And the going on," Everett says. "For example, if someone sees an industry
more people you have, the better chance you have of being discharging an unusual amount of waste into waterways, we're the

listened to." ones to call."

Clark says not enough people know about the Administrative Environmental Management has offices in Wilmington,
Procedures Act, a law that requires public hearings when regula- Morehead City, Washington and Elizabeth City. "So there's always
tions are being considered for change and that allows citizens to someone from our department nearby," Everett says.
present petitions to amend, adopt or repeal any regulation. But calling on state-level government isn't always the most
"It is used by some groups, but it could be used more," he effective way to change things for the better on the coast, Everett

says. (For more about Clark's role in coastal environmental issues, says. Sometimes action has to be taken before the state gets

see story on page 10. involved.

Holman often urges his clients and fellow environmentalists to "The best tool I've seen is the Division of Coastal
use every weapon at their disposal in what he calls "the fight." Management's land-use planning statute," he says. "This allows

Most legislators want to "do the right thing," Holman says. local governments to determine zoning and other land-use
"When a politician is convinced that the majority of his or her practices. So, when the development is first proposed, private
constituents really care, he or she will be moved. citizens can get involved in what will happen.
"We don't give up. The environmental community is persis-
Continued on the next page

COASTWATCH 9
 "Sometimes, we're not the one to call when you see some-
thing you don't like." he says. "These things need to be addressed
much earlier, when the land-use plan for the county is being
developed."
After the local decisions are made, the Coastal Resources
Commission usually "goes with the lead" of local government. The
local decisions are where most people can be the most effective.

"We don't want to be seen as the bully trying to tell people

what to do." Everett says. "That's why the coastal planning statute
was established."

Bully or not, state government is often seen as either the bad

guy or as the genie in the lamp. Everett says. The challenge of his

department is to stay neutral while protecting the state's natural

resources.
It's a difficult row to hoe. especially when you're caught in
the middle of the interests of a growing state that's already 10th in
population in the nation.
"First, there's the environmentalists who. at the extreme end.
don't want any more growth." he says. "And then there are those
who want more growth and more jobs and a higher standard of
living."

Can the technology of government and private sectors keep

up with the growth?
"The growth will come and the improvements in how to

handle it will come." Everett says, What you hope is that they'll

be close enough together so the environmental impacts are

minimal." E

Then you see what you might consider an environmen- X.C. Division of Coastal Management If you have
tal violation on the coast, who you gonna call? questions regarding what you may consider a violation of
Pollution busters! land-use regulations, call DCM. In Raleigh, the number is 919/
"
The following federal and state government agencies will
7
33-2293- DCM has offices in Washington (919 '946-6481),
take your calls on issues that relate to violations within their Morehead City (919 ''26-7081), Elizabeth City (919 264-3901)

jurisdictions. and Wilmington (919 395-3900).

X.C. Department of Environment Health and Natural U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Questions regarding
Resources. On general environmental matters, this agency wetland disturbances should be directed to the Corps of
should be your first contact. There are offices in Wilmington. Engineers. In Raleigh, they can be reached at 919 8-f-1~0".
Morehead City. Washington and Elizabeth City (see DC.M On the coast, the Corps has offices in Wilmington (919 343-
listing below for telephone numbers). The number for the 4720) and in Washington (919 9 7 5-3123).
main office in Raleigh is 919 "'33-2314. The regional offices
will have personnel in a variety of sections. Depending on the X.C. Wildlife Resources Commission Concerns about
nature of your concern, ask for air quality, water quality, wildlife or waterfowl should be directed to the WRC. Their
groundwater or land resources. number in Raleigh is 919 "33-7291. There are regional offices
on the coast, but they are often difficult to reach. The U.S.

X.C. Division of Marine Fisheries. DMF handles complaints Fish and Wildlife Service also maintains an important
about misuse or mistreatment of the state's fisheries. They enforcement presence on the coast. Call them at their regional

have a toll-free hotline number: 1-800-682-2632. In Washing- office in Washington at 919 946-3361.
ton, the number is 919 9-t6-6-i81. In Morehead City, the

number is 919 ~26-~021. If you have concerns about inland or ^Information in this article was taken from A River of
freshwater waterways, contact the state's Wildlife Resources Opportunity, ©1991 by the Pamlico-Tar River Foundation.
Commission in Raleigh at 919 "33-3391 (see additional WRC Inc. P.O. Box 1854. Washington. XC2S89. 919946-7211.)
listing below).

1 .VO\ TMBER DECEMBER 1991

Clean Up Your Act
and Care for Your Coast
by
Kathy Hart

When it comes to protecting, caring for and determining how 11. Check for leaks outside. Faucets, hoses, hose connectors
to develop our coastal environment, you can't expect government and sprinklers can leak.
or advocacy groups to do all the work.
Proper stewardship of our coastal lands and waters begins 12. Don't put hazardous household substances — paint
with you, the individual who works, plays or lives by the sea. — down your drain or
thinner, paint, furniture polish, pesticides in

Below is a list of 66 action tips for a better coastal environ- your trash. These products can pollute groundwater supplies,
ment. Take a minute and read through them. The suggestions are surface water or the air. Save these items for the special hazardous
simple and easy to apply to your lifestyle. waste collection days sponsored by city and county governments.
Even if you do not live along the sound or sea, your activities

still have an effect. Undoubtedly, you live in the watershed of a

river that eventually makes its way to the ocean.

IN YOUR HO/VIE...
1 . Recycle everything you can: newspapers, cans, glass,

aluminum foil and pans, motor oil, scrap metal and plastics.
Contact your local Keep America Beautiful coordinator, recycling
manager or solid waste agency to find out what can be recycled in
your area.

2 . Save your kitchen scraps (no meat) for the compost pile,

and avoid use of a garbage disposal because it can add too many
solids to an already overloaded home or municipal sewer system.

3 • Use reusable containers for storing food instead of plastic

wraps and foil.

4. Turn off the water when it's not actually in use — while
brushing your teeth, shaving, washing dishes and cleaning foods.
A gallon of water can run out of your faucet in less than 60

seconds.

5 • Fix leaks. A dripping faucet can waste 20 gallons of water

per day; a leaky toilet, 200 gallons per day. To test your toilet for a
leak, add a few drops of food coloring to the tank water. Color
13- Choose household cleaners carefully by reading the label.

will show up in the bowl if there is a leak. Use the least toxic product available, and buy only what you need.
Products labeled with "caution" are considered the least toxic.
C> . Install a water-conserving showerhead. They are inexpensive Those with "warning" are moderately toxic, and highly toxic

and reduce flow by at least 25 percent. chemicals are marked with the skull and crossbones. Be sure to
keep the labels on products so you can properly identify and
7". Place a plastic jug filled with water in the toilet tank to
dispose of them.
reduce the amount of water flushed.
14. Clean with non-toxic substances such as baking soda, salt,

8. Wash only full loads in washing machines and dishwashers.

vinegar, ammonia and elbow grease instead of bathroom and

9 . Be sure faucets are completely off to eliminate dripping.

kitchen cleaners.

1 O. Buy a suds-saver washing machine when you need to

15. Use sink baskets to prevent clogs, and plungers to fix

them.
buy a new machine.
Continued on the next page

COASTWATCH 11
SEPTIC SYSTE/VIS... organic fertilizers, such as manure, to boost plant growth and
condition your soil.

1 6.
system
If

is in
your home is serviced by a septic system,

proper working order. Malfunctioning septic systems

be sure the
29 • Don't overwater your lawn.

can pose health, pollution and contamination problems, particu- 30. weeds Pull instead of using herbicides.
larly if they are located near estuaries and inland waterways.
31. Learn about natural insect controls as alternatives to
17. Know the location of all components of your septic
pesticides.
system, and keep heavy vehicles away from the system.
32. Use pest-resistant flowers and shrubs whenever possible.
18. Don't plant trees or shrubs near drain lines. Roots can clog
them. 33. you use if pesticides, herbicides or fungicides, don't

throw leftovers in the trash, down your drain or into a storm

19. Distribute your laundry chores throughout the week to
sewer. Properly dispose of all hazardous waste.
avoid overloading the system on any given day.

20. Don't use toilets as trash cans.

34 • Compost your leaves and yard debris. Burning them
creates air pollution and putting them out with the trash is a waste

21. Have your septic tank inspected each year and pumped
of landfill space.

out every three to five years to remove solids. 35. Use mulch to conserve water in your garden and around

2 2 Do . not build swimming pools near your septic system.

your shrubbery.

23. if you're installing a septic system and encounter soils ALONG THE SHORE...
unsuitable for waste treatment, such as sand or clay, consider
alternative septic treatment — the low-pressure pipe and mound 36. Remove obstructions from your creek, marsh or stream.
waste systems. (Sea Grant has a manual available for designing

and installing each system. To receive a copy of either manual,

37". Keep people, cars and grazing animals away from the

write UNC Sea Grant. Each costs S3. These manuals have allowed edge of the water.

thousands of homeowners to install

systems in areas unsuitable for conventional treatment.)

properly working septic
38. Avoid heavy loads on the top of stream banks or
shorelines.

INI YOUR YARD... 39. Control rainfall runoff through proper landscaping or

engineered controls.
24. Landscape with groundcover, trees and shrubs to

minimize runoff. Plants help to prevent erosion, moderate summer

40. Plant and protect vegetation on the slopes and adjacent

heat and filter rainwater from downspouts and driveways. areas of the shoreline.

25. When landscaping, choose permeable surfaces such as 41. Consult an engineer about structural solutions for

wooden decks, porous pavement, bricks or stones rather than controlling erosion. (Sea Grant's coastal engineer Spencer Rogers

solidly paved surfaces to allow for better absorption of water into has written a how-to booklet for one method of controlling

the soil.
shoreline erosion. A Homeowner's Guide to Estuarine Bulkheads
describes how to properly construct a bulkhead for use along
26. Divert rain from paved surfaces onto grass to permit estuaries, sounds, bays and tidal rivers. Write to Sea Grant for a
gradual absorption. copy; the cost is $1. Rogers is also examining another method of
shoreline erosion control — breakwater-marsh, which combines
27". Choose appropriate plants, shrubs, trees and grasses for
small wooden breakwaters with planted marsh grasses. For more
the soil in your area. Karl Graetz, a renowned coastal horticulturist, information about shoreline erosion controls, call Rogers at 919/
says many new beachfront homeowners try to landscape their 458-5780.)
yards with the same plants, grasses and trees they used at their

former inland locations.

the more harsh oceanfront environment or
Many of these plants simply won't survive
require copious
ALONG THE BEACH...
amounts of water. It's better, Graetz says, to use native plants.
(Consult your local nursery or write to Sea Grant for a copy of
42 . Don't walk or drive on the dunes. Dune vegetation is

fragile and can't withstand constant trampling. Foot and vehicle

Graetz's Seacoast Plants of the Carolinas. The cost is $4.50.)
traffic can wear openings in the dunes that weaken their defensive

28. Test your soil to determine proper applications of ability against storm erosion.

fertilizers and lime for your lawn and shrubs. Consider using

12 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1991
43. Build crosswalks over the dunes to avoid foot traffic. 55 . Go slow in your boat near banks where your wake can
erode. Observe posted marine speed limits.
44. Repair, restore or build dunes using sand fences and
vegetation. (Send for Sea Grant's Building and Stabilizing Coastal 56. Keep a garbage receptacle on board, keep it covered and
Dunes With Vegetation. The cost is $1.50.) make sure everyone uses it.

45 . Don't leave your litter behind after a day on the beach. 57". Make it a rule that no trash goes overboard, including old
Litter can kill aquatic life. fishing line.

46. Don't use the beaches as an ashtray. Instead use one of 58. Make sure your motor does not leak gas or oil into the

the portable ashtrays developed by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. for water. Do not drain engine fluid into the water. Be careful not to

outdoor use. If you're a smoker 21 years old or older and would spill when adding oil to your engine.

like a portable ashtray, write R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Portable

Ashtray Offer, P.O. Box 2959, Winston-Salem, NC 27102. In your
59. Place a bilge pillow in your bilge to remove oil from your
bilge water.
request, please state your date of birth. Allow four to six weeks for

One
delivery. ashtray will be provided per request.
60. High phosphate soaps, toxic polishes and paints, stain

IN YOUR CAR... removers, antifouling compounds and

products should not be used on or near the water, on boat ramps
other similar maintenance

or in adjacent areas. Bottom scrapings are particularly toxic and

4 "7* A single quart of motor oil can contaminate 250,000
should be not be allowed to enter the water.
gallons of water — more than 30 people will drink in a lifetime.

Never dump motor oil, antifreeze, transmission fluid or other

TAKE A STAND...
automobile chemicals into road gutters, storm drains or catch
basins.
61 • Promote wise land use. Attend public hearings held by

48. Store waste oil in a container, and do not mix with local planning and zoning boards about development projects.

gasoline, solvents or other liquids. This contaminates the

may be reused, increases the volume of the waste and may form
oil, which
a
62. Know the names of your elected officials at all levels of

government. Correspond with them about issues that affect the

more hazardous chemical.
quality of life in and around coastal waters.

49. Find out if your local service station or car care center
63. Read the legal notices in your local paper. Attend
accepts waste oil.
hearings on water issues and regulations in your area.

50. Many car detergents, like fertilizers, contain phosphate.

64. Support efforts to preserve tidal wetlands, maritime forests
When you wash your vehicle, uses non-phosphate detergents.
and other natural coastal assets. Join a waterway cleanup effort

51. Wash one section of the car at a time and rinse quickly. such as The Big Sweep or join a Streamwatch group. Streamwatch

Use a hose that is high pressure, low volume and has a pistol-grip groups choose a portion of a stream, creek, river or estuary and

nozzle. act as active stewards for these water bodies. They monitor water
quality, remove litter and observe aquatic life. (To learn more
52. Recycle your old tires or dispose of them properly. Do about the N.C. Streamwatch program, contact state coordinator
not toss them into our waterways. George Norris at 733-4064.)

53. Keep a trash bag in your car. Don't litter. 65 . Lobby for prompt replacement of aging sewer lines and
pumping stations and the improvement of sewage treatment plants
ONI YOUR BOAT... in your area.

54. Use onshore restrooms and pump-out facilities. Never

66. Teach your children to respect and to value the environ-

ment. Take your children to one the N.C. Aquariums or the N.C.
release raw sewage into coastal waters. (Sea Grant has two free
Maritime Museum. Or join next year's Big Sweep statewide
publications that can help boaters properly dispose of their raw
waterway cleanup set for Sept. 19. It provides a hands-on educa-
sewage. The $10 Holding Tank describes the materials needed and
tion about litter in the aquatic environment.
procedure for building a low-cost, onboard holding tank for use
on small boats. A Portable Transfer Tank for Boat Waste lists
(Sources for this story include: WCBS News 88 Earth Guide written
materials and step-by-step instructions for constructing a low-cost
by the New Jersey, New York and Connecticut Sea Grant Pro-
tank for transferring sewage from boats with holding tanks to a
grams; Sound Advice written by WRAL-TV5 and the N.C Coastal
marina's disposal system.)
Federation; and 100 Ways You can Help Save Our Environment
compiled by the National Aquarium in Baltimore.) El

COASTWATCH 13
 Coastal Adventures for Curious Minds

Is There Enough Nature to Go Around?

Natural resources come in two types And now Sea Grant fishing specialists
— those that are renewable, such as trees are developing special types of nets that
and fish, and those that are limited, such capture only certain things, such as
as coal and oil. People need to manage shrimp. These nets have deflectors and
both so that we can continue to use them openings that allow other young fish that

as long as we need them. Different the fishermen don't want to escape.

methods can be used to manage resources. To learn more about resource

In the Pacific Northwest, salmon are management, get your teacher, scout

valuable fish. Fishermen catch salmon leader or 4-H adviser to perform the
either in the ocean or in the rivers. To following exercise with your group. You
keep the salmon from being overfished, will need a bowl and three bags of
regulations allow only certain people to goldfish crackers.

catch the fish at certain times. Assign the participants the following
In North Carolina, clams are a roles: First generation: grandma, grandpa.
valuable resource. To manage them, Second generation: son #1, son #2,

regulations allow fishennen to use highly daughter ~1, daughter #2. Third genera-
efficient mechanical harvesters only for tion: grandchild =1, grandchild #2,
short periods of time and only in certain grandchild #3, grandchild #4, grandchild
areas. At other times, fishermen must use #5, grandchild #6, grandchild #7, grand-

less efficient rakes or tongs to harvest child =8.

these mollusks. The use of rakes and tongs Tell everyone that each generation
prevent too many clams from being wants to make a living fishing. Then begin • How could the fish be conserved
harvested. the exercise. for each generation?

Regulations also limit the size of clams Pour the contents of one goldfish bag • Would you limit the number of
that can be caught. Fishermen must throw in the bowl. people who could fish?

clams less than 1-inch thick back into the Let each grandparent fish from the • Would you change the fishing

estuary. Resource managers want clams to bowl by scooping up a handful of fish. Let method to allow use of only the thumb
get large enough to reproduce, or spawn, the grandparents decide if this is enough and forefinger?

future generations before they are fish for them. • Would you allow a shorter time to

harvested. Let the second generation fish in the fish?

Almost all popular fish caught in same way. • Would you set a limit for the

North Carolina have restrictions that limit Let the third generation fish the same number of fish that could be caught?
their capture. Scallops are harvested only way too. Probably there will be no fish left There are really no right answers to
for a few weeks each year. Blue crabs for them. these questions. But the exercise does
can't be captured from certain areas What has been forgotten? Fish show how resources can be depleted and
marked as crab spawning sanctuaries. Red reproduce. Repeat the exercise, but add how complex resource management
snapper must be 12 inches long to assure fish. After the first generation fishes, add solutions can be.

that these fish reach maturity and spawn two handfuls of fish to the bowl. After the
baby fish. second generation fishes, again add two (Source: Coastal Capers: A Marine
Resource managers also use fishing handfuls of fish. Repeat after the third Education Primer written by Lundie
gear limitations to prevent overharvest. generation. You will probably still run out Spence and Vivian Coxe. This booklet
Most fishing nets have mesh size restric- of goldfish before all of the grandchildren contains 20 exercises designed to intro-
tions. This means that the holes in the get a chance to fish. duce elementary grade students to the

mesh must be sized to catch only adult Now ask the group these questions. marine environment. Coastal Capers is

fish and not the youngsters. • Who did not get enough fish? Why? available from Sea Grant for S3. 50.)

14 NO l UMBER/DECEMBER 1991
 Sound To
Natural Wonders of the Coast

A Howling Success

On a still night their howls pierce the air like arrows.

Red wolves freely roam the 120,000 acres of the Alligator

River National Wildlife Refuge on the mainland of Dare County.

They can be found in only a handful of places in the world.
But their future in North Carolina is hopeful.
A native to North Carolina, the red wolf (Cams rufus) once
freely roamed the Tar Heel coastal plain and the rest of the
American Southeast.
The red wolf is smaller than the gray wolf (Canis lupus) but
larger than the common coyote (Canis latrans). It is a tall and
lanky animal, and its fur has coloration ranging from cinnamon red
to charcoal gray. The colorings and body type are ideally suited for
hunting in Southeastern habitats.
A creature of forests and bottomlands, the red wolf was
eradicated from our state in the late 1930s. Humans were respon-
sible for most of the red wolfs retreat. The government once
offered bounties for their hides. And logging companies decimated
their forest range.

In the 1960s, there were few red wolves left in the United
States. A small area of marshland in Louisiana and Texas had
become their home. But these animals were sick, and some had
mated with native coyotes, resulting in a hybrid breed.

In 1986, new hope was born for this small wolf in North
Carolina. Four pairs of wolves were taken from a captive breeding
program in Tacoma, Washington and released into the Alligator

River National Wildlife Refuge.

Later, others were released. They were fed by U.S. Fish and hovering at about 130 animals, Morse says.
Wildlife Service biologists until they were able to fend for them- If the Tar Heel project is successful, the Alligator River
selves. National Wildlife Refuge may become one of only three refuges in
Even the bottomlands of this remote wildlife refuge weren't the country where this canid will once again roam the wild.
enough to protect these wolves from the influence of humans. Today, there are about 25 red wolves at Alligator River, the
Two of the red wolves released into the refuge were killed by limit for the refuge's ability to support wolves.
passing motorists. "If the population grows consistently, surplus animals will
Nature took its toll also. Some wolves died of disease; others have to be captured and kept in pens or taken to other sites,"

fell victim to accidents. Morse says.

But biologists aren't gauging the success of the North Carolina One such site is the Cades Cove area in the Great Smoky
red wolf project by the number of animals that survive. They're Mountains National Park, where four red wolves were released this

watching for breeding successes. In 1989, two litters of two pups year.
each were recorded, with one pup from each litter surviving. For now, the future of the red wolf is uncertain. With more
And this spring, four litters were documented. One of those and more of the wolves' natural habitat falling prey to the
litters was born to a female who had been born in the wild. lumberman's axe and the developer's shovel, choice reintroduction
"It's the first time we've had second-generation red wolves in sites will diminish.

the refuge," says refuge biologist Michael Morse. Their only hope, Morse says, is the salvation of large areas of
The red wolf is considered extinct in the wild and is one of habitat like that found along the Alligator River.
the most endangered carnivores in the world, with its population
CR. Edgerton

COASTVC'ATCH 15
 M ci fine /
^^Aclvice
Extending Knowledge to the Coastal Community

Taking the Middle Road

When you think of protecting the Clark sees at least four major issues
coastal environment, it's hard not to take affecting North Carolina's shoreline: the
sides. quality of coastal water, the increasing

But to Walter Clark, Sea Grant's ocean conflict between users of the state's

and coastal law specialist, not taking sides waterways, wetlands protection —
is a special calling. particularly freshwater wetlands — and
Clark is an expert whose job demands increasing pressures on oceanfront
that he maintain a middle-of-the-road development from eroding shorelines.

posture.

"I can give people information on the

law, what the law says about public trust,
The best thing a person can do
riparian rights, things like that," Clark says.
in this situation
"But I can't represent them."

Clark, one of the few Sea Grant is to do their homework.

coastal law specialists in the nation, is

always in demand as a purveyor of

information. And most of that is in the "Water quality is the number one
form of advice. issue," he says. "And there's particular
Walter Clark
"I always tell people to get involved interest in identifying non-point sources of
in the lawmaking process," he says. pollution.

In North Carolina, various commis- "Over the years, we've gotten a fairly Finding a balance with these and
sions are charged with adopting and good handle on point-source, but the non- other issues is difficult, but seeking ways
modifying regulations. During the process points are harder to deal with. Solutions to to achieve the balance is Clark's job.

of changing these regulations, public the non-point source problem will include

hearings must be held. These hearings are stricter regulations on land-use practices.

an ideal place for an individual to affect "Then there's the public trust issue,"
People in government and
change and to be heard, Clark says. he says. "As the coast gets more crowded,
tension develops between users of the academia aren supposed 't to be
public waters — fishemien, boaters, influenced by one side or the other.
/ always tell people to get involved
swimmers — and owners of private
We're in search of the truth.
property adjacent to the public waters.
in the lawmaking process. New rules and regulations will likely be
enacted."
As for oceanfront development, Clark "People in government and academia
"The best thing a person can do in sees greater activity as more development aren't supposed to be influenced by one
this situation is to do their homework," he becomes endangered by eroding shore- side or the other. We're in search of the

says. "They should go into a hearing lines. This will test the strength of our truth," he says.

prepared. They should follow the proce- coastal management program's oceanfront Sometimes that truth may support a

dures set up by the commission that's regulations, he predicts. particular point of view, Clark says. Still,

holding the hearing. And they should "The wetlands issue is very impor- he must walk a straight line and not get
make their point calmly and clearly and tant," Clark says. "In North Carolina, we personally involved.

back up their point with information." have developed a management program "At times," he says, "it's a hard line to

In what coastal issues are people for identifying and protecting saltwater walk."

getting involved? wetlands. We are struggling now with C.R. Edgerton

doing the same thing for freshwater
wetlands."

16 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1991
 Field Note
Insights into Current Sea Grant Research

Stalking a Dangerous Bacteria

When Jim Oliver has a bushel of oysters delivered to his

Charlotte address, his mind isn't on eating the delectable mollusks.

Far from it.

These oysters are destined for intense probing in a university

laboratory as this Sea Grant researcher tries to unravel the

mysterious behavior of a deadly bacteria sometimes carried by the
mollusks.
The bacteria, vibrio vulnificus, can be deadly for people who
suffer from liver ailments or immune deficiency diseases if they eat
infected oysters raw or partially steamed. Properly cooked, the
infected oysters pose no threat even to people with underlying
illnesses, says David Green, Sea Grant's seafood technology
specialist.

Even healthy individuals should consider cooking their

shellfish to an internal temperature of 160 F, Green says. Con-

sumption of any raw meat or seafood can pose some health risks.

Vibrio vulnificus is part of a larger family of bacteria known

simply as vibrio. Thirty species of vibrio have been counted, and are not common —
only one per 200,000 people per year.

10 are known human pathogens, Oliver says. And Oliver would like to make them even rarer, better still,

These species of vibrio that affect humans act as gastrointesti- nonexistent.

nal pathogens that cause food-poisoning symptoms — cramps, He has been examining ways to rid contaminated oysters of
diarrhea and vomiting. Vibrio choleme is responsible for the recent this potentially deadly pathogen.
outbreak of cholera in South America. It was once thought the disease was more prevalent in oysters
Not all oysters carry vibrio vulnificus, although the bacteria is that were transported for long distances and sometimes allowed to

a common pathogen found in estuarine and ocean waters along get too warm. But Oliver's recent Sea Grant studies proved that

the Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific coasts. But even those shellfish temperature did not affect the growth of this bacteria in shellfish.

contaminated with the bacteria are not always infectious. Also, scientists believed that the threat of this vibrio could be
It's all of these ifs, ands and buts about vibrio vulnificus that reduced through depuration. This means that oysters would be
has researchers such as Oliver at the University of North Carolina placed in clean water void of the bacteria and allowed to purge
at Charlotte and Sea Grant scientist Gary Rodrick at the University themselves.
of Florida trying to find some answers. Depuration worked for oysters that were infected with the
So far, most of the illnesses and deaths resulting from this bacteria in the laboratory, Oliver says. But it didn't faze oysters that

bacteria have been traced to oysters harvested from waters warmer were contaminated naturally.

than 68 F. And people can contract the bacteria directly from the Despite this grim news, Oliver says that there is new hope in

water through open wounds. the discovery of two strains of vibrio vulnificus. One strain is

It affects mostly men over 40 years old who have a pre- infectious; the other is not.

existing disease, commonly cirrhosis of the liver. Oliver and other scientists are now looking for the genetic
Unfortunately, when vibrio vulnificus strikes, it strikes fast. switch that would allow them to convert the infectious strain of
The onset of symptoms — fever, chills, nausea, vomiting and this vibrio to the non-infectious form.
secondary lesions — can begin in as little as seven hours after But for now, for those at risk, the only sure way to eat oysters

consumption of contaminated shellfish, Oliver says. And it is not is to have them well-cooked.
uncommon for patients to die two to four hours after admission to Meanwhile, the Food and Drug Administration and other
a hospital. seafood experts are doing their best to warn those who are

But if diagnosed quickly, victims are treatable, Green says. susceptible while allaying the fears of those who aren't.

The good news is that reports of vibrio vulnificus infections Kathy Hart

COASTWATCH 17
 The Aft Deck
A Bulletin Board of Updates and Events

"Search" Looks Place shrimp in boiling salted or would also make an excellent gift for

at Sea Grant seasoned water. Cover and simmer about friends who love to cook.

Sea Grant researchers and agents will five minutes or until shrimp are pink and

be featured on a television program set to

tender. Drain. Peel shrimp. Devein if

desired. Chill.
air in January.
"Search," a series produced by N.C. Separate, wash and dry endive.

State University's Broadcast Services for Starting at the base of the foam cone

N.C. Public Television, is designed to focus and working up, cover the cone with
attention on scientists and researchers from overlapping leaves of endive. Fasten

schools in the UNC system and elsewhere endive to the cone with toothpick halves.

in the state.
Cover fully with greens to resemble

During the 30-minute program Christmas tree. Attach shrimp to the tree in

dedicated to Sea Grant, coastal engineer loose spirals with toothpicks (see drawing
at right).
Spencer Rogers discusses breakwater-
marsh as a means of erosion control,
For flair, add a red bow to the top of

marine advisory agent Skip Kemp talks

your tree. Provide cocktail sauce in nearby

about clam breeding and shellfish

bowl for dipping shrimp.

management, and marine agent Wayne

Wescott relays his crab shedding expertise. Cocktail Sauce

Also featured are Sea Grant's seafood

technology specialist David Green, 1 1/2 cups catsup

researcher Steve Broome and Sea Grant 1 T. lemon juice

Director Copeland. 1 T. Worcestershire sauce

B.J.

Features from the "Search" series are 2 T. horseradish

packaged for distribution and are often re-

1 1/2 tsp. sugar

aired nationally and internationally.

1/4 tsp. or more Tabasco
The series is tentatively scheduled to salt and pepper to taste

air four Tuesdays in January. Check your

program dates and Combine all ingredients and chill.
local listings for times.
Taylor says the tree can be assembled FDA Head
Say Merry Christmas several hours in advance. But be sure the Talks Safety
tree tightly wrapped in plastic wrap to Thomas Billy, director of the Food and
With Shrimp is

keep the shrimp from drying out and Drug Administration's new Office of
Why not add festive flair and ocean
returned to the refrigerator for chilling. Be Seafood, recently outlined new FDA
flavor to your holiday hors d'oeuvres with
sure to keep the shrimp tree under initiatives for fish and shellfish safety at the
a shrimp Christmas tree?
refrigeration until serving. Seafood and Environment Symposium
Joyce Taylor, Sea Grant's seafood
For other seafood appetizers — crab- hosted by Sea Grant in Raleigh.
education specialist, says the tree is easy to
stuffed tomatoes, crab dip, hot crab spread Billy told an audience of seafood
assemble and offers a light, tasty alterna-
and smoked fish spread — fit for holiday scientists and technologists that Congress
tive to the heavy hors d'oeuvres and
fare, write to Joyce Taylor, N.C. State had budgeted an additional $9.5 million last
calorie-ridden sweets that abound during
University Seafood Laboratory, P.O. Box fiscal year and $6 million for the upcoming
the holiday season.
1137, Morehead City, NC 28557. fiscal year to increase seafood inspection

Ask for the Sept./Oct. hors d'oeuvre and to allay public fears about seafood
Shrimp Christmas Tree contamination and disease
issue of Mariner's Menu, the bimonthly risks.

consumer seafood newsletter produced by Much of the public's fear about the
2 lbs. medium shrimp safety of seafood unfounded, Billy says.
Taylor. While you're requesting this issue, is
1 bunch curly endive
why not subscribe to this free newsletter. Only the consumption of raw shellfish
1 foam cone, 1 1/2 feet tall
It's full of fish and shellfish recipes and poses significant health risk — but no more
1 small box round toothpicks
consumer information. A subscription risk than eating any other uncooked meat.
cocktail sauce

18 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1991
 To increase the public's confidence in in fishing line. Along the Tar River, they awarded the 1990-91 Chancellor's Out-
fish and shellfish, the FDA will initiate the found the grim result of a curious puppy's standing Extension Service Award for his

following steps: fatal entrapment in a plastic milk jug. work with shellfish aquaculture and
• Audit all state's shellfish growing waters But two animal entrapments had a estuarine leaseholders.

to ensure that waters open to harvest are happy ending. Volunteers at the Fort Kemp has worked to increase the
not polluted. Fisher State Recreation Area released a sea private culture of clams, oysters and
• Develop an inspector training program. turtle entangled in fishing line. And at scallops and turn these shellfish farming
• Clamp down on bootleggers who nearby Carolina Beach, a seagull was freed experiments into viable new coastal

illegally harvest shellfish from areas closed from a fishing hook. businesses.

to harvest because of pollution. Big Sweep organizers noticed several Debra Lynch, who heads the Marine
• Evaluate and possibly approve a new trends in this year's cleanup. Advisory Service secretarial staff, was
commerical kit to test for ciguatera — a Beaches were cleaner of large items, awarded a 1991 Distinguished Perfor-

toxin found in tropical reef fish. but they were virtual public ashtrays for mance Award for the Chancellor's Unit

• Double the level of FDA chemical cigarette butts, volunteers reported. from N.C. State University. Lynch has
contamination monitoring in the United Sweepers at one site at Emerald Isle worked for Sea Grant for seven years and
States and develop a new target list of counted and bagged 10,520 butts. has been an invaluable part of the Raleigh
contaminants. Inland volunteers and coordinators office.

• Visit all of the more than 3,000 seafood noticed an increase in the number of Lynch developed a special method for

processing plants in the United States. appliances and tires being dumped into handling grant processing for the National
• Raise the U.S. seafood decomposition our state's waterways. Sea Grant Program in Washington. The
minimums to zero, mimicking Canadian "I earnestly think this is because of method was later adopted by Sea Grant
standards. ignorance and laziness in getting materials programs in other states.

• Increase inspection of imported seafood. to the landfill," says Big Sweep Coordina-
• Expand consumer education efforts to tor Cecilia McDaniel Brown of Keep Fishing Forum
include brochures on home handling of Winston-Salem Beautiful. Can recreational fishermen have a say
seafood, a consumer hotline and informa- With a successful cleanup completed,
in how North Carolina's coastal fisheries
tion to specific audiences who are at plans are already under way for next year's
are managed?
higher risk for seafood-related illnesses. cleanup set for Sept. 19.
The answer to that question could
• Improve the reporting procedure and Big Sweep was made possible by
come during the first N.C. Marine Recre-
database for seafood illnesses. generous contributions from: First Citizens
ational Fishing Forum, scheduled for
Bank, Yadkin Inc., Alcoa Badin Works,
Feb. 1 at the Jane S. McKimmon Center
Sweep Nets Alcoa Foundation, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco
on the campus of N.C. State University in
Tons of Trash Co., N.C. Wildlife Federation, N.C. Wildlife
Raleigh.
Resources Commission, N.C. Beer
Nearly 12,000 volunteers swept North The forum will inform the recreational
Carolina's waterways clean of 212 tons of
Wholesalers, Texasgulf Inc., MCI, Duke fishing community about the latest
Power Co., CP&L, the Tennessee Valley
trash Sept. 21 in the First Citizens Bank Big developments in fisheries research and
Sweep. It was the most successful water-
WGHPiedmont 8, WRAL-TV5,
Authority,
management, says Jim Murray, director of

way cleanup in the five-year history of

WLOS-TV, WITN-TV and WWAY-TV. UNC
this the Marine Advisory Service for the
Tar Heel event.
The Big Sweep is coordinated by:
Sea Grant College Program, a forum
At nearly 300 sites statewide, volun-
UNC Sea Grant, Keep America Beautiful,
sponsor.
N.C. Division of Coastal Management, N.C.
teers collected scores of plastic bags and Leaders of groups that benefit from
Division of Water Resources, N.C. Division
bottles, mounds of cigarette butts, miles of the recreational fishery will also be invited
of Environmental Management, N.C.
monofilament line and mountains of tires. to participate in a forum in which they will

sweepers
Wildlife Resources Commission, N.C.
At inland sites, filled voice the concerns of their peers, Murray
Wildlife Federation, N.C. Division of Parks
dumpsters and pickup trucks with says.
and Recreation, N.C. 4-H, Keep North
refrigerators, stoves, sofas, television sets, "This will not be a 'how to fish'
Carolina Clean and Beautiful,
shopping carts, bed frames, box springs, meeting," Munay says. "It'll be an opportu-
car batteries, toilets and, yes, even the
WGHPiedmont 8, WRAL-TV5, WLOS,
become
nity for recreational fishermen to
proverbial kitchen sink.
WITN and WWAY. more aware of what's going on in how
Unusual finds included love letters, an fisheries are studied and managed. Those
artificial limb, a carousel horse, a sequined A Pat on the Back are two subjects of vital importance to the
headdress, a Spanish laundry detergent Two Sea Grant employees have future of the fishery resource in this state."
bottle and a safe stolen during a robbery. recently been recognized for their For information about registration,
This year, volunteers also made some achievements. contact Murray at the Sea Grant office in
gruesome finds. In Craven County, Skip Kemp, a Sea Grant marine Raleigh at 919/515-2454.
volunteers found a dead turtle entangled advisory agent at Bogue Banks, was

COASTWATCH 19
 ack Talk
A Forum for Coastwotch Readers

Coastwatch wants to hear from you on topics relating to the

North Carolina coast. Letters should be no longer than 250 words
and should contain the author's name, address and telephone
number. Letters may be edited for style. Send all correspondence
to Coastwatch, UNC Sea Grant, Box 8605, N.C. State University,
Raleigh, NC 27695. Opinions expressed on this page are not
necessarily those of UNC Sea Grant employees or staff.

Keeping the Coast Clean

Dear Editor,

I really enjoyed my first "new" Coastwatch and look forward to

many more years of being kept informed and enlightened. you

If
Cagin' Shrimp
have a volunteer program in addition to the annual Big Sweep, I'd

like more information about that and how to participate. You folks
Dear Editor,
do a great job.
In the early and mid-80s, I lived on Mill Creek in Pender
Candace Jackson, Raleigh, N.C.
County. At that time, I talked with Jim Bahen at Fort Fisher

regarding research he was doing on a shrimp trap. I would love

The Big Sweep is more than a one-day waterway litter cleanup.
to know if he ever perfected the trap. I will be returning to the
It's a year-round educational outreach project as well, and there
area for retirement soon and would love to catch a few shrimp off
are a host of volunteer opportunities. In recent months, Big Sweep
my pier. We enjoy your magazine.
coordinators have held community education events such as "trash
Billie Hayden, Cincinnati, Ohio
tournaments" in conjunction with sportfishing tournaments. We're
sure these activities could benefit from extra hands.
Under a sampling permit from the N.C. Division of Marine
Also, planning for the next Big Sweep, set for Sept. 19, 1992. is
Fisheries, Sea Grant marine agent Jim Bahen experimented a little
already under way. Throughout the year, especially in the months
with shrimp traps in the early 1980s. But he says he never had
just prior to cleanup day, volunteers are needed to take phone calls,
much luck catching shrimp in commercial quantities.
assist with mailings (i.e. stuffing envelopes) and help with other
The trap was an 18-inch cube made of half-by-half hardware
details. To find out how you can help, contact logistical coordinator
cloth with a V-type funnel entrance running along the length of
Susan Bartholomew at 515-2454.
the top side and a bait opening at the bottom. The most he ever
caught in one "soak" or "set" (about 2 hours) was seven to eight

shrimp, he says.
Bahen had hoped the traps might be a good way for sport
shrimpers to get a pound or two without trawling. Also, he thought
it might provide a means for commercial shrimpers to fish in

secondary nursery areas closed to trawling.

Division of Marine Fisheries has approved regulations for

commercial shrimp traps, but the required large mesh size limits
harvest. Shrimp crawl in, then crawl back out, Bahen says. Any
variation from that design requires a sampling permit, and the

catch from this experimentation may not be sold.

Bahen says he never found the magic bait or technique in

fishing the traps; other people he knows who have tried them have
been closed-lipped about their findings. However, he thinks that
with more time and study shrimp traps can be perfected. With a
renewed emphasis on "passive' fishing gear, which doesn't destroy
or disturb the bottom, there may be room for research in the future.
Bahen envisions an ocean shrimp trap for rocky or coral bottoms

inaccessible to trawling.

20 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1991
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Scott Taylor
 Book Store y
I

Publications to Enrich Your Coastal Library

Are you worried about for determining a fair price. STEP-BY-STEP Series 1 covers amberjack,
Christmas gifts for that favorite For your copy, send S2 to CRAB POTS sea robin, skates and rays,
recreational fisherman who Sea Grant. Ask for publication
Has your triggerfish, panfish, jack
favorite fisher-
has just about everything? number UNC-SG-81-10.
man ever built a crab pot? crevaEe, sharks, sheepshead,
Try browsing the UNC It's more complictaed bonito and croaker. Series 2
Sea Grant bookshelves. A HANDY FISH than it looks. Sea Grant's covers black drum, bluefish,
Sea Grant has a large REFERENCE booklet, How To Build A Crab ladyfish, mullet, pigfish and
selection of books and
One of Sea Grant's most Pot is one of the best booklets sea catfish.
bulletins, all of which make popular free publications is the available on the subject. For your copies, send $1
wonderful stocking stuffers for
Recreational Guide to Manage- Learn the step-by-step per series to Sea Grant and ask
the angler in the family.
ment of Fish in South Atlantic procedures for assembling this for publication numbers UNC-
Waters. sure-fire method for catching SG-85-09 through UNC-SG-85-
KEEPING GEAR It's a one-page guide crabs. For your copy, send 18 (for Series 1) and publica-
IN ORDER crammed with current $1.50 to Sea Grant and ask for tion numbers UNC-SG-86-13
Sportfishing Gear biological data on many publication number UNC-SG- through UNC-SG-86-18 (for
Maintenance is a two-page popular species. It also 80-03. Series 2).

blueprint that advises fisher- includes the latest state and

men about how to take care of federal regulations for catching HARDBOTTOM THENEW WAVE
rods and reels and other fish off the North Carolina DISTRIBUTION/ COOKBOOK
fishing equipment. coast.
FISHING MAP A fresh slant on preparing
Any fisherman knows that Write Sea Grant and ask
This 39"x27" poster is a unusual fish is found in
well-kept gear can be crucial for a free copy of publication
guide to the natural offshore Recipes With a New Catch. This
to landing the next big one. number UNC-SG-89-06. 40-page booklet is full of
reefs (hardbottoms) between
Best of all, it's free.
Cape Lookout and Cape Fear. delicious recipes for cooking
Write Sea Grant and ask SHRIMP IN
These are prime fishing spots non-traditional fish — shark,
for publication number UNC- YOUR FREEZER and can be located using the triggerfish, bluefish, amberjack
SG-BP-81-1.
Wouldn't it be nice to map's Loran grid. The flip side and more.
settle down for the winter with of the poster features five four- It's a catch for $2. For
A BETTER DEAL a freezer full of delicious Tar color paintings of the reefs. your copy, write Sea Grant
ON A USED BOAT Heel shrimp? also makes an excellent
It

and ask for publication

Is your fisherman thinking A Guide to Recreational educational tool. For The number UNC-SG-86-06.
about buying a used boat? Shrimping provides detailed Hardbottom Distribution/
How to Buy A Used Boat is instructions for rigging small Fishing Map, write to Sea Ordering Information
a publication that can give him boats to catch these small Grant and ask for publication To speed delivery of Sea
or her all the information crustaceans. number UNC-SG-86-25. The Grant publications, please use
needed to make a wise In 34 pages of advice and cost is S5.
your Coastwatch mailing label

selection. illustrations, this book shows or the customer number that

What's the best type of how to build doors, choose ODD FISH? NOT appears above your name.
boat to buy?What does a nets, rig the boat and pull the Make checks payable to Sea
NECESSARILY.
person look for when net. Grant, unless othenvise
These 16 colorful pamph-
checking for defects and It's a real bargain at $4. specified.
lets feature underutilized
problems? What is a good For your copy, write Sea Grant Send all requests to:
species from Gulf and South
price? and ask for publication Publications, UNC Sea Grant,
Atlantic waters. The Non-
The answers can be number UNC-SG-86-07. Box 8605, N.C State Univer-
traditional Fish Brochures
found in How To Buy A Used sity Raleigh, NC 27695. For
describe how to catch, clean
Boat. Included is a checklist multiple copies or further
and prepare the fish. Recipes
for evaluating small recre- assistance, call Carole Purser
are also included.
ational boats and guidelines at 919/515-2454.

COASTWATCH 21
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