248 MARINE FISHERIES OF NORTH CAROLINA 



spp., Gigartina acicularis, Gelidium crinale and G. coeridescens. Agardhiella, 

 often abundant in early spring, yields a phycocolloid similar to that from 

 Irish moss. Probably none of the others is of sufficient abundance in North 

 Carolina to have economic value, although all should be studied. Agar from 

 the two species of North Carolina Gelidium is of exceptionally high gel 

 strength and clarity. 



SUMMARY 



Scarcity of agar during World War II led to the establishment in 1943 of 

 an agar factory for the first time on the Atlantic coast of the United States 

 near Beaufort, N. C. Three species of seaweeds from Core and Bogue 

 sounds have been utilized: Gracilaria confervoides, G. joliijera, and Hypnea 

 musciformis. Agar from all three species meets U.S.P. requirements and is 

 similar but not identical to Gelidium agar from California and Japan. Hypnea 

 agar is a new type in which such important properties as gel strength and 

 temperature of gelation can be controlled over a wide range by addition of 

 various salts, sugars, or other solutes. 



North Carolina's only seaweed factory at the present time requires about 

 600,000 pounds of dry seaweed per year to operate at capacity. Apparently 

 no more than half this quantity can now be obtained annually in North Caro- 

 lina so that the factory must secure part of its raw material elsewhere. North 

 Carolina fishermen collect and dry seaweed and receive 10 cents per pound 

 for material of good quality. Gracilaria joliijera and Hypnea are collected 

 usually from May through July; G. conjcrvoidcs, the most abundant species, 

 from August through December. Over 763,000 pounds of dry seaweed, for 

 which fishermen received about $76,300 and from which about 120,000 

 pounds of agar were made, were collected and processed between 1942 and 

 the end of 1946 in North Carolina. 



Methods of collection, drying, and processing have been described; con- 

 servation, possibilities of cultivation, and research for the future have been 

 discussed. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 



Adams, C. M. 



1947. The Japanese Agar Industry. U. S. Fish & Wildlife Serv., Fishery 



Leaflet 263, 24 p., 13 figs., 2 maps, 8 tables, frontisp., Chicago 54. 



Sept., 1947. 

 Duke University Marine Station. 



1946. Utilization of seaweeds from the south Atlantic and Gulf coasts for 



agar and its decomposition by bacteria. Bull. 3 (7 papers, various 



authors, comprehensive bibliog., 14 illustrations), 80 p., Duke Univ. 



Press, Durham. 

 Fox, F. W. and E. Stephens. 



