THE BACK PAGE 



"The Back Page" is an update 

 on Sea Grant activities — on 

 research, marine education and 

 advisory services. It's also a good 

 place to find out about meetings 

 and workshops, and new publica- 

 tions. For more information on 

 any of the projects described, con- 

 tact the Sea Grant office in 

 Raleigh (919/737-2454). 



To many inland city- 

 dwellers, oysters are just 

 things that come ready- 

 to-eat in a carton. 

 Coastal folks know dif- 

 ferently. Lundie 

 Mauldin, Sea Grant's 

 marine education specialist, believes 

 it's time people took some notice of the 

 valuable oyster, which has been belea- 

 guered of late by overfishing and pol- 

 lution. 



During a program called "The 

 World of the Oyster," held Jan. 22 at 

 the North Carolina State Museum of 

 Natural History in Raleigh, Mauldin 

 showed a crowd how to crack open 

 both the shells and the secrets of the 

 delectable shellfish. The group dis- 

 cussed the oyster's life history, its eco- 

 nomic importance, its physiology and 

 its place in coastal ecology. 



Mauldin told the group that the 

 oyster begins its life swimming, but 

 that soon its steadily enlarging shell 

 weights the oyster and sinks it to the 

 bottom. If the oyster finds something 

 solid there, it latches on and sets up 

 housekeeping. But if it falls on sand or 

 silt, it dies. 



Mauldin also explained that an 

 oyster can change from male to female 

 during the course of its life. And, 

 because oysters feed indiscriminately 

 on plankton and other suspended mat- 

 ter they filter from the water, scientists 

 can find in the oysters' bodies evidence 

 of any pollution in their habitats. 



But when the classwork was over, 

 the group got down to what Mauldin 

 calls "the meat of the matter": a 

 steaming bowl of oyster stew. 



If you spend any time 

 on the water this winter, 

 the Coast Guard has a 

 message for you: cold 

 water is a killer. No mat- 

 ter how well you swim, 

 you'll lose body heat at 

 an alarming rate in water less than 

 70°F. This heat loss, called hypother- 

 mia, can lead to death. Off the coast of 

 North Carolina, water temperatures 

 average less than 70°F more than half 

 the year. 



Fortunately, there are some things 

 you can do to improve your chances for 

 survival if you end up in cold water. 

 The Coast Guard is conducting a series 

 of workshops designed to teach cold 

 water survival techniques. The work- 

 shops are aimed at boaters, commer- 

 cial fishermen, waterfowl hunters, 

 sport fishermen, emergency service 

 personnel and others who spend time 

 on the water. 



Saturday, February 16, the Coast 

 Guard will conduct a workshop in 

 Manteo. Co-sponsored by UNC Sea 

 Grant, the workshop will be held from 

 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. at the Old Nags 

 Head Cove Recreation Center. Mem- 

 bers of the Coast Guard Boating 

 Safety Team will demonstrate the use 

 of cold water survival suits, heat con- 

 serving postures and personal flota- 

 tion devices. 



The workshop is open to the public 

 free of charge, but advance registra- 

 tion is required. Call the N.C. Marine 

 Resources Center on Roanoke Island, 

 (919) 473-3937. 



The weather. Often, a 

 fisherman's livelihood, 

 not to mention his 

 safety, depends on know- 

 ing exactly what the ele- 

 ments are up to. But 

 many fishermen com- 

 plain that the weather reports they get 

 are designed for the public, and are too 

 general for the fisherman's needs. 

 Many would like regular, up-to-date 

 data on weather systems at sea, the 

 location of warm and cold currents, 



sea-surface temperatures and more. 

 With better information, fishermen 

 believe they could avoid foul weather 

 and find the best fishing spots. 



This year, Sea Grant is funding a 

 study of the fishing industry's need for 

 weather information. Jerry M. Davis, 

 as associate professor of climatology at 

 North Carolina State University, will 

 ask fishermen what their needs are, 

 study the sources of information avail- 

 able, and formulate ways to put the 

 two in closer contact. 



Davis believes that fishermen could 

 benefit from a custom service like the 

 "Green Thumb" weather program on 

 which farmers rely. 



Cold Water Drown- 

 ing: A New Lease on 

 Life presents medical 

 findings indicating that 

 drowning victims may be 

 saved in spite of long 

 submergence, particu- 

 larly if the water is cold. The illus- 

 trated brochure also describes resusci- 

 tation techniques. Published by the 

 Michigan Sea Grant Program and the 

 U.S. Coast Guard, the brochure is 

 available free from UNC Sea Grant. 



Rip Currents, an 11" X 28V2" 

 color poster, explains what causes the 

 dangerous currents, how to spot them, 

 and what to do if you get caught in 

 one. For a free copy of the poster, write 

 UNC Sea Grant. 



Sea Grant Publications, an illus- 

 trated brochure, provides a brief 

 description of all the general-interest 

 publications offered by the UNC Sea 

 Grant program from 1972 to October, 

 1979. The brochure also includes an or- 

 der form that can be used for re- 

 questing the listed publications. For a 

 copy of this brochure or any publica- 

 tion listed in the Back Page this 

 month, write UNC Sea Grant, P.O. 

 Box 5001, Raleigh, N.C. 27650. 



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