the back man 



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, 

 workshops and new publications. 

 For more information on any of 

 the projects described , contact the 

 Sea Grant office in Raleigh 

 (919 737-2454). 



With spring comes 

 the migration of young 

 eels, or "elvers," into 

 North Carolina's coastal 

 rivers and streams. But 

 many things about the 

 annual migration are un- 

 knc xri : How many eels are there? How 

 many survive the trip upstream? How 

 fast do they travel? 



The answers would help scientists 

 iearn what effect the increasing har- 

 vest of eels, both for sale and for use in 

 aquaculture, is having on the eel 

 population. 



This spring, with Sea Grant support, 

 researchers are field-testing two tech- 

 niques for marking young eels. In one 

 method, elvers are immersed in a 

 florescent pigment; in another, they 

 are sprayed with rhodamine B dye. 

 Both stains show up only under ultra- 

 violet light. 



Wilson Laney, a graduate student in 

 zoology at North Carolina State Uni- 

 versity, is marking elvers caught near 

 Lake Mattamuskeet in Hyde County. 

 The marked eels are returned to the 

 water, where they can continue their 

 journey. Later, a mile or two up- 

 stream. Laney will make regular sam- 

 plings to see how many of the marked 

 elvers turn up. If the system works, re- 

 searchers will be able to compare the 

 numbers of marked and unmarked eels 

 in the samples. Using these methods, it 

 may eventually be possible for scien- 

 tists to estimate how many eels can be 

 taken from the state's waters without 

 endangering the eel population. 



Three researchers 

 from two North Caro- 

 lina universities have re- 

 ceived grants that will be 

 valuable in furthering 

 Sea Grant projects 

 already under way. 

 Seafood scientist Tyre Lanier of 

 NCSU has received $10,000 from the 

 South Atlantic and Gulf Fisheries 

 Council to work on seafood market- 

 ing. Lanier will use the money to ex- 

 pand his Sea Grant project on improv- 

 ing the quality of packaged seafood. 



Another seafood scientist, Frank 

 Thomas of NCSU, received a grant 

 from the N.C. Board of Science Tech- 

 nology to set up and operate a steam 

 generator for canning seafood. In- 

 stalled at the NCSU Seafood Labora- 

 tory, the generator will allow Thomas 

 and other researchers to test canning 

 operations and improve marketing for 

 some seafoods. 



Margie Gallagher, a nutritionist at 

 East Carolina University, also re- 

 ceived a grant from the Board of 

 Science Technology. Gallagher will use 

 her grant to purchase analytical equip- 

 ment for aquaculture nutrition 

 studies. The equipment will be useful 

 in her work with the NCSU Eel 

 Culture Project in Aurora, where she is 

 developing diets to fatten eels and 

 make them more nutritious. 



A sea dog. It's not 

 some edible delicacy 

 made of seaweed or fish, 

 but a two-person sub- 

 mersible craft designed 

 to aid divers in under- 

 water observation. And 

 what's even more significant, the sea 

 dog was designed by two high school 

 students. Scott Trefethen and Donald 

 Caison. students at E. A. Laney High 

 School in Wilmington, wanted to build 

 a submersible vessel that would allow 

 divers to move faster and with greater 

 ease underwater. 



Sea Grant saw the project as an op- 

 portunity for the students to learn and 



develop research techniques. Through 

 the North Carolina Student Academy 

 of Science, Sea Grant provided funding 

 for the Wilmington students and two 

 other high school students to conduct 

 marine science projects. 



Sharon Briles, a student at South- 

 western Randolph Senior High School 

 in Asheboro, will receive a grant to 

 study coral reefs and their relation to 

 the marine ecosystem. She plans to set 

 up a aquarium with coelenterates. or- 

 ganisms which form the coral reefs. 



Another Southwestern Randolph 

 High School student. Rachel Strick- 

 land, will be growing algae to use as a 

 possible food source. Strickland plans 

 to bake cookies made from her labora- 

 tory-grown algae. 



Ma king Tracks, A 

 guide to off-road driv- 

 ing at the coast is an il- 

 lustrated pamphlet by 

 Paul Hosier and Tom 

 Eaton, two Sea Grant re- 

 searchers who have been 

 studying the effects of off-road driving 

 on the environment of coastal North 

 Carolina. The pamphlet lists sites open 

 to off-road driving, points out local 

 regulations, and suggests ways drivers 

 can protect plants and wildlife. For a 

 free copy, write to UNC Sea Grant, 

 Box 5001, Raleigh, N.C. 27650. Ask 

 for UNC-SG-79-06. 



A Study of Federal and State 

 Legislation Concerning the Con- 

 struction of Proposed Oil 

 Refineries, by Cy Grant and Thomas 

 W. Earnhardt, is a study of federal and 

 state regulations that would apply to 

 two oil refineries proposed for Carteret 

 and Brunswick counties. The paper 

 points out potential deficiencies in the 

 regulations and discusses possible solu- 

 tions. For a copy, write UNC Sea 

 Grant and ask for UNC-SG-WP-80-2. 

 The price is $1 for out-of-state 

 requests. 



Continued on next page 



Two UNC Sea Grant publications 

 have won awards in international com- 

 petition conducted by the Society for 

 Technical Communication. 



Atlas of Colonial Waterbirds of 

 North Carolina Estuaries, by James 

 F. Parnell and Robert F. Soots. Jr., 

 won an achievement award. The atlas 

 is a study of birds like the egret, heron 

 and tern, and includes numerous 

 photographs and charts describing 

 their nesting grounds. (For a copy, 

 write UNC Sea Grant and ask for 

 UNC-SG-78-10. The cost is $7 for each 

 request.) 



How to Hang a Gill Net, by Jim 

 Bahen and Mary Day Mordecai, also 

 won an achievement award. The il- 

 lustrated booklet gives step-by-step in- 

 structions for hanging a typical gill 

 net. (For a free copy, write UNC Sea 

 Grant and ask for UNC-SG-79-03.) 



Six other UNC Sea Grant publica- 

 tions, including Coastwatch. won 

 awards in competition conducted by 

 the society's North Carolina chapter. 



From the viral con- 

 tamination of oysters to 

 the impact of off-road 

 vehicles on beaches, Sea 

 Grant research spans a 

 wide range of coastal 

 concerns. Looking to the 

 future. Sea Grant conducts research 

 that anticipates tomorrow's problems. 

 If you are a coastal citizen and see a 



need for answers to a growing or up- 

 coming problem, let us know. Contact 

 your nearest Sea Grant marine ad- 

 visory agent — Dennis Regan or 

 Hughes Tillett, Roanoke Island 

 Marine Resource Center, 473-3937; 

 Bob Hines, Bogue Banks Marine 

 Resource Center, 726-0125; Jim 

 Bahen, Ft. Fisher Marine Resource 

 Center, 458-5498— or the Sea Grant of- 

 fice in Raleigh (737-2454). 



If you are a researcher interested in 

 conducting a project, contact B.J. 

 Copeland or Bill Rickards in Raleigh 

 (737-2454) with your ideas. Keep in 

 mind the deadline for completed 

 proposals is May 9. 



In addition to the major research 

 grants given each year. Sea Grant also 

 awards mini-grants for short-term pro- 

 jects that seek to provide fast answers 

 to immediate problems. Three mini- 

 grants have been awarded. 



Jim Easley, an associate professor of 

 economics and business of N.C. State 

 University, (NCSU), was given a mini- 

 grant to study the economics of a shell- 

 fish transfer system in Brunswick 

 County, which has had much of its 

 shellfish-harvesting waters closed 

 because of pollution. Shellfish can be 

 transferred from polluted to clean 

 waters where the shellfish will cleanse 

 themselves of bacteria and viral con- 

 taminants. Easley wants to find out if 

 the increased handling of shellfish 

 would cut down on the fisherman's 



profits. 



In another mini-grant. Ernie 

 Seneca, an NCSU botanist and soil 

 scientist, along with graduate student 

 Ed Mrozek. will study how the toxic 

 chemicals, PCBs, affect North 

 Carolina marshes. Seneca wants to 

 find the rate marsh plants take up the 

 chemicals and how long they retain 

 them. He also wants to know what 

 happens to the creatures who feed on 

 the contaminated grass and how far in 

 the eco-system the PCBs are trans- 

 ferred. 



Frank Thomas, an extension sea- 

 food specialist at NCSU, and Sam 

 Thomas, a seafood specialist at the 

 NCSU Seafood Laboratory in More- 

 head City, will be updating their 

 manual for seafood processing as part 

 of another mini-grant. 



Coastwatch is published monthly 

 except July and December by the Uni- 

 versity of North Carolina Sea Grant 

 College Program, 105 1911 Building, 

 North Carolina State University, 

 Raleigh, NC 27650. Vol. 7, No. 3, 

 March, 1980. Dr. B. J. Copeland, direc- 

 tor. Written and edited by Neil Caudle 

 and Kathy Hart. Second-class postage 

 paid at Raleigh. NC 27611. 



