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 more about 

 meetings and workshops, and new 

 publications. For more informa- 

 tion on any of the projects 

 described , contact the Sea Grant 

 office in Raleigh (919/737-2454). 



They say you can't 

 judge a book by its 

 cover, but three Sea 

 Grant researchers say 

 that packaging can af- 

 fect sales of seafood. 

 That's why the re- 

 searchers are studying not only how to 

 keep fish fresher in the store, but also 

 how to make it more appealing. 



Tyre Lanier, Frank Thomas and Ed 

 Leonard are asking shoppers about 

 three types of packaging systems. One 

 is the standard overwrapped foam tray 

 found at most grocery stores. But the 

 other two systems are new. One is a 

 vacuum package that allows fish 

 processors to control the amount of air 

 that surrounds the fish in the package. 

 The other is a new tray made of plastic 

 like that used in freezer containers. 



Researchers are asking shoppers 

 which package they would buy, which 

 package they find most attractive and 

 which package they feel keeps the fish 

 fresh. 



While the researchers are concerned 

 about shoppers' preferences, they are 

 also running laboratory tests at N.C. 

 State University to see whether 

 vacuum packaging or the currently 

 used plastic wrap keeps fish fresher. 



Lundie Mauldin, Sea Grant's edu- 

 cation specialist, has spent most of her 

 summer introducing groups of teachers 

 to the North Carolina coast. 



In a series of workshops held in June 

 and July at the three N.C. Marine 

 Resources Centers, Mauldin's groups 

 examined the coastal environment as 



both a subject and setting for study. 



Field trips took teachers to boat- 

 builders, wildlife habitats, maritime 

 museums, fishing villages and research 

 sites. At an excavation by Dr. David 

 Phelps, an archeologist with East 

 Carolina University, one group of 

 teachers watched as the 1000-year-old 

 fossil remains of three Indians were be- 

 ing uncovered. 



An innovation of this year's work- 

 shops was a discussion of maritime 

 literature led by Norma Bagnall of the 

 Sea Grant program at Texas A & M. 



w ayne Wescott, who is working on 

 a Sea Grant project through the 

 department of continuing education at 

 East Carolina University, has been 

 organizing a number of courses along 

 the coast. A course designed to prepare 

 navigators for the Coast Guard's cap- 

 tain's licensure exam has drawn about 

 30 people to each class since the course 

 began on June 6. 



Demand for the course has been so 

 great that Wescott hopes to have 

 courses in Southport, Hatteras and 

 Manteo, later this year. 



In addition, Wescott is putting 

 together a course for shrimp fishermen 

 that he plans to conduct at several 

 locations along the coast. 



Harkers Islanders cel- 

 ebrated the Fourth of 

 July this year with their 

 annual "pony penning" 

 to round up the wild 

 horses that roam 

 Shackleford Banks. 

 Islanders have been holding the pen- 

 nings for over a hundred years to brand 

 the new foals. Though the horses are 

 owned, they are allowed to wander the 

 banks freely. 



Harkers Island boys run on foot to 

 corral the horses into pens where mares 

 with new foals are separated from the 

 rest of the herd. The foals are then 

 given the same brand as their mothers. 

 Amost 130 horses were penned this 



year, but one stallion and his mares at 

 the east end of the banks eluded the 

 roundup. The stallion, called the Big 

 Marsh Stallion, has never been 

 corralled. 



Marcus Hepburn, an anthropologist 

 living on the island, observed the pen- 

 ning this year as part of a Sea Grant 

 study on life in a fishing community. 



As a leader in three 

 state agencies J. C.Jones 

 spends lots of time 

 behind a desk. But 

 whenever he gets the 

 chance, he hoists sail and 

 skims the coastal waters 

 of North Carolina in a sailboat. 



"The coast is one of my favorite 

 hangouts," he says. In his newest job 

 as Sea Grant's director of Marine Ad- 

 visory Services, he will develop even 

 stronger ties to the coast. 



In addition to his duties at Sea 

 Grant, Jones will remain as director of 

 the state Office of Marine Affairs and 

 administrator with N.C. Agriculture 

 Extension Service. He plans to coor- 

 dinate the marine activities of the 

 three agencies. 



Jones is a native of Chatham 

 County. He received his undergrad- 

 uate degree at North Carolina State 

 University and his master's degree at 

 Duke University. A retired Navy cap- 

 tain, Jones trained the Navy's under- 

 water demolition team for eight years. 



Jones has spent 24 years in the ex- 

 tension service, eight as chairman of 

 the 15-county northeastern extension 

 district. 



Dennis Regan, Sea Grant's recrea- 

 tion agent, has scheduled a series of lec- 

 tures on Thursday nights at 8 p.m. at 

 the N.C. Marine Resources Center on 

 Roanoke Island. The schedule is: 



Aug. 9 — David Phelps on coastal 

 plain Indian culture; 



Continued on next page 



