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 upcoming 

 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). 



To momick. It's not a 

 verb you'll find in 

 Webster's. But any 

 Harkers Islander can 

 give you its definition. In 

 the "down east" dialect 

 of Carteret County, it 

 means to tear up or render useless. And 

 here's another: ever heard of a paiser? 

 On Harkers Island it's another word 

 for porch. 



Anthropologist Marcus Hepburn is 

 intrigued by these little gems in the 

 language of the residents of • this 

 relatively isolated island. He's been 

 studying the linguistics, folklore and 

 general way of life of the islanders since 

 he moved to Harkers Island last 

 spring. Hepburn is working with 

 anthropologist Jim Sabella and 

 sociologists Richard Dixon and Roger 

 Lowery of the University of North 

 Carolina at Wilmington (UNC-W). 

 With Sea Grant funding, they're look- 

 ing at Harkers Island as an example of 

 a traditional boat building and fishing 

 village. They hope that the informa- 

 tion they collect will help planners and 

 fisheries management officials to make 

 decisions that are compatible with 

 traditional lifestyles on the island. 



Clams are an important fishery 

 resource in North Carolina. When 

 catches of other, more valuable 

 shellfish are down, fishermen often 

 turn to hard clams for supplemental 

 earnings. But a combination of two ex- 

 tremely cold winters and an increase in 

 clamming activity has fisheries 

 biologists worried over the fate of 

 North Carolina's hard clam popula- 

 tion. 



In an effort to learn more about the 

 population dynamics and biology of 

 the hard clam, Sea Grant researchers 

 Charles Peterson and Richard Deriso 

 of UNC's Institute of Marine Sciences 

 in Morehead City are developing a 

 clam sampling program in coordination 

 with the state Division of Marine 

 Fisheries (DMF). As part of the study 

 the researchers will evaluate the 

 reliability of using growth lines on the 

 clam's shell for aging. The effects of 

 mechanical harvesting on clam popula- 

 tions and the surrounding environment 

 also will be examined. 



In another study sponsored by Sea 

 Grant, Deriso will assist the DMF in 

 designing and implementing various 

 sampling programs and techniques for 

 fish stock assessment and population 

 dynamics studies. 



North C arolina is be- 

 coming a popular vaca- 

 tionland for SCUBA 

 divers; the drawing 

 card — the hundreds of 

 shipwrecks strewn along 

 the state's coast. 

 To help diving enthusiasts learn 

 more about SCUBA diving off North 

 Carolina, Sea Grant is sponsoring a 

 free SCUBA conference on May 26 at 

 the Marine Resources Center on Bogue 

 Banks beginning at 9 a.m. Sea Grant 

 agent Dennis Regan says the day-long 

 conference will touch on a variety of 

 topics. J. C. Jones of the Office of 

 Marine Affairs will talk about World 

 War II submarine wrecks and the con- 

 troversy over torpedo disarmament. 

 John Newton of the Monitor Founda- 

 tion will present an update on efforts to 

 recover the ironclad Monitor. Captain 

 Ed Wolfe of Wrightsville Beach will 

 discuss safety aspects of diving from 

 charter boats. To help divers identify 

 some of the fish they see, Steve Ross of 

 the state Division of Marine Fisheries 

 will talk about marine fish common to 

 North Carolina waters. Bill Lovin, 

 author of Wreck, will discuss un- 

 derwater photography techniques. For 



Machemehl 

 University 



conference registration information, 

 contact Regan at the Marine 

 Resources Center/Roanoke Island 

 (919/473-3937). 



How effective are 

 sand bag groins in ero- 

 sion control? It's a ques- 

 tion that's never been 

 answered in North 

 Carolina. But Sea Grant 

 researcher Jerry 

 of North Carolina State 

 (NCSU) thinks that a 

 massive erosion control project along 

 the west end of Long Beach, North 

 Carolina, may provide an ideal testing 

 ground. 



Construction of the sand bag groin 

 system was begun last month by the 

 state's Office of Public Works in an ef- 

 fort to reduce shoreline movement in 

 the vicinity of Lockwoods Folly Inlet. 

 The area is experiencing severe 

 shoreline erosion. With support from 

 Sea Grant, Machemehl will look at 

 both the long- and short-term effects of 

 the groin system, how it responds to 

 wave and current conditions and the 

 benefit to cost ratio of the project. Sea 

 Grant's coastal engineering specialist, 

 Spencer Rogers, is assisting in the pro- 

 ject. The results of the study could be 

 important in determining whether the 

 relatively low cost system can be suc- 

 cessfully used in other locations. 



Off-road vehicle (ORV) use has 

 been stirring up quite a controversy 

 along North Carolina's beaches. Sea 

 Grant researchers Paul Hosier and 

 Tom Eaton of UNC-W hope to find 

 out what impact ORVs have on the 

 beach environment. Preliminary 

 results at a study site near Fort Fisher 

 indicate that sand is churned up and 

 vegetation is reduced where ORVs are 

 used frequently. 



This summer the researchers will ex- 

 pand their studies to include sites in 

 the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. 

 They've marked off test sites near 

 Oregon Inlet, where ORV use is the 

 heaviest in the park; near Cape Point 



