THE BACK PAGE 



"The Back Page" is an update 

 on Sea Grant activities — on re- 

 search, marine education and ad- 

 visory 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). 



For generations, the 

 Japanese have been rais- 

 ing eels. And they still 

 know more about it than 

 anyone else. A measure 

 of their expertise rub- 

 bed off on some North 

 Carolina scientists and students during 

 October, when Shigeru Arai, a 

 Japanese authority on eel culture, 

 visited here for 10 days. 



Arai came at the invitation of Bill 

 Rickards, director of Sea Grant's eel 

 culture project in Aurora. Rickards 

 and Arai met in Japan in 1978, when 

 both were attending a meeting of a 

 joint U.S. and Japanese committee on 

 aquaculture. 



The reason for Arai's visit was 

 twofold: to observe North Carolina's 

 growing aquaculture projects, and to 

 share his knowledge with his American 

 colleagues. Arai visited Sea Grant's eel 

 farm and other aquaculture sites, and 

 conducted a seminar on aquaculture at 

 East Carolina University (ECU). 



Arai also spent time with Margie 

 Lee Gallagher, an eel nutritionist at 

 ECU. Gallagher is conducting a Sea 

 Grant study designed to find out what 

 and how to feed pond-raised eels. She 

 is looking for the diet that will promote 

 their growth and good health under 

 the stress of culture. Arai showed 

 Gallagher ways to select fish for her 

 samples and made other suggestions. 



According to Gallagher: "It's 

 basically a problem of getting a wild 

 animal to eat an artificial food. Arai's 

 advice was a big help." 



Both Rickards and Gallagher expect 

 to follow up Arai's visit with more of 



the same cooperation. They believe 

 this kind of exchange will save time 

 and effort, and help produce better eels 

 for both nations. 



Aquaculture — the "farming" of 

 aquatic life — may be just on the edge 

 of becoming big business in the United 

 States. Congress recently passed 

 legislation that provided research and 

 development support for aquaculture 

 in this country. To become eligible for 

 some of the federal funding, North 

 Carolina officials must develop a plan 

 outlining the state's ability to develop 

 aquaculture. They need to know what 

 species would culture well in this state 

 and how to develop aquaculture as a 

 business. 



Sea Grant Director B. J. Copeland 

 has awarded mini-grant funds to 

 associate director Bill Rickards and 

 John Foster, both associated with the 

 NCSU Eel Culture Project in Aurora. 

 They will be gathering all the informa- 

 tion they can about the status and 

 potential for aquaculture in North 

 Carolina, so state officials will have the 

 information they need to draw up a 

 plan. 



The $10 Holding 

 Tank is an illustrated 

 bulletin designed to help 

 boaters meet the new 

 Coast Guard regulations 

 prohibiting the disposal 

 of untreated wastes into 

 near shore waters. The bulletin tells 

 how to build an inexpensive, portable 

 holding tank designed by Spencer 

 Rogers, Sea Grant's coastal engineer- 

 ing specialist. The bulletin is the first 

 in a new Sea Grant series entitled 

 "Blueprints." The series will offer up- 

 to-date information and instructions 

 to help readers solve a variety of 

 marine and coastal problems. For a 

 free copy of The $10 Holding Tank, 

 write Sea Grant, P. O. Box 5001, 

 Raleigh, N. C. 27650, and ask for 

 UNC-SG-BP-01. 



To Eel or Not to Eel, by Leon 

 Abbas, an economist and Sea Grant's 

 recreation specialist, is an economic 

 analysis of a part-time fishing enter- 

 prise. The recently updated booklet 

 spells out the expected investment in 

 time and equipment, and offers other 

 financial guidelines. The booklet is 

 designed to be used by fishermen. For 

 your free copy, write Sea Grant and 

 ask for UNC-SG-77-02. 



Hurry, hurry, step 

 right up. And step they 

 did this year at a rate of 

 1,000 people per hour 

 through the Office of 

 Marine Affairs' N.C. 

 State Fair exhibit. 

 Eels were the main theme and 

 attention-getters this year, and they 

 came in all shapes and sizes. Panels in- 

 side the exhibit tent described eels and 

 their habits, the NCSU Eel Culture 

 Project in Aurora and the many uses of 

 eels. A variety of wallets, handbags 

 and other products made of eel skin 

 were also on display. 



For a more tangible experience, 

 several live eels were kept in a "touch 

 tank," and even many of the more 

 squeamish visitors just couldn't resist 

 the chance to "feel an eel." In addition 

 to more live eels in a 700-gallon 

 aquarium, there were 125 pounds of 

 smoked eel on hand for tasting. 

 Responses ranged from "gross" at the 

 mere sight of the eel to "excellent" af- 

 ter a taste. 



The eel exhibit for the fair was 

 designed and put together by Dale 

 Martin, exhibits coordinator at the 

 Roanoke Island Marine Resources 

 Center, with eels provided by the 

 NCSU Eel Culture Project and 

 smoked by the NCSU Seafood 

 Laboratory in Morehead City. Sup- 

 plementing the eel information were 

 panels on the UNC Sea Grant College 

 Program and the Marine Resources 

 Centers. 



Continued on next page 



