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, 

 workshops and new publications. 

 For more information on any of 

 the projects described, contact the 

 Sea Grant offices in Raleigh 

 (919/737-2454). 



When farmers need a 

 weather forecast to help 

 them time a planting or 

 a harvest, they often 

 tune in to the N.C. 

 Agricultural Extension 

 Service's Agricultural 

 Weather Program. Broadcast over the 

 National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

 Administration's (NOAA) weather 

 radio network, the weather program 

 adapts National Weather Service 

 forecasts to state agricultural needs. 



Two extension specialists, 

 Katharine Perry and Gregory 

 Johnson, prepare the agricultural 

 forecast at North Carolina State Uni- 

 versity (NCSU). They tailor the 

 forecasts for North Carolina's 17 

 weather zones, letting farmers know 

 expected heat or cold stress for 

 livestock and poultry, frost and freeze 

 warnings, suitable planting dates, rain 

 probabilities for pesticide spraying, 

 fertilizer application, irrigation 

 scheduling and more. 



To receive these agricultural 

 weather advisories, farmers must have 

 a "weather" radio or a radio equipped 

 with a weather band and tune it to one 

 of three FM frequencies — 162.40, 

 162.475 or 162.55 megahertz. Nine 

 NOAA stations broadcast the bulletins 

 in North Carolina, three in the coastal 

 area — New Bern (11 a.m. to 5 p.m.), 

 Wilmington (11 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and 

 Rocky Mount (10 a.m. to noon every 

 five minutes and noon to 1 p.m. every 

 15 minutes). The advisories are issued 

 from Raleigh three times a day, 5:10 

 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 3:35 p.m. 



Besides offering agricultural 

 weather advisories, the network, 



through the county extension agents, 

 conducts educational programs to help 

 farmers make better use of the advisory 

 bulletins. For more information about 

 the N.C. Weather Program, write for a 

 free pamphlet from the N.C. 

 Agricultural Extension Service, Com- 

 munications Division; North Carolina 

 State University; P. O. Box 5037; 

 Raleigh, N.C. 27650. 



If you would like to see the weather 

 program broadened to include infor- 

 mation specific to coastal com- 

 munities, contact John Sanders, UNC 

 Sea Grant Coastal Weather Awareness 

 Specialist; 105 1911 Building; North 

 Carolina State University; Raleigh, 

 N.C. 27650-5001. 



If you like crabs, 

 you're going to love the 

 Office of Marine Affairs' 

 N.C. State Fair exhibit 

 this year. There will be 

 crabs everywhere, in all 

 sizes, shapes and designs. 

 And, there will even be some for 

 tasting. 



Panels and displays inside the new 

 and larger exhibit tent will focus on 

 this year's theme — the blue crab. The 

 Marine Resources Centers' section will 

 graphically display the biology of 

 Callinectes sapidus, including the 

 anatomy and many little-known facts 

 about crabs. There will be blue crabs in 

 aquariums and more crabs, with taped 

 claws, in a "touch tank." 



Sea Grant's section, written and co- 

 coordinated by marine advisory agent 

 Bob Hines, will center on the commer- 

 cial aspects of the blue crab industry in 

 North Carolina. In 1979, a record 26 

 million pounds of live blue crabs were 

 landed in this state. But, if you only 

 have a basket of crabs, staff from the 

 NCSU Seafood Laboratory will 

 provide a display to show you how to 

 cook, clean and prepare crabs. There 

 will be a limited quantity of cooked 

 crab samples for tasting. 



The Office of Marine Affairs' exhibit 

 was designed and put together by Jay 

 Barnes, exhibits coordinator at the 



Bogue Banks Marine Resources Cen- 

 ter. After the fair, the exhibit will be 

 placed in the three Marine Resources 

 Centers. The 1981 N.C. State Fair is 

 scheduled for October 16-24. 



UNC Sea Grant 

 Director B.J. Copeland 

 was elected president- 

 elect of the Sea Grant 

 Association during its 

 July meeting. The Sea 

 Grant Association unites 

 the numerous state Sea Grant 

 programs along with others to create a 

 strong national voice on issues involv- 

 ing marine problems. 



Copeland will serve as president- 

 elect for one year before succeeding 

 Feenan Jennings, director of Texas 

 A&M Sea Grant, as president of the 

 association. 



If he hopes to compete, today's 

 commercial fisherman has to know his 

 business, from bait prices to tax law. 

 As Sea Grant's newest marine advisory 

 agent, Larry Giardina will be working 

 with fishermen and others in the 

 state's seafood and marine industries 

 to help them solve their business 

 management problems. 



Giardina, who has a master's degree 

 in the economics of natural resources 

 from Oregon State University, began 

 work with Sea Grant in August. He is 

 in the Marine Advisory Service office 

 at the N. C. Marine Resources Cen- 

 ter/Bogue Banks. His telephone num- 

 ber is (919) 726-0125. 



The South Atlantic Fisheries 

 Management Council will meet in 

 Kitty Hawk, Sept. 22 to 24, at the 

 Holiday Inn. The council develops 

 management plans for the fish stocks 

 in offshore waters near North 

 Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and 

 eastern Florida. Regular meetings are 

 held throughout the South Atlantic 

 region. The public is invited to attend 

 and ask questions or speak out on 



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