THE BACK mail 



"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). For copies of 

 publications , write UNC Sea 

 Grant, NCSU. Box 8605, Raleigh, 

 N.C. 27695-8605. 



In November 1983, 

 Coastwatch reported 

 that marine advisory 

 agent Jim Bahen was ex- 

 perimenting with a 

 shrimp trap. Now, after 

 gathering a season's 

 worth of data, the results are not en- 

 couraging, says Bahen. 



With the help of two graduate stu- 

 dents from the University of North 

 Carolina at Wilmington and the N.C. 

 Division of Marine Fisheries, Bahen 

 began testing the devices during the 

 brown shrimp season and completed 

 his experiments during the white 

 shrimp season. Similar to miniature 

 crab pots, the shrimp traps are 16-inch 

 cubes made of fine wire mesh, with two 

 side openings, a central bait well and 

 two passages to the main body of the 

 trap. 



The researchers wanted to find out if 

 the traps would catch shrimp, where 

 they would be most effective, which 

 bait attracted the most shrimp, and 

 what size wire mesh would allow 

 smaller shrimp and fish to escape. 



Bahen reports that the quantities of 

 shrimp harvested during the test 

 period did not prove the traps to be 

 economically feasible. Changes in wire 

 mesh size, location and time of sets, 

 and baits made little difference. 



In one experiment, the researchers 

 placed a trap in a 250-gallon aquarium 

 to test the behavior of the shrimp. 

 They found the shrimp were able to go 

 in and out of the large-mesh traps at 

 will. The 1/2-inch mesh seemed to 

 work best at retaining shrimp. 



However, if the shrimp were left in the 

 trap for more than three hours, they 

 eventually found their way out. 



Bahen says he will run additional 

 tests on the shrimp traps during the 

 1985 season. If his results vary, 

 Coastwatch will let you know. 



What's outselling 

 books by former U.S. 

 Senator Sam Ervin and 

 NCSU basketball coach 

 Jim Valvano? Well, in 

 one Raleigh bookstore, 

 it's a book about fish. 

 Fisherman's Guide: Fishes of the 

 Southeastern United States by 

 Charles Manooch III, a research 

 biologist with the National Marine 

 Fisheries Service's Beaufort 

 Laboratory, is on the bestseller list for 

 recreational and commercial fishermen 

 alike. The book includes over 250 

 species of freshwater and saltwater fish 

 from Delaware through Florida and 

 color paintings of 150 of those most of- 

 ten caught by recreational and com- 

 mercial fishermen. 



Fisherman 's Guide explains how 

 to identify the fish, provides life 

 history, habitat and distribution infor- 

 mation, and presents methods of 

 catching and preparing the fish. The 

 362-page book is published by the 

 N.C. State Museum of Natural 

 History with collaboration from the 

 International Game Fish Association, 

 the National Wildlife Federation, the 

 N.C. Wildlife Federation and the 

 Sport Fishing Institute. The cost is 

 $24.95. 



For a copy, write the N.C. State 

 Museum of Natural History, P.O. Box 

 27637, Raleigh, N.C. 27611. Or call 

 733-7450. 



Lundie Spence, UNC Sea Grant's 

 marine education specialist, is offering 

 to conduct in-service training 

 programs for teachers or other 

 educators using her new Sea Grant 

 publication. Coastal Capers. The 76- 

 page booklet provides educators with 

 marine-related, interdisciplinary ac- 



tivities for lower elementary students 

 and youth groups such as 4-H or 

 scouts. It is illustrated with reproduci- 

 ble art that can be used with the 

 capers — "Let's go fishing," "Fishy 

 fun," "What bird are you," and more. 



To arrange a training program, 

 write Spence at UNC Sea Grant, Box 

 8605, NCSU, Raleigh, N.C. 27695- 

 8605. Or call 919/737-2454. For a copy 

 of the booklet, write UNC Sea Grant. 

 Ask for UNC-SG-84-05. The cost is 

 $3.50. 



If you're planning a beach trip this 

 spring, you'll want to know which 

 seafoods are in season. If crabs and 

 scallops are your favorites, you'll be in 

 luck in April. But if you prefer oysters, 

 you'll have to wait until October or 

 November. 



To help make your selection, Joyce 

 Taylor, Sea Grant's marine advisory 

 agent at the NCSU Seafood Labora- 

 tory in Morehead City, prepared a 

 colorful 17-by-22-inch poster depicting 

 the seasonal availability of North 

 Carolina seafoods. The chart is based 

 on North Carolina commercial landing 

 statistics and is intended as a guide for 

 buying fresh fish and shellfish. For a 

 single free copy of the poster, write Sea 

 Grant. Ask for UNC-SG-84-04. 



Harold the Lobster's 

 days at the N.C. Marine 

 Resources Center on 

 Roanoke Island are 

 numbered. Sometime 

 this summer, probably in 

 May, the 17-pound 

 lobster will leave his home of over a 

 year and make his permanent 

 residence at the Virginia Museum of 

 Marine Sciences. 



Harold's capture last year off the 

 Virginia coast spurred a petition to 

 save the lobster from the pot. In the 

 wake of the protest to commute 

 Harold's sentence, the seafood com- 

 pany's owners agreed to donate the 

 giant lobster to the Virginia Museum 

 of Marine Sciences. Since the facility 



Continued on next pa^e 



