THE BACK mim 



"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 UNO Sea 

 Grant, NCSU. Box 8605. Raleigh, 

 N.C. 27695-8605. 



The North Carolina 

 Maritime Museum in 

 Beaufort opened the 

 hatches of its new home 

 and set sail May 18. The 

 all-wooden building, 

 which cost $1.5 million, 



will be a showcase for the museum's 

 displays of maritime and coastal 

 natural history. 



With 18,000 square feet, the new 

 facility on Front Street has four times 

 the space of the old museum. There's 

 an auditorium now, and more exhibit 

 and storage space, says Charles 

 McNeill, museum curator. Larger ex- 

 hibits will be displayed, such as a 15- 

 foot scale model of a fully-rigged 

 menhaden boat, typical of those once 

 found at Beaufort's docks. 



The new building is a "culmi- 

 nation of a lot of dreaming," says 

 McNeill. "We don't expect to change 

 things that much in terms of the scope 

 of the museum. It's still going to be 

 about 50-50 natural history - maritime 

 history. We'd like to keep it that 

 way." 



This unique blend of history enables 

 the museum to offer exhibits and field 

 programs that interpret numerous 

 themes. Present displays include 

 marine artifacts, ship models, 

 photographs, sea- and shore-bird 

 mounts, shells and marine fossils. Field 

 trips and special programs take 

 visitors to coastal habitats such as salt 

 marshes, tidal flats and rock jetties. 



The museum is open year-round, 

 seven days a week. Hours are: week- 

 days, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday, 10 



a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, 2 p.m. to 

 4:30 p.m. 



For more information about the 

 museum and its programs, write N. C. 

 Maritime Museum, 315 Front St., 

 Beaufort, N.C. 28516. 



Can a breakwater withstand the 

 forces of nature — high winds and 

 strong currents? That's what Spencer 

 Rogers, UNC Sea Grant's coastal 

 engineering specialist, will find out 

 when he constructs a 48-foot 

 breakwater along the sound at the N.C. 

 Marine Resources Center in Manteo. 



The project, which will be supported 

 by the Sea Grant Marine Advisory 

 Service, will test a wooden break- 

 water's ability to endure severe es- 

 tuarine conditions. Rogers will build 

 the breakwater, using the best design 

 available, then let Mother Nature go 

 to work. 



Watch the Back Page to see how the 

 breakwater fares. If successful, the 

 breakwater will become a public 

 demonstration site. Homeowners and 

 builders can see firsthand what 

 materials and methods were used. 



If mosquitoes bug you 

 in the summer, you may 

 want to build a bird 

 house for purple martins 

 in your backyard. The 

 migratory songbird has 

 long been known for its 



ability to devour insects, especially 

 mosquitoes. 



Purple martins flock to North 

 Carolina from South America during 

 the warmer months. They make their 

 homes throughout the state, including 

 at the coast and on the barrier islands 

 where mosquitoes are numerous, says 

 James Parnell, a biologist at the Uni- 

 versity of North Carolina at 

 Wilmington. 



Since purple martins nest in small 

 colonies, multi-compartment houses or 

 hanging gourds make suitable homes. 

 But the N.C. Wildlife Resources Com- 

 mission has another idea. An 8-foot 

 piece of PVC (polyvinyl chloride) pipe 

 can be made into an attractive. 



durable home for 10 to 12 pairs of pur- 

 ple martins at a reasonable cost. 



To construct such a bird house, 

 divide the 6-inch diameter PVC pipe 

 into sections by inserting round 

 wooden discs at 6-inch intervals. Drill 

 a 2-inch-wide entrance hole into each 

 compartment, attach perches (small 

 pipes or dowels) and cap the top end of 

 the pipe. All materials can be 

 purchased for about $30. 



For complete plans of the PVC pipe 

 house for purple martins, write the 

 Division of Conservation Education, 

 N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, 

 512 N. Salisbury St., Raleigh, N.C. 

 27611. 



If you want to take an 

 underwater view of the 

 latest shrimp trawling 

 systems and techniques, 

 call your local marine 

 advisory agent. He can 

 arrange a viewing of a 



film on shrimp trawls. Produced by 

 marine advisory services from the 

 southeast, in cooperation with the 

 National Marine Fisheries Service, the 

 film provides shrimpers with informa- 

 tion that will help them decide which 

 system is best for their operation. 



The film shows how trawl and door 

 designs and shrimping techniques have 

 changed since 1958. It also describes 

 common rigging adjustments and how 

 they affect trawl performance and how 

 gear selection and fishing techniques 

 affect fuel efficiency. 



If you would like to see the film, 

 contact your local Sea Grant agent to 

 make the arrangements (northern 

 coast: Wayne Wescott, 919/473-3937; 

 central coast: Bob Hines, 919/247- 

 4007; and southern coast: Jim Bahen, 

 919/458-5498). 



Jim Murray, director of Sea Grant's 

 Marine Advisory Service, has been 

 elected president of the N.C. Wreck 

 Divers' Association. In addition to its 

 goal of education about diving safety, 

 the organization holds monthly 

 meetings, publishes a monthly news- 

 Continued on next page 



