Tlllil M(:K PAGK 



"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 publi- 

 cations. 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. 



March is the begin- 

 ning of crab-shedding 

 season in North Caro- 

 hna. It's a time for blue 

 crabs to come out of 

 their shells and for sea- 

 food lovers to savor the 

 taste of these soft-bodied delicacies. 



It's also a time when crabbers are 

 busiest. 



If you're thinking of starting a crab- 

 shedding operation, you'll want to 

 order A Guide to Soft-Shell Crabbing. 

 Written by Wayne Wescott, Sea 

 Grant's marine advisory agent in Man- 

 teo, the 32-page book is designed for 

 the layman who is considering crab 

 shedding. It includes sections on blue 

 crab biology, identifying and handling 

 "peelers," harvesting methods, shed- 

 ding methods and more. 



In addition to diagrams and illustra- 

 tions, color photos depict the various 

 stages of peelers. These photos enable 

 the novice to recognize the subtle signs 

 of a blue crab preparing to molt. 



For a copy of A Guide to Soft-Shell 

 Crabbing, write Sea Grant. Ask for 

 UNC-SG-84-01. The cost is $3. 



Study a new marine environment 

 without ever opening a book. Join 

 Lundie Spence, Sea Grant's marine 

 education specialist, for a teacher 

 workshop in the Caribbean seaport of 

 Belize. 



July 4 to 11, participants can take a 

 first-hand look at coral reefs, man- 

 grove systems, grass flats and rain 

 forests. And they can paddle a canoe, 

 snorkle or swim in tropical waters. 



The workshop, which is cospon- 



sored by Sea Grant, is open to teachers 

 from any state. The trip costs $950 

 from Miami. For an application, write 

 Spence at Sea Grant. 



North Carol ina s 

 Albemarle / Pamlico 

 Sound will be the na- 

 tional estuary of the 

 month in April. In honor 

 of the occasion, a group 

 of politicians, state re- 

 source managers and scientists will 

 speak to congressional staff members, 

 national resource managers and the 

 public about the Albemarle/Pamlico's 

 importance. 



The seminar will be held in the 

 Herbert C. Hoover Building in Wash- 

 ington, D.C., April 9. 



U.S. Rep. Walter B. Jones, chairman 

 of the Committee on Merchant Marine 

 and Fisheries; Secretary Thomas 

 Rhodes of the N.C. Department of 

 Natural Resources and Community 

 Development; and Sea Grant Director 

 B.J. Copeland will be among the fea- 

 tured speakers. 



Others include William Hogarth, di- 

 rector of the N.C. Division of Marine 

 Fisheries; John Costlow, chairman of 

 the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commis- 

 sion; Michael Orbach, chairman of the 

 N.C. Marine Science Council; Bud 

 Cross of the National Marine Fisheries 

 Service's Beaufort Laboratory; and 

 Doug Rader, project director of the 

 Albemarle/Pamlico Project. 



Each month the Estuarine Program 

 Office of the National Oceanic and 

 Atmospheric Administration desig- 

 nates an estuary of the month. 



For more information about the 

 April seminar, contact Bud Cross at the 

 National Marine Fisheries Service in 

 Beaufort at 919/728-3595. 



Seafood is a newcomer to the 

 grocer's meat counter. And it presents 

 some new and different marketing 

 challenges for the retailer. 



Initially, many consumers find sea- 

 food a little confusing because there 

 are more species of fish and shellfish 

 than other meats. 



But a seafood counter attendant can 

 use several marketing tools to alleviate 

 the confusion. 



One of those is a method Skip 

 Kemp, Sea Grant's seafood marketing 

 specialist, calls "seafood focus." Sea- 

 food focus is a continuous in-store 

 promotion that features a precooked 

 dish made from a particular species of 

 fish or shellfish. 



In Sea Grant's latest Blueprint, Kemp 

 describes how to use the seafood focus 

 to attract customers and increase sales. 

 The Blueprint is designed primarily 

 for grocers and seafood market re- 

 tailers. 



For a free copy, write Sea Grant. 

 Ask for UNC-SG-BP-87-1. 



Hard clam fishermen 

 may have hit hard times 

 in North Carolina. The 

 recent increase in land- 

 ings of this savory shell- 

 fish has triggered con- 

 cern of potential over- 

 fishing. Fishery managers predict the 

 problem will get worse unless a proper 

 management policy is implemented. 



To help decision makers understand 

 the implications, three economists 

 have compiled the report. An Eco- 

 nomic Analysis of a Potential Overfish- 

 ing Problem: The N.C. Hard Clam 

 Fishery. 



Yu-Mong Hsiao of Campbell Uni- 

 versity and Thomas Johnson and J.E. 

 Easley Jr. of N.C. State University 

 used 20 years of data to find that hard 

 clams have not been overfished yet. 

 But they did find that more fishermen 

 and fishing resources are being used 

 than are needed to generate maximum 

 economic returns in the fishery. 



For a copy of the report, write Sea 

 Grant and ask for UNC-SG-86-11. The 

 cost is $3.50. 



It takes more than a textbook for 

 students to learn about the ocean. 



That's why the Year of the Ocean 

 Foundation recently funded a new 

 resource guide for marine science 

 teachers. 



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