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 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. 



On March 7, 1962, 

 David Stick of Southern 

 Shores almost drowned. 

 The biggest northeaster 

 of the decade was dump- 

 ing rain and lifting 

 waves over most of the 

 Middle Atlantic Coast. Stick and many 

 others struggled to survive as the storm 

 unleashed its fury for 2)2 days. 



Fortunately, Stick and all of the 

 Outer Banks' residents lived to tell 

 about the now-famous "Ash Wednes- 

 day Storm." 



Their stories come alive in a new 

 book by Stick that commemorates the 

 25th anniversary of the storm. 



The Ash Wednesday Storm contains 

 100 pages of adventure, retold by 160 

 people associated with the storm. And 

 it includes photos by Walter Gresham 

 III and Aycock Brown, a nationally 

 known photographer who captured 

 the Outer Banks on film for 30 years. 



Copies are available in bookstores in 

 eastern North Carolina and Virginia, 

 or by writing Gresham Publications, 

 P.O. Drawer 807, Kill Devil Hills, NC 

 27948. The cost is $12.95. Add $2.50 for 

 postage and handling, and 5 percent 

 sales tax in North Carolina. 



University of Dela- 

 ware Sea Grant research- 

 ers have found a use for 

 the mounds of crab 

 shells that are discarded 

 each year by the crab 

 industry. 



They're turning the shells into surgi- 

 cal suture thread that slowly dissolves 

 in the body and is nonallergenic. What's 



more, the thread has a positive side 

 effect — it promotes wound healing. 



The shells of crabs are made of a 

 tough material called chitin. For 50 

 years, chemists have known that chitin 

 has many useful properties. But before 

 they could find a way to dissolve the 

 shells and turn chitin into a usable 

 form, nylon was invented and claimed 

 most of the glory. 



Then, 10 years ago, a Delaware Sea 

 Grant researcher found a way to turn 

 the crab shells into a gooey liquid that 

 could be formed into tough fibers. 

 Now a Japanese firm is using that 

 information to make sutures from 

 chitin. 



This isn't the first dissolvable suture 

 invented. But the others often cause 

 allergic reactions and aren't suitable 

 for some areas of the body. Chitin 

 sutures overcome those problems. 



Now Delaware Sea Grant re- 

 searchers are studying powdered chit- 

 in's wound-healing properties with an 

 eye to developing an ointment. Early 

 tests show that it not only speeds heal- 

 ing but minimizes formation of scar 

 tissue. 



At the grocer's, 

 shrimp sell for $4.99 to 

 $12.99 a pound. At those 

 prices, it's hard to stock 

 up on America's favorite 

 seafood. 



But what if you could 

 fill your freezer with these delectable 

 delicacies for only the price of few 

 days work and some minor equipment 

 costs. 



With a boat, some effort and Sea 

 Grant's booklet, A Guide to Recre- 

 ational Shrimping, you can save 

 money and catch your own shrimp in 

 coastal waters. 



The booklet, written by Sea Grant 

 advisory agent Wayne Wescott, pro- 

 vides valuable information about 

 shrimp biology, regulations and types 

 of trawl nets. 



With the help of detailed illustra- 

 tions, Wescott describes how to rig the 

 net, prepare the boat and complete a 



successful tow. He offers many tips 

 that can save the new shrimper hours 

 of frustrations. 



And he has suggestions for culling 

 and storing the catch. 



For a copy of A Guide to Recrea- 

 tional Shrimping, write Sea Grant. Ask 

 for UNC-SG-86-07. The cost is $4. 



Few things strike as 

 much fear in a boater as 

 the sight of a waterspout 

 on the horizon. These 

 funnel-shaped clouds 

 are actually offshore 

 tornadoes. And for 

 boaters, they can be just as deadly. 



National Weather Service meteor- 

 ologist Wallace DeMaurice says water- 

 spouts are often associated with 

 summer squalls. And they're particu- 

 larly prevalent near the Gulf Stream. 



Because the twisters weave their 

 way across the water in such an 

 unpredictable pattern, the best advice 

 is to stay off the water when severe 

 weather threatens. 



But if you get caught in an offshore 

 squall, use common sense. If you see a 

 waterspout, don't try to outrun it. 

 Instead, move away from it at a 90- 

 degree angle, DeMaurice says. 



Report the sighting to the National 

 Weather Service, and listen to your 

 radio for advisories. 



If you're in a marina when severe 

 weather threatens, get off your boat 

 and follow the National Weather Ser- 

 vice's guidelines for severe weather. 



The Gulf and South Atlantic Fisher- 

 ies Development Foundation has 

 awarded $20,000 to Sea Grant and the 

 N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries to 

 conduct a research and demonstration 

 project for turtle excluder devices or 

 TEDs. 



Sea Grant marine agents and DMF 

 biologists will test two versions of the 

 TED in the state's offshore waters to 

 determine which version performs 

 best. The results of the study will help 

 fishermen decide which TED to use. 

 Continued on next page 



