THE I&U:K pace 



"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 publica- 

 tions. For more information on any of 

 the projects described, contact the Sea 

 Grant offices in Raleigh (919/737-21^5 W- 

 For copies of publications, write UNC 

 Sea Grant, NCSU, Box 8605, Raleigh, 

 N.C. 27695-8605. 



This fall, why not com- 

 bine a short beach vaca- 

 tion with education? Join 

 Sea Grant, the N.C. 

 Wildlife Federation and 

 the N.C. Aquarium at 

 Pine Knoll Shores Oct. 1 

 to 4 for a conservation retreat. 



The weekend event will offer a chance 

 to learn about the natural history of the 

 state's barrier islands. Choose from 

 classes such as barrier island folklore, 

 seafood preparation and cooking, out- 

 door photography, marsh ecology, and 

 seashell identification. 



The retreat will be headquartered at 

 the John Yancey Motor Inn on Pine 

 Knoll Shores, and most classes will be 

 held at the N.C. Aquarium. Participants 

 will arrive on Thursday night, and 

 classes will be held Friday and Saturday. 



For more information, write the N.C. 

 Wildlife Federation, Box 10626, Raleigh, 

 N.C. 27605. Or call 919/833-1923. 



As the first cool breezes of fall blow 

 over coastal waters, schools of "blues," 

 trout and mullet begin to migrate, or 

 "run" as coastal folks say. 



It's a perfect time to have a gill net set 

 and waiting. 



Sea Grant can help you prepare your 

 net with its publication, How to Hang 

 a Gill Net. 



The booklet provides a step-by-step 

 description for buying the supplies and 

 hanging the net. 



The versatile net can be used to catch 

 a variety of fish— trout, hake and 

 mackerel to name a few. And it can easily 

 be staked, anchored, allowed to drift or 

 pulled by a boat. 



Aptly named, the gill net actually gills 

 fish. The meshes are large enough to 

 allow a fish's head, but not the rest of its 

 body, to pas& When the fish tries to back 

 out of the net, it gets caught behind the 

 gill covers. 



For a free copy of How to Hang a Gill 

 Net, write Sea Grant. Ask for UNC- 

 SG-79-03. 



Sea Grant agent Bob 

 Hines is getting the 

 "hang" of putting off- 

 shore obstructions on 

 computer. Hines is up- 

 dating a Ust of inshore and 

 offshore Atlantic hangs 

 and obstructions. 



He recently traveled to the Alabama 

 Sea Grant Program to observe how 

 agents there put a similar list on com- 

 puter. The hang log includes the Loran 

 coordinates of wrecks, vessels and other 

 structures buried in the Gulf. 



Gulf fishermen can request the entire 

 list, or they can have agents print out a 

 list of hangs for a specific area. 



Hines wants to develop a similar 

 system for Atlantic hangs. He knows a 

 hang can cost a fisherman hundreds of 

 dollars in torn or lost nets. 



And the obstructions often make ex- 

 cellent sportfishing and diving locationa 

 If you have hangs you'd like to con- 

 tribute to Hines, write him at P.O. Box 

 896, Atlantic Beach, N.C. 28512. Or call 

 919/247-4007. 



Or if you'd like a copy of Sea Grant's 

 Hangs and Obstructions to Trawl 

 Fishing Along the Atlantic Coast of the 

 United States, send $2 to Sea Grant. Ask 

 for publication number UNC-SG-83-01. 



For more information on Alabama's 

 hang log, call Sea Grant agent Tony 

 Lowery at 205/661-5004. Or write him 

 at Alabama Sea Grant Advisory Service, 

 3940 Government Boulevard, Suite 5, 

 Mobile, Ala. 36609. 



Celebrate the state's seafood heritage 

 at the North Carolina Seafood Festival. 

 From Oct. 1 to 4, the Morehead City 

 waterfront will be transformed into a 

 showcase for the catch of Carolina. 



The four-day extravaganza will in- 

 clude sporting events, educational ex- 

 hibits, musicians, dancers, fireworks, a 

 boat parade and more. For seafood 

 lovers looking for a real taste of the 

 festivities, the highlight will be a seafood 

 sampling tent. 



Sea Grant will present a series of 

 seminars on topics such as seafood and 

 health. 



The festival has been organized by a 

 group of volunteer citizens and 

 businessmen from Carteret County. It 

 is designed to promote the state's 

 seafood catch and educate people about 

 the importance of the resource to the 

 state's economy. 



For more information about the first 

 North Carolina Seafood Festival, con- 

 tact Carolyn Barnett at 919/726-1212. 



Wayne Wescott is try- 

 ing to interest the blue 

 crabs in Roanoke Sound 

 in a new meal with an 

 artificial flavor Wescott, a 

 Sea Grant marine ad- 

 visory agent, is testing 

 several formulas of an artificial crab bait 

 developed by Du Pont. 



The company has successfully 

 developed an artificial bait for crawfish 

 and is hoping to do the same for crabs. 

 It is a mixture of polymers and fish meal. 



The bait was formulated to attract the 

 feisty scavengers and to last in the crab 

 pot for up to one week. If it works, the 

 3-inch long, 2V2-inch diameter bait logs 

 could decrease the amount of labor and, 

 perhaps some of the expense, required 

 for crab potting. 



So far, Wescott's test results have not 

 been promising. 



He's tried several different artificial 

 bait formulas, but none have lasted a full 

 week. And the catch ratios were down 

 50 percent compared to pots baited with 

 fish. 



But Wescott has several more for- 

 mulas to try. He'll be testing those in 

 September. Watch "The Back Page" for 

 further results. 



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