CI f t deck 



Tackling Tax Time 



If you're a fisherman preparing 

 your own tax return, you might get 

 some helpful tips from Tax Guide for 

 Commercial Fishermen. 



Internal Revenue Service Publica- 

 tion 595 outlines changes in filing 

 procedures for business use of your 

 home and for capital construction fund 

 investments. 



Other changes affect the standard 

 mileage rate, which for 1991 is 27.5 

 cents per mile for business use of a 

 private vehicle; tax rates and maximum 

 net earnings for self-employment; tax 

 rates and wage maximums for Social 

 Security and Medicare taxes; federal 

 unemployment tax rate; medical 

 insurance for self-employed persons 

 and tax rate on capital gains. 



For a copy, write to Sea Grant 

 advisory agent Bob Hines, P.O. Box 

 3146, Atlantic Beach, NC 28512. Or 

 call 919/247-4007. 



Free Pamphlet Gives 

 Composting Tips 



Growing concerns over solid waste 

 disposal have put composting at the 

 top of the heap in terms of solutions. 



Whether it's the fish heads and 

 entrails from your latest fishing 

 adventure or Sunday's leftovers, a 

 great deal of your household garbage 

 can be composted with relatively little 

 work on your part. 



The bonus is that the compost that 

 is formed can be used in your garden 

 or flower beds, reducing the need for 

 fertilizers and organic amendments. 



A new publication from the 

 Mississippi Cooperative Extension 

 Service, Composting: Nature 's Way to 

 Recycle, can provide you with the facts 

 about composting and the know-how 

 to set up and operate a backyard 

 compost pile. 



The seven-page pamphlet addresses 

 a number of commonly asked ques- 



tions concerning composting, including 

 what type of materials can be used, how 

 to locate, build and care for a pile, and 

 how to deal with the most frequent 

 problems that occur. 



The publication is free and may be 

 ordered from Mississippi Sea Grant 

 Advisory Service, 2710 Beach Blvd., 

 Suite 1-E, Biloxi, MS 39531. Or call 

 601/388-4710. 



Fishy Ingenuity, 

 California-Style 



When Mendocino County outlawed 

 the dumping of seafood waste in the 

 county landfill in the mid-1970s, 

 California seafood producers were 

 pressured to find alternative uses for 

 seafood waste. 



The Sea Pal Company responded by 

 developing a liquid fish product for 

 distribution to garden supply outlets, 

 reports the latest newsletter from the 

 California Sea Grant Extension Pro- 

 gram. The company sold the emulsion 

 in 1 -gallon containers. 



But the local market for fish emul- 

 sion could not absorb all the county's 

 seafood waste. 



Another entrepreneur developed a 

 composting formula using fish waste 

 and sawdust. Seafood waste not used by 

 Sea Pal and other producers was made 

 into "Albert's Best Fish Compost 

 Formula." 



Whole fish carcasses, shark skins 

 and crab shells were completely broken 

 down in Albert Hall's composting 

 process. Only a few crab claw tips 

 defied complete decomposition. 



The compost, mixed with soil before 

 planting and occasionally limed, 

 supported such Mendocino crops as 

 peas, potatoes, corn, lettuce, cabbage, 

 brussels sprouts and mustard greens. 



The liquid fish emulsion was often 

 used as a supplemental fertilizer. 

 Landscape and local gardeners also 

 bought Albert's Best Fish Compost. 



Water Quality 

 Gets a Voice 



Everyone's talking about water 

 quality. 



Coastal residents are increasingly 

 concerned about the pollutants that find 

 their way into creeks, rivers and 

 sounds. 



Fish are dying. Shellfish are 

 contaminated. Answers aren't easy to 

 come by. 



The Sea Grant advisory board has 

 ranked water quality as its number one 

 priority for future initiatives. 



That's why Sea Grant has taken a 

 bold new step. Sea Grant Director B.J. 

 Copeland and Marine Advisory Service 

 Director Jim Murray have secured 

 funding from the national office of Sea 

 Grant to add a water quality expert to 

 Sea Grant's staff of advisory agents and 

 specialists. 



This new specialist will develop 

 and implement a coastal water quality 

 extension education program using 

 research from a variety of coastal 

 entities, including Sea Grant and the 

 Albemarle-Pamlico Estuarine Study. 



With these resources in hand, the 

 water quality expert will help teach the 

 public how to keep North Carolina's 

 coastal waters as clean as possible. 

 Emphasis will be placed on programs 

 designed to assist coastal governments 

 in interpreting, understanding and using 

 the latest water quality technology. 



Murray says the new advisory 

 agent should be in place by early 

 summer. 



A Cheaper Way 

 To Fight Erosion 



Are you looking for a low-cost, 

 innovative way to control eroding 

 shoreline on your soundside property? 



A combination of planted marsh 

 grasses with a small wooden breakwa- 

 ter might be the solution, says Sea 

 Grant coastal engineer Spencer Rogers. 



18 MARCH /APRIL 1992 



