local people also call it mullet bush, 

 perhaps because its fruiting coincides with 

 the fall mullet runs, 



Around the dunes, seaside goldenrod 

 is in its glory now, and camphorweed, a 

 beautiful yellow aster, is dotting the back 

 of the dunes. In the depressions between 

 dune tops, purple muhly catches dew, and 

 the five-petal marsh pink still blooms. 



Wax myrtle, a common coastal shrub, 

 sprouts clusters of small bluish berries that 

 call out the season. 



While observing the splendor of the 

 flora, you'll likely see the fall migration of 

 the monarch butterfly. These beautiful 

 butterflies migrate from Canada to Florida 

 and central Mexico. They stop for food, 

 feeding on the nectar of fall flowers such 

 as goldenrods and camphorweed. 



North Carolina's barrier islands, 

 especially sites near inlets, are excellent 

 locations to watch for these migrating 

 beauties. 



Crazy About Crab 



This has been the year of the blue crab 

 for coastal fishermen. The clawed 

 crustaceans have been as abundant as 

 mosquitoes on a windless night. 



If you favor the sweet, succulent meat 

 of this shellfish, now's the time to feed 

 your need. 



Most folks buy crab meat that is 

 already cooked, picked and ready to eat. 



Picked crab meat is available in several 

 forms, says Joyce Taylor, Sea Grant's sea- 

 food education specialist. The four most 

 common are lump, backfin, special and 

 claw. 



Lump, or jumbo lump, comes from the 

 large white lumps taken from the area 

 adjacent to the backfin appendage. 

 Backfin consists of some lumps plus the 

 rest of the meat from the body. 



Special, also called regular or flake, is 

 the white meat without any lumps. Claw 

 meat, often a brownish color, is used in 

 recipes where a white appearance is not 

 important. 



Picked crab meat is also available in 

 pasteurized form, which extends its 

 storage life. Pasteurized crab meat may be 

 kept unopened in the refrigerator for up to 

 six months. 



And you can buy canned crab meat, 



which needs no refrigeration as long as it 

 is unopened. 



Before using picked crab meat, always 

 examine it for shell fragments, Taylor says. 

 And remember that picked crab meat has 

 been cooked. When using it in recipes, be 

 sure not to overcook it, she says. You'll 

 usually need to cook it just long enough to 

 heat it thoroughly. 



For a crabby taste treat, Taylor suggests 

 this recipe: 



Crab Meat and Mushrooms in 

 Wine Sauce 



1 pound backfin crab meat 



2 T. margarine 

 2 T. flour 



1/2 cup milk 

 1/2 cup dry white wine 

 1/2 tsp. dry mustard 

 1/4 tsp. dried tarragon 

 1/2 tsp. salt 



1/4 tsp. freshly ground white pepper 



1/4 tsp. Tabasco sauce 



1/4 pound sliced fresh mushrooms 



3/4 cup dry bread crumbs 



2 T. melted margarine 



Melt 2 tablespoons margarine in large 

 skillet over medium heat. Saute mush- 

 rooms until tender. Blend in flour. Add 

 milk, stirring constantly. Add wine, 

 mustard, tarragon, salt, pepper and 

 Tabasco. When heated, add crab meat and 

 mushrooms. Place in lightly greased 

 casserole. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and 

 drizzle with melted margarine. Bake, 

 uncovered, at 350 F for 30 minutes or until 

 lightly browned and bubbly. Serves 4 to 6. 



Oman Oasis 



The Sultanate of Oman is an undis- 

 covered Middle Eastern jewel. 



Wide, sandy beaches and high, 

 nigged mountains make Oman among the 

 most beautiful of the arid countries of the 

 Persian Gulf. 



Walter Clark. Sea Grant's coastal and 

 ocean law specialist, is working to make 

 sure this oasis remains a viable environ- 

 mental showcase. 



Clark is one of a team of American, 

 Canadian and German specialists whose 

 ultimate goal is to write a set of rules and 

 regulations that will protect Oman's coast 

 from development brought on by an 

 expected influx of tourism over the next 

 few years. 



Until recently, Oman was a closed 

 country, Very few tourists were allowed in 

 to witness her splendid shoreline beauty. 



With the country's oil reserves 

 expected to nin out by the turn of the 

 century, Oman's monarch, Sultan Quaboos 

 Bin Said, wants to open the country to 

 limited tourism. 



But with people come problems. 



The sultan is seeking ways to develop 

 his country for tourism but leave the 

 environment intact. 



"It's called sustainable development," 

 Clark says. "They want to allow develop- 

 ment without destroying the resource that's 

 attracting the development in the first 

 place. They also want to preserve their 

 cultural identity." 



For Clark, it's an exciting adventure. 



"We're going into a country that's 

 relatively unspoiled," he says. 'As a 

 lawyer, to be involved with a project like 

 this from the beginning is unique. We're 

 usually trying to fix things after the fact." 



Clark will interview government 

 officials and look at information provided 

 by a coastal engineer, a planner and a 

 geomorphologist. 



From that information, he will draft 

 laws that will be reviewed by Oman's 

 Ministry of Environment. From there, the 

 laws are likely to become decrees of the 

 sultan, and thus, law of the land. 



The project is being sponsored by the 

 United States Agency for International 

 Development and administered by James 

 Dobbin and Associates of Alexandria, Va. 



COASTWATCH 19 



