FROM THE EDITOR 



New Year's Changes 



W ith the arrival of 2003, many of us 

 are working on new resolutions. 



For Jim Bahen, North Carolina Sea 

 Grant fisheries specialist based in 

 Wilmington, one resolution was both 

 professional and personal. He would retire. 



But lucky for his Sea Grant colleagues 

 and others up and down the coast, Jim will 

 work on a part-time basis in 2003, including 

 representing Sea Grant on state, regional and 

 national advisory panels. "It's hard to walk 

 away. I am appreciative that I can wean 

 myself," he says with a chuckle. 



He also will continue to focus on recreational fishing, including 

 catch-and-release methods and ethical angling, as well as a regional Sea 

 Grant workshop for charter boat captains Feb. 1 1-12 in Chesapeake, Va. 



The fishing communities, both recreational and commercial, know 

 Jim's engaging personality — and his tenacity for encouraging decisions 

 to be based on scientific evidence. Decisions may be made by a weekend 

 angler choosing tackle, by a commercial fishing family considering new 

 gear options, or by state, regional or national officials setting policy or 

 regulations. 



Once Jim is set on a project, he gathers up partners and moves full 

 steam ahead. 



Those personality traits were apparent from his first days in the 

 fisheries world — when he joined the NC. Division of Marine Fisheries 

 (DMF) for a study of striped bass and other anadromous fish. His 

 colleagues on the project included Preston Pate, now DMF director. 



In October 1977, Jim became the third agent in the then-named 

 North Carolina Sea Grant Marine Advisory Service, and the first to focus 

 on the state's southern coast. "I hired Jim because he had good people 



Jim Bahen' s early projects included a weather 

 information relay program. 



skills," says B. J. Copeland, Sea Grant director 

 at the time. 



"Researchers are smart people, but we 

 needed smart people who could take the 

 information to coastal residents," he adds. 



And Jim headed to the docks to 

 introduce the Sea Grant extension concept. 

 "No one was voting for us, but we were out 

 there shaking hands," he says, recalling many 

 of the fishing captains by name — and even a 

 few of their dogs. 



Early projects included a weather relay 

 network in which the fishing boats reported 

 current conditions, which were then shared with the National Weather 

 Service to update forecasts. 



Personal connections proved critical when controversial topics arose, 

 such as when Sea Grant worked with the fishing industry and regulators to 

 evaluate TEDs and BRDs (turtle excluder devices and bycatch reduction 

 devices). By helping to bring all players to the table, Jim helped the 

 transition to the new gear. "He did a terrific job on that," Copeland recalls. 



Folks at the N.C. Commercial Fishing Show can thank Jim for 

 organizing the first such show more than 20 years ago. The N.C. Fisheries 

 Association now runs the show, but Sea Grant still participates. 



The variety of topics over the years pleased Jim. "You never knew 

 from day to day where it might take you," he says. 



And even when he moves out of a formal Sea Grant role, you can bet 

 that if you run into him on the docks and pose a fisheries question, he'll 

 suggest the best way to get the correct answer. That's just Jim's nature. 



What other changes are in store for North Carolina Sea Grant in 

 2003? Stay tuned come Spring. 



Katie Mosher, Managing Editor 



THIS ISSUE 



Contributing Writers: 

 GiannaCohn 1 Ann Green Cynthia Hensderson 

 Katie Mosher Pam Smith ° Jason Talley 



Contributing Photographers: 

 Ven Carver c JodyDuggins D Katie Mosher 

 Pam Smith Ken Taylor r Scott D. Taylor D Sherri Thomas 



North Carolina's diverse coast offers countless interesting subjects. 

 The large dots on the locator map indicate story settings in this issue — 

 including the Outer Banks, Carteret County and Fort Fisher. 



RKMWsm c< , sw „| 



