delicate white filets have worldwide culinary 

 appeal. The popular menu item can be dressed 

 up as gourmet fare or served deep-fried with a 

 side of slaw on a paper plate. 



In the wild, Southern flounder share the life 

 history "oddities" spotlight with other flatfish 

 cousins. Most notably, their body shape changes 

 and their eyes migrate to the dorsal side of their 

 bodies during larval development. 



Southern flounder are estuarine-dependent 

 members of the left-eyed flounder family that 

 includes summer flounder and Gulf flounder. 

 Light to dark brown, they blend well into the 

 bottom habitat they prefer. They are found in 

 coastal waters from Virginia to Florida and in 

 the Gulf of Mexico. 



Southern flounder spawn in near-shore 

 continental shelf waters from November through 

 March. 



Young fish enter inlets and settle on 

 muddy bottoms in lower salinity areas of 

 estuaries. They feed on small skimp and fishes 

 until they reach about eight inches, and begin to 

 disperse into other available estuarine habitats. 

 Capable of tolerating a wide range of salinity, 

 they may inhabit brackish or freshwater streams. 



Southern flounder are popular catches for 

 commercial and recreational anglers alike. 

 Consequently, the N.C. Division of Marine 

 Fisheries has declared Southern flounder 

 "overfished" based on recent stock assessments. 

 The Southern flounder population in North 

 Carolina, as reported in 2002, declined by 32 

 percent over the decade. A fisheries manage- 

 ment plan is being developed. 



"As a group, the flounder fishery is 

 collapsing even with quotas and regulations. 

 Regardless of restrictions, it doesn't appear that 

 we ever will get back to historic stock levels 

 without some help," Godwin points out. 



Nature may need an assist from science. 

 And, if stock enhancement through large-scale 

 aquaculture does become an option, then the 

 flounder team's novel research approach could 

 be a promising path to follow. 



Curiosity and tenacity 



But just how did the idea for developing 

 protocols for monosex stock evolve from 

 concept to methodology? 



A good scientist is a complex animal — 



comprised of intellect, curiosity, 

 creativity and tenacity. And, as 

 Hodson suggested, patience. 



As good scientists should, they 

 began with a methodical review of the j 

 literature. They came away in awe of J 

 "how little we know about a fishery 

 that is worth millions," Godwin recalls, i 

 "There were data on temperature 

 effects on sex, but the theories were 

 not widely held or tested." 



Feeling it was worth a more 

 thorough look, the team requested English 

 translations of abstracts written by Japanese 

 colleagues. It was the beginning of their age of 

 enlightenment about the dynamics of sex 

 determination. 



In 2000, then Sea Grant Fellow Joanne 

 Harcke traveled to Japan to learn about Japanese 

 flounder rearing in hopes of adapting some of 

 their successful techniques to Southern flounder 

 culture. 



Meanwhile, the research team began 

 testing the temperature theory with a "what if' 

 approach. 



The flounder project has all the hallmarks 

 of the triple mission of a land grant university — 

 research, teaching and outreach. 



Team members confer with premier fish 

 scientists from around the world to share 

 research findings and expand their own 

 knowledge. Closer to home, they collaborate 

 with researchers from NC State and sister 

 universities, state and national agencies, and 

 industry representatives. 



The research project has been an educa- 

 tional opportunity for students, Daniels points 

 out. Harcke, one of his students, has gone on to 

 become a research coordinator for the N.C. 

 Aquarium on Roanoke Island, and continues to 

 consult internationally on flounder development. 



Luckenbach has co-authored research 

 articles published in major journals and will base 

 his doctoral thesis on the work. He recently 

 presented his research findings at international 

 scientific meetings in Bergen, Norway, and 

 Florida. 



While a student at Raleigh's Enloe High 

 School, Jessica Beasley worked with the 

 research team. Her accomplishments won her an 

 American Junior Academy of Science Award in 



The ability to rear Southern flounder from 

 hatchery through grow-out will open a new 

 aquaculture market. 



conjunction with the American Academy for the 

 Advancement of Science. Beasley now is a 

 student at NC State. 



Sharing knowledge is an important 

 dimension of their work. Often, opportunities 

 come to them. This year, Aiko Ueda, a master's 

 degree candidate from Japan, is studying with the 

 NC State flounder team. And visiting scientists 

 and students from the University of Southern 

 Denmark in Copenhagen are in residence on the 

 main campus this semester. 



Recently, officials from Indonesia on a U.S. 

 study tour visited the fish barn/laboratory at the 

 NC State's Lake Wheeler Research Station. 



At the Lake Wheeler facility, Daniels leads 

 the work on refining the Southern flounder 

 hatchery process that takes larvae to the fingerling 

 stage. A new grant from the Golden LEAF 

 Foundation will underwrite the construction of a 

 building to house a flounder breeding facility. The 

 hatchery/grow-out aquaculture complex will be 

 the state's first for Southern flounder. 



The researchers confer regularly — Tuesday 

 at 10 in Godwin's lab. Thursday at 10 in Borski's 

 lab. And every other Wednesday at Daniels' Lake 

 Wheeler hatchery. 



What's the driving force? Perhaps, 

 commitment mixed with national pride. 



"The U.S. is not among the world's top ten 

 aquaculture producers. Japan is way up there. 

 China is blasting us out of the water. And 

 developing nations are leading us," Borski says. 



He and his colleagues are determined to 

 help push the United States into a leading 

 position in the world aquaculture market □ 



COASTWATCH 15 



