PEOPLE & 



plaWfs 



The group then heads to Smyrna to see 

 Mark Hooper's shellfish mariculture operation 

 that utilizes the state's program to lease bottom 

 areas of Core Sound. 



The group discusses fishery issues with 

 Preston Pate, director of the N.C. Division of 

 Marine Fisheries (DMF), and Jerry Schill, 

 president of the N.C. Fisheries Association. 



Schill cites the Sea Grant role in reducing 

 bycatch in shrimp trawls. Sea Grant worked with 

 the fisheries association and the DMF to develop 

 and test "bycatch reduction devices," known as 

 BRDs, well ahead of other states. 



"The fishermen started using them — and 

 the BRDs worked," says Schill, who noted the 

 wide acceptance because the fishing community 

 was involved. Eventually the state required the 

 gear already in use. 



The tour concludes in Raleigh, including a 

 visit to the NC State "Fish Bam," an aquaculture 

 facility that provides scientific groundwork for 

 Sea Grant recommendations to industry. On 

 campus, they meet with civil engineering faculty 

 to learn the latest in coastal engineering. 



The group then heads to Washington, 

 D.C., to meet with National Oceanic and 

 Atmospheric Administration officials, including 

 Ronald Baird, director of the National Sea Grant 

 College Program. 



CONTINUED CONNECTIONS 



Each stop on the tour offers lessons not 

 only for the Indonesian Parliament, but also for 

 government agencies and universities. 



Russ Lea, vice president for research for the 

 University of North Carolina system, explains 

 that university extension provides immediate 

 access to the latest information. "The universities 

 are where the action is," says Lea, who met with 

 the Indonesian officials. 



"There's a rapid transfer of knowledge 

 through the extension program to the stakehold- 

 ers — right as the scientific breakthroughs are 

 being generated," he adds. 



The direct connection encourages an 

 enthusiasm among coastal partners in North 

 Carolina that is "infectious," saysTighe. 'To see 

 the strong role of advisory boards and citizens 

 councils and volunteerism makes a real 

 impression of how stakeholders can be involved 

 in governance," she adds. 



And the international exchange is likely to 

 continue. 



"We already have had 

 discussions of potential cross 

 visits and new partnerships that 

 will surely evolve into strong, 

 formal and hopefully mature 

 networks over the years ahead — 

 as the stewardship of people 

 and the ocean planet bring 

 families together with common 

 interests," Tighe says. 



Ronald G. Hodson, North 

 Carolina Sea Grant director, 

 adds that the experience is a 

 two-way street 



"We learn as they explain 

 the challenges — and opportuni- 

 ties — that Indonesia is facing," 

 Hodson says. □ 



TOP TO BOTTOM: 



• Sea Grant researcher Harry 

 Daniels, right, describes 

 flounder aquaculture to 

 Soestrisno Sosroprajitno, a 

 member of the Indonesian 

 Parliament, left, and Widi 

 Pratikto, Indonesia's director 

 general of coasts and small 

 islands, center. 



• Caroline Bellis, of the N.C. 

 Division of Coastal Manage- 

 ment, discusses setback rules 

 with, from left, Walter Clark, 

 Widi Pratikto, James Rosich and 

 Maurice Knight. 



• Penny Hooper of Carteret 

 Community College, center, 

 explains clam mariculture to 

 Widi Pratikto, left, and 

 Soestrisno Sosroprajitno, right. 



• Surf City Mayor Zander Guy 

 welcomes Indonesian officials to 

 Topsail Island. 



22 WINTER 2003 



