COASTAL 



TIDINGS 



Turtle-Watch: Travel, Health Updates 



21 turtles 

 tagged in the Pamlico 

 last fall, some have 

 traveled far, according 

 to Catherine 

 McClellan, the Duke 

 Marine Lab research 

 assistant who carried 

 out the study. The 

 N.C. Fishery Resource 

 Grant Program funded 

 the project, which was 

 featured in the last 

 issue of Coastwatch. 



One loggerhead 

 and a Kemp's ridley headed south to Florida, 

 fortuitously escaping an unusually snowy 

 winter here. 



Three others have gone very far out in the 

 North Atlantic. "One is nearly half-way to the 

 Azores," McClellan says. 



A lot of sea turtles are "just hanging out" 

 off North Carolina's coast, McClellan adds. 



One surprising finding, she says, is that all 

 the Pamlico's inlets were turtle exit points. 

 "Another interesting point was that the 



turtles remained in the 

 sound longer than 

 expected based on 

 water temperatures," 

 she writes in an e-mail 

 communication. 

 "There were a lot of 

 cold-stunned turtles 

 this year as a result." 



The study could 

 lead to ways to 

 predict sea turtle 

 movements to keep 

 them out of gill nets — 

 protecting both the 

 legally protected reptiles and the fisheries that 

 are subject to closures when turtle strandings or 

 incidental takes exceed established limits. 



Meanwhile, Catherine — the loggerhead 

 highlighted in the Coastwatch article — continues 

 to improve, according to the Web site for the 

 sea turtle hospital on Topsail Island. 



Read future Coastwatch issues to follow the 

 turtle study. To check the progress of Catherine, 

 the sea turtle, go to www.seaturtlehospital.org. 



- C.H. 



Sullivan Leads New 

 Hybrid Striped Bass Program 



The Striped Bass Growers Association 

 (SBGA) recently upped the ante for the 

 industry's future productivity — and profitabil- 

 ity. The SBGA endorsed the formation of a 

 National Breeding Program for the Hybrid 

 Striped Bass (USB) industry. 



North Carolina Sea Grant and North 

 Carolina State University have been major 

 players in developing protocols for large-scale 

 HSB aquaculture pond production since the 

 industry's earliest days. 



The new breeding program is meant to 

 bolster the scientific/technical capabilities of the 

 HSB industry and collaborators from academia 

 and government agencies, says Craig Sullivan. 

 Sullivan is a renowned NC State hybrid striped 

 bass researcher, whose ongoing studies have 

 been supported by North Carolina Sea Grant. 



Sullivan will coordinate the national 

 program with Don Freeman of the U.S. 

 Department of Agriculture. 



While the HSB industry has grown since 

 its inception in 1984, increases have slowed due 

 to global competition. 



Larger issues include the losses of HSB 

 production to disease and the dependence on 

 obtaining fingerlings from wild broodstock. 

 These issues can be addressed through selective 

 breeding and genome mapping, Sullivan says. 



The program will be open to all stakehold- 

 ers and researchers, who will seek to identify 

 the most effective means to deliver improved 

 cultivars to the HSB industry. Participants will 

 meet each fall to discuss activities. The first 

 workshop will be held in 2003. 



-P.S. 



Shackleford 

 Banks' Horses 

 on the Move 



I n an effort to control numbers of the 

 Shackleford Banks wild horse population, 

 the National Park Service and the Founda- 

 tion for Shackleford Horses conducted a 

 roundup in January. 



Federal legislation in 1 998 mandated 

 that at least 1 1 horses be maintained on 

 the island — one of the few places along the 

 East Coast where wild horses roam. 



Five horses joined the herd on Cedar 

 Island, while another 1 6 were placed for 

 adoption by the public. The remaining 

 1 20 horses will stay on Shackleford Banks — 

 a barrier island that is part of the Cape 

 Lookout National Seashore. 



During roundups, which take place 

 every one to two years, blood samples for 

 genetics research are collected and 

 pregnancy testing is conducted. Contracep- 

 tive injections are administered to help 

 control the herd's size. Populations must be 

 contained because of limited forage and 

 fresh water sources on the tiny island. 



The foundation established the 

 adoption program. Eligible foals — those 

 approaching their first birthday — are taken 

 to area farms to help them make the 

 transition from wild herd to a more 

 domestic environment. 



For more information, contact Sue 

 Stuska at Cape Lookout National Seashore, 

 252/728-2250, ext. 301 7. - P.S. 



COASTWATCH 5 



