S 



c 



Vjha 



darter boat captain Carl Snow and 

 University of North Carolina at Wilmington 

 researchers have made a discovery: When it 

 comes to black sea bass, you may be able to 

 have your fish and eat it, too. 



As appetites for seafood have grown, 

 so have concerns for depleted fish stocks. 

 Currently, black sea bass is listed on the 

 N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries Web 

 site as a "species of concern" south of 

 Hatteras and, north of Hatteras, as 

 "overfished." 



Many see aquaculture, or fish 

 farming, as an alternative that can relieve 

 commercial pressure from wild species, 

 but little work has been done with farm- 

 raising black sea bass in North Carolina. 

 Until now. 



A project at UNC-W studying black 

 sea bass aquaculture started a few years 

 ago when a fishing captain's observations 

 and a scientist's expertise joined forces 

 through an innovative grant opportunity. 

 The Fishery Resource Grant (FRG) 

 program is funded by the N.C. General 

 Assembly and administered through North 

 Carolina Sea Grant. It blends science with 

 practical fishing experience to find ways to 

 improve and protect the state's fisheries. 



For more than 40 years, Snow has 

 been involved in fishing endeavors — 

 from operating the charter fishing boat, the 

 Fish Witch II, to running, along with wife 

 Missy, a seafood market and packinghouse. He 

 has aquaculture experience in shedding blue 

 crabs and specializes, in the winter and spring, in 

 fishing commercially for black sea bass. 



Snow's catches of the fish have gotten 

 smaller in recent years, he says. "But different 

 fishermen would argue about that. They say fish 

 come in cycles ... If that's so, the last few years 

 have been a down cycle. I don't think there are 

 as many fish out there," he says. 



Despite the apparent vulnerability of black 

 sea bass populations as a whole, Snow notes a 

 particular resilience in the individual fish. He 

 says they thrive in the holding tank of his boat 

 during trips from the fishing site to the docks — 

 trips that can take more than two hours. 



Kim Copeland liarvests a sea bass from the Pliase II 

 density study. This fish was destined for New York City 



{Photo courtesy USC-WitmintfUmi 



"Of all the bottom-feeding fish, sea bass 

 are definitely the hardiest," he says. 



That's what got him thinking of using sea 

 bass for aquaculture. And while he was thinking 

 about it. North Carolina Sea Grant fisheries 

 specialist Jim Bahen called to tell Snow about 

 the FRG program. 



That timely call became the catalyst for the 

 project. The conversion to scientific study began 

 as Sea Grant paired Snow with Wade Watanabe, 



By Cynthia Henderson 



a research professor focusing on marine 

 aquaculture at the UNC-W Center for Marine 

 Science. 



A SCIENTISTS 

 PERSPECTIVE 



Watanabe's experience with marine 

 and freshwater aquaculture of finfish has 

 taken him all over the world. For Snow's 

 idea for an FRG project, Watanabe was in 

 the right place at the right time. 



A native Hawaiian, Watanabe 

 knows a thing or three about seafood, as 

 well as sea science. He says the firm, 

 white flesh of black sea bass is amenable 

 to a variety of culinary treatments, 

 including — but not limited to — Asian 

 cooking techniques. It is especially good 

 as sushi, says Watanabe, who admits to a 

 fondness for the uncooked delicacy. 



For Watanabe the scientist, the 

 fish's culinary merits are superceded by 

 traits such as tolerance for different 

 temperatures and salinity concentrations. 



"They display some very good 

 attributes for aquaculture," he explains. 

 And that can have implications for the 

 species in the wild. 



The business of aquaculture tends to 

 spawn, so to speak, hatchery technologies 

 that can supply fingerlings to be grown 

 out in fish farms, Watanabe says. And 

 this is where he sees a "transition between 

 commercial fishing and aquaculture." 



"The fingerlings also could be used to 

 replenish natural stocks," he says. "It's another 

 potential application of hatchery technology." 



This use of fingerlings produced in 

 hatcheries has precedent with other marine 

 finfish species. Hatchery-raised red drum have 

 been released to the wild in Texas and South 

 Carolina, Watanabe says. 



Continued 



COASTWATCH 17 



