How does UNC Sea Grant go about get- 

 ting money to study coastal problems? The 

 process goes something like this. 



A scientist hears of or sees a problem re- 

 lating to the coastal area. He thinks he 

 could study the problem and do something 

 about it, but he needs money to cover re- 

 search expenses. 



He submits a written proposal to UNC 

 Sea Grant, spelling out what he believes 

 the problem is and what he thinks he can do 

 to help solve it. 



If his proposal meets with the approval 

 at the UNC Sea Grant level, it is sent to the 

 National Sea Grant Program Office in 

 Washington, D. C. for careful review. A re- 

 view team, made up of scientists or engi- 

 neers from universities, government and 

 private industry, evaluate the proposed 

 research. 



To learn more about the proposed study, 

 the review team visits North Carolina in 

 October to further question the researcher 

 on his proposal and to offer helpful sug- 

 gestions. 



Taking into account the reviewers' rec- 

 ommendations, the National Sea Grant 

 Office makes decisions on funding for each 

 proposal. 



In North Carolina, researchers submit 

 proposals in the early spring. If the pro- 

 posed study meets favorably with review- 

 ers and the National Office during the Oc- 

 tober site visit, funding may begin in Jan- 

 uary of the following year. 



Delving into economic, 

 social and legal issues 



Hoping to come to grips with problems con- 

 fronting North Carolina's citizens, Sea Grant is 

 proposing a variety of social, legal and economic 

 studies. 



While most research has dealt with the effect of 

 increased tourism on coastal resources, a sociolo- 

 gist has proposed studying its impact on coastal 

 communities and their citizens. During the next 

 two years, the researcher plans to monitor how the 

 fuel shortage, the coastal management act, the bi- 

 centennial year and the foreign purchase of large 

 blocks of coastal lands affect coastal communities. 

 Results of this project, built into a mathematical 

 model, should help local coastal governments an- 

 ticipate changes development may bring. 



The N. C. General Assembly recently passed the 

 Coastal Area Management Act, legislation aimed 

 at encouraging counties to plan how lands will be 

 used and protected in the future. No one is quite 

 sure how effective the new law will be. A Sea Grant 

 legal investigator is seeking support to study the 

 new law's effectiveness and to determine how it 

 could be improved. 



Another legal investigator is proposing to con- 

 tinue analyzing the legal aspects of developing 

 off-shore ports and mineral and petroleum re- 

 sources in the oceans. He also plans to analyze the 

 impact of treaties, federal and sister-state laws on 

 fishing operations in ocean areas near North Caro- 

 lina as well as national security interests in the 

 oceans. 



In some areas of North Carolina, the public is 

 denied free access to beaches. One researcher pro- 

 poses to analyze the rights of the public to get to 

 and use beach areas. This study will also involve 

 looking at the laws of other states dealing with 

 access to beaches and developing access policies for 

 North Carolina. 



Under a project which proposes to study the eco- 

 nomics of coastal zone management, an economist 

 plans to begin putting together a mathematical 

 model that can be used to compare gains and 

 losses before decisions on resource management are 

 put into effect. For example, with the model re- 

 searchers could predict the costs and benefits of 

 resort development in a marsh and compare those 

 figures with predicted dollars-and-cents losses to 

 fisheries. 



Another economics study proposes to trace the 

 channels that fresh seafood follow from the North 

 Carolina fisherman to the final distributor. The 

 researcher plans to identify problem areas in sea- 

 food marketing and to pinpoint channels to take 

 fresh seafood from North Carolina into interstate 

 commerce. A major goal is to provide useful infor- 

 mation to prospective processing plant investors 



In other proposals, investigators are seeking 



funding to define and measure the economic bene- 

 fits of investing in port facilities in North Carolina 

 and to study the economic feasibility of expanding 

 intracoastal shipping. The latter project will in- 

 volve determining demand for intracoastal ship- 

 ping, examining existing facilities and determin- 

 ing if expansion is justified. If it is, he plans to 

 pinpoint specific directions expansion might take 

 from the private and public sectors. 



Advisory services projects 



Advisory services is the information link be- 

 tween you and the laboratory. 



During the next two years, Sea Grant is seeking 

 funding to expand its advisory services to coastal 

 communities battling mosquitoes and biting flies. 

 Researchers propose offering training courses and 

 on-the-job guidance to insect control agents in 

 coastal counties as they develop and put into action 

 ecologically sound pest management programs. 

 They are also aiming to provide advisory services 

 in land-use and recreation. 



(Continued on next page) 



