Chances are that a growing portion of the protein 

 you eat in the next decade will come from the sea. 



To some people that statement may come as a 

 shock. But to others, it's no surprise. The protein 

 shortage facing the world is reaching crises propor- 

 tions. Our dwindling land resources simply cannot 

 adequately support the appetite of an expanding pop- 

 ulation. As a result, we are beginning to rely more 

 and more on the ocean and the bounties within it. 



At Sea Grant, researchers are hard at work finding 

 new and better ways to use these food resources. 

 They're exploring new foods and perfecting old ones. 

 They're making seafood safer to eat and easier to 

 prepare. And they're studying the economics of the 

 seafood industry to see how to make it more attrac- 

 tive to the pocketbooks of the consumer and the 

 fisherman. 



If you've heard of the sea pup or fish jerky, then 

 you've heard about Don Hamann of NCSU and his 

 work with minced fish tissue. Hamann's work is not 

 only finding new uses for fish, but ways to reduce the 

 breakdown of tissue proteins during cooking. And 

 that's important. It means the fish products you eat 

 will be far more nutritious and at a price that's right. 

 In the past Hamann has confined most of his 

 research to croaker, an abundant but little used fish. 

 But this year plans call for work with other un- 

 derutilized species, such as porgy and spot. 



Of course not all of Sea Grant's work is with 

 "traditional" fish. You've probably seen eels in some 

 of the state's coastal rivers and estuaries. But did you 

 know that these snakelike, bony fish are culinary 

 delights in the Orient and in certain regions of 

 Europe? Bill Rickards of NCSU has been involved 

 with the culture of these creatures for several years. 

 In that time, he and fellow researchers at the New 

 Bern eel farm have reduced the grow-out period of 

 young eels or elvers from four years to eighteen 

 months. There are still many questions that have to 

 be answered before eel culture can be given the green 

 flag. The economic feasibility of commercial culture 

 operations still remains uncertain. And population 

 studies are necessary before scientists can determine 

 what impact large-scale eel harvest will have on wild 

 populations. Rickards will continue to work this year 

 on answering some of these unknowns. 



In the meantime, additional support has been 

 called in. No fishery study is complete without a 

 market survey. Ed Leonard of NCSU will be ex- 

 panding economic research begun last fall into a full- 

 blown project this year. He'll be examining the loca- 

 tions, types and sizes of markets for cultured eels 

 both here in the U.S. and abroad. From the informa- 

 tion he collects, he hopes to come up with some price- 

 quantity figures that will be of benefit to fishermen 

 thinking about entering the eel culture business. 



In some areas of aquaculture, the economic picture 

 is far more promising. That is, unless disease 

 becomes a problem. For most aquaculturists disease 

 is a fact of life. It is a constant threat that, if it 

 progresses too far, can wipe out an entire operation. 



Chuck Bland of East Carolina University has done 

 a lot to help out area aquaculturists in their effort to 

 win the fight against fungal diseases. Most of his 

 work has involved diseases affecting shrimp culture. 



But many of his findings are being used in other 

 areas of aquaculture. This year Bland will continue 

 to study the biology of these diseases, their controls, 

 and the impact these controls have on Crustacea 

 tissue. He also plans to prepare a handbook on the 

 detection of various fungal diseases and their treat- 

 ment. 



Just as disease is a problem in aquaculture, con- 

 tamination of seafood during processing, packaging 

 and storage is another hurdle the seafood industry 

 must overcome. In North Carolina today processing 



(See "From seaweed, " page 5) 



Basket containing elvers 



