the hybrid. ■ Hodson would like to 

 reduce the time it takes to produce a 

 marketable fish. Now it takes about two 

 years to get a 1 1/2-pound fish. ■ In a 

 joint project with Maryland Sea Grant, 

 Hodson will try to shorten that to one 

 season by treating fish with a growth hor- 

 mone. Fish already have growth hormones 

 in their bodies. But increasing the amount 

 may spur the fish to grow faster. ■ Hod- 

 son will determine how much hormone to 

 apply and when in the fish's life cycle to 

 apply it. ■ Like all creatures, fish need 

 the right amounts of proteins and vitamins. 

 Commercial feeds may not provide all of 

 that. ■ In her ECU laboratory, Margie 

 Gallagher learned that a healthy harvest of 

 fish depends on the quality of the fish's 

 diet as larvae. So she'll focus her work on 

 the fish's first meals. ■ If Lee Brothers 

 is as successful in his venture as Hodson 

 believes, he'll sell his first crop of fish next 

 year. But the market for hybrids is a new 

 one, and it may offer some surprises. ■ 

 NCSU economist Jim Easley would like to 



eliminate some of the uncertainty that 

 goes along with a new industry. ■ He'll 

 help fish farmers decide how much they 



should invest in their venture, what the 

 costs will be, and when will be the best 

 time to put their product on the market. 



Pholo by Nancy Davis 



Ron Hodson prepares hybrid striped bass eggs for incubation 



seafood 



Two ECU anthropologists have an 

 unusual assignment ahead of them. 

 For the next two years, they will exam- 

 ine the minds of America's seafood 

 consumers. ■ David Griffith and Jeff 

 Johnson want to find out what folks know 

 about seafood, what motivates them to 

 buy it, and how they perceive seafoods 

 versus other meats. ■ For answers, 

 Griffith and Johnson will survey more than 

 1,000 people from Midwestern and South 

 Atlantic states. ■ On the top of their list 

 of questions is whether consumers have 

 tried any of the surimi-based products on 

 the market now. ■ Developed by the 

 Japanese, surimi is fish paste that is 

 molded into imitation seafood products 

 such as shrimp, scallops and crab legs. 

 Surimi seafoods are the fastest growing 

 seafood products on the market. ■ But 

 even so, their potential market may be 

 limited. Consumers usually learn about 

 seafood in restaurants. But many restau- 

 rants don't plan to serve surimi-based 

 seafoods. ■ When Griffith and 

 Johnson complete their survey, the surimi 

 industry can use the information to teach 

 consumers about their products. And the 



researchers will work with Sea Grant's 

 Marine Advisory Service Director Jim Mur- 

 ray to develop an educational program to 

 increase seafood consumption. ■ Even- 

 tually, consumer acceptance of surimi may 

 help menhaden fishermen. Until now, 

 menhaden has been ground into fertilizer 

 or chicken feed, but it's never been served 

 on the dinner table. ■ NCSU food 

 scientist Tyre Lanier has perfected a 

 method for making menhaden surimi. And 

 a National Marine Fisheries Service pilot 

 plant has been set up to make surimi 

 products commercially. ■ Lanier has 

 great expectations for surimi. Along with 

 NCSU food scientist Donald Hamann, he 

 will determine whether surimi could be a 

 useful additive in other foods. ■ As 

 surimi-based foods become popular, they 

 create another problem— what to do with 

 the waste the process generates. ■ 

 Only about 20 percent of the fish is actually 

 used for surimi. The remainder is discarded 

 or used for chicken feed. ■ Along with 

 Sea Grant seafood specialist David Green, 

 Lanier will search for ways to turn surimi 

 wastes into useful food additives. 



Photo by Allen Weiss 



Surimi is prepared for use in imitation crab legs 



