THE BACK PAGE 



"The Back Page" is an update on Sea 

 Grant activities— on research, marine 

 education and advisory services. It's 

 also a good place to find out about 

 meetings, workshops and new publica- 

 tions. For more information on any of 

 the projects described, contact the Sea 

 Grant offices in Raleigh (919/737-2^). 

 For copies of publications, write UNC 

 Sea Grant, NCSU, Box 8605, Raleigh, 

 N.C. 27695-8605. 



Thanks to your generosity, the Oc- 

 tober and the November/December 

 issues of Coastwatch were printed 

 with the help of your donations. 



The staff of Coastwatch appreciates 

 your continued support. 



For decades, fisher- 

 men have known the 

 secrets of the rich under- 

 water reefs on North 

 Carolina's continental 

 shelf. Now Sea Grant 

 scientists are exploring 

 riches of another kind there. 



Geologists Stan Riggs, Scott Snyder 

 and Al Hine have been searching the 

 bottomlands called "hardgrounds" for 

 phosphate deposits and other minerals. 



Phosphates, shell and quartz gravels, 

 gold and uranium are important re- 

 source minerals for the United States. 

 But the extent and potential value of 

 these minerals, especially phosphate, on 

 the continental shelf has been unknown. 



Recently the Sea Grant team discov- 

 ered eight units of phosphate reserves 

 in Onslow Bay that they estimate hold 

 20,752.5 million tons of phosphate con- 

 centrate. The approximate worth is 

 $1 billion, says Sea Grant Director B.J. 

 Copeland. 



Riggs and Snyder mapped the hard- 

 grounds and determined their deposi- 

 tional history. And the U.S. Minerals 

 Management Service evaluated the de- 

 posit's economic potential and approved 

 of mining it if necessary. 



Until then, fishermen can reach these 

 underwater fish havens with the help of 

 a map devised by Sea Grant's research- 

 ers. The large, four-color map charts 



low-, medium- and high-relief reefs on a 

 Loran grid. And it depicts the small 

 plants and animals that attract gamefish 

 such as snapper, grouper and sea bass. 



For a copy of the Hardbottoms map, 

 write Sea Grant. Ask for UNC- 

 SG-86-25. The cost is $5. 



Try out a new taste in 

 fish by catching Sea 

 Grant's 16 non-traditional 

 fish brochures. These col- 

 orful pamphlets feature 

 underutilized species 

 from Gulf and South At- 

 lantic waters. And they describe how to 

 catch, clean and prepare the fish. 

 Recipes are also included. 



Series 1 includes: UNC-SG-85-09 to 

 UNC-SG-85-18 (amberjack, sea robin, 

 skates and rays, triggerfish, panfish, 

 jack crevalle, shark, sheepshead, bonito 

 and croaker); Series 2 includes: UNC- 

 SG-86-13 to UNC-SG-86-18 (black drum, 

 bluefish, ladyfish, mullet, pigfish and sea 

 catfish). Each series costs $1. 



Recipes with a New Catch is a 40-page 

 cookbook chocked full of delicious 

 recipes for cooking underutilized fish. 

 Shark creole, buttermilk-fried croaker 

 fillets and grilled triggerfish with wine 

 sauce are just three of the 56 dishes in- 

 cluded. For a copy, send $2 to Sea Grant. 

 Ask for UNC-SG-86-06. 



For a new twist in fishing tourna- 

 ments, directors may want to scan Using 

 Nontraditional Fish in Saltwater 

 Sportfishing Tournaments. The 20- 

 page booklet tells how amberjack and 

 other species can be used for tourna- 

 ments and demonstrates some of the 

 alternatives available to organizers. For 

 a free copy, write Sea Grant, and ask for 

 UNC-SG-86-05. 



For the fifth straight year, Americans 

 ate more fish and shellfish than ever 

 before. On average, we consumed 15.4 

 pounds of seafood in 1987—4.8 percent 

 more than in 1986. In the past five years, 

 U.S. seafood consumption has increased 

 25 percent. By comparison, poultry con- 

 sumption was up 23 percent for the same 

 period. Pork consumption only grew by 



.5 percent, and beef and veal consump- 

 tion declined 1.8 percent. 



Between North Caro- 

 lina's mainland and the 

 Outer Banks lies one of 

 the nation's largest estu- 

 arine systems. Once it 

 teemed with healthy 

 grasses, young fish and 

 other types of marine life. 



Now that productivity is threatened— 

 so much so that the Albemarle-Pamlico 

 sound system was the first officially 

 designated "Estuary of National 

 Concern." 



To combat declining fish populations, 

 pollution and other symptoms, the N.C. 

 Department of Natural Resources and 

 Community Development and the Envi- 

 ronmental Protection Agency began a 

 five-year Albemarle-Pamlico Estuarine 

 Study. 



Sea Grant recently received $230,079 

 from EPA to fund four projects in the 

 second year of the study. 



Researchers R.W. Skaggs and J.W. 

 Gilliam of N.C. State University will be 

 investigating land use in the watershed 

 and how it affects estuarine water 

 quality. 



NCSU oceanographer Len Pietrafesa 

 plans to study the links between the 

 Albemarle and the Pamlico and other 

 bodies of water that surround them for 

 a better understanding of the estuary's 

 productivity and water quality. 



Ed Noga of NCSU's School of Veteri- 

 nary Science is taking a look at a disease 

 that's caused a four-year decline of blue 

 crab in the Albemarle-Pamlico and its 

 relation to the environment. 



And Walter Clark, Sea Grant's coastal 

 law specialist, will develop a pilot pro- 

 gram, using a county surrounding the 

 Albemarle-Pamlico estuary, that will 

 help in managing multiple uses of public 

 trust waters. 



APES announced its third Call for 

 Proposals on Nov. 18. It is seeking 

 research and public involvement proj- 

 ects that will lead to an effective conser- 

 vation management plan for the 

 Continued on next page 



