Back in the 1960s, ecology was in. 



People held sit-ins, rallies and pro- 

 tests for the sake of clean air, pure 

 water and wildlife protection. 



But in the 1970s and 80s, the en- 

 vironment was almost forgotten. 



Now it's a new decade. And the 

 movement has come full circle. 



At the coast, trashy beaches, rising 

 sea level, dwindling fisheries and 

 deteriorating water quality have re- 

 vived our ecological conscience. 



In the midst of renewed environ- 

 mental interest, Sea Grant continues 

 its 25-year tradition of promoting wise 

 use and development of coastal 

 resources. 



And the work is more important 

 than ever. Within this decade, it's 

 predicted that 75 percent of the na- 

 tion's population will live within 50 

 miles of the coast and Great Lakes. 



Since North Carolina has 320 miles 

 of coastline, it will experience its share 

 of the problems. And North Carolina's 

 Sea Grant Program will be there with 

 some of the answers. 



During the next two years, Sea 

 Grant scientists will be solving water 

 quality problems, developing new sea- 

 food products, discovering why fish 

 stocks fluctuate and building aquacul- 

 ture into a successful enterprise. 



And in their usual manner, Sea 

 Grant's 11 extension agents will relay 

 the researchers' findings back to you. 



In this issue, Coastwatch will in- 

 troduce you to 18 new Sea Grant re- 

 search projects. 



Estuaries 



Talk about North Carolina's estu- 

 aries these days seems always to 

 come around to one topic: water quality. 



People are concerned that the rapid 

 development of our coastal plain is 

 taking its toll on the quality of its waters. 



Sea Grant is worried, too. That's 

 why the program is sponsoring five 

 new projects that delve into problems 

 facing our estuaries. 



To recreational fishermen, North 

 Carolina's coast is a paradise. The 

 state's temperate waters host fun- 

 seeking fishermen year round. And 

 no one denies the economic benefits 

 to coastal residents. 



But poor water quality in the state's 

 estuaries may be causing a decline in 

 the number and quality of fish landed 

 by these die-hard anglers. And the 

 end result may be that fewer fisher- 

 men frequent the coast. 



North Carolina State University 

 economists Kerry Smith and Raymond 

 Palmquist will determine what recrea- 

 tional and economic benefits would 

 accrue in coastal communities from 

 improved water quality. 



The results of this study could pro- 

 vide further impetus for coastal man- 

 agers to clean up our coastal shores. 



It's a fact in eastern North Carolina. 

 If you farm soppy coastal plain soils, 

 you have to drain and ditch them. 



And where there are farms there 

 are fertilizers. And that spells potential 

 for a massive influx of nutrients- 

 nitrogen and phosphorus— down the 

 ditches and into our coastal watersheds. 



Already coastal rivers are experienc- 

 ing nutrient-spurred algal blooms and 

 other water quality problems. 



At least a partial answer to some of 

 these problems may be back on the farm. 



In a new Sea Grant project, NCSU 

 scientists Wendell Gilliam, Wayne 

 Skaggs, Robert Evans and John Par- 

 sons will examine ways to lessen the 



flow of nutrients from farmland into 

 coastal waters. 



The team has developed methods 

 already in use by farmers to control 

 drainage and lessen nutrient input. In 

 fact, they estimate that 150,000 acres 

 of controlled-drainage farmland in 

 North Carolina is reducing nitrogen 

 outflows by 1 million pounds annually. 



With their new project, the NCSU 

 team plans to develop other land- 

 based methods for decreasing water 

 quality problems. 



John Wells and Larry Benninger, 

 two University of North Carolina at 

 Chapel Hill geologists, will be digging 

 deep for some answers to water qual- 

 ity problems in Pamlico Sound. 



The pair plans to sift and core the 

 sediments of the sound to learn more 

 about the relationship between water 

 quality and the estuary bottom. 



Wells and Benninger believe 

 sediments may play a role in storing 

 heavy metals, pesticides and other 

 toxic substances. 



This may be particularly important 

 in North Carolina's sounds where the 

 barrier islands trap sediments and 

 allow only limited movement of 

 sediments offshore. 



Don Stanley and Joseph Boyer of 

 East Carolina University will determine 

 how much is too much when it comes 

 to nutrients in the water column. 



Using huge tanks at the Rhode 

 Island Marine Ecosystem Laboratory 

 to imitate conditions found in North 

 Carolina estuaries, the duo will quan- 

 tify the relationship between nutrients 

 and algal growth. And they will use 

 the tanks to determine how plants and 

 animals recycle nutrients and how 

 nutrients cause algal blooms. 



Seagrasses are the staff of life in 

 North Carolina estuaries. They play a 

 critical role in the coastal food chain. 



But they can also be susceptible to 

 water quality problems. Sea Grant 

 researchers JoAnn Burkholder and 

 Larry Crowder of NCSU will decide 

 how excessive nutrients in estuaries 

 affect seagrass growth. 



Botanist Burkholder will assess the 

 effects of nutrient-caused algal growth 

 on seagrasses. She believes the algal 

 mats may stunt seagrass growth by 

 blocking sunlight. 



