Beaufort harbor 



east are hungry for the sweet-tasting 

 soft-shelled clams. But supplies of the 

 savory shellfish, normally harvested 

 from more northern waters, aren't 

 abundant enough to meet the high 

 demand. 



But the sandy bottomland of Pam- 

 lico Sound may provide the perfect 

 place for soft-shelled clams to grow. 



Peterson plans to test the potential 

 for a soft-shell clam aquaculture in- 

 dustry in North Carolina. He'll look at 

 the clam's biology, its habitat and 

 possible predators to determine the 

 best conditions for a successful 

 venture. 



Aquaculture 



The challenge of aquaculture is 

 simple. 



Americans are demanding more 

 seafood, but the supply just doesn't 

 meet the demand. To offset the dif- 

 ference, seafood processors and 

 retailers import. 



Aquaculture could be a viable way 

 to meet demand in the United States 

 and cut imports. 



That's why people took notice when 

 Beaufort County farmer Lee Brothers 

 harvested his first hybrid striped bass 

 for market. 



It was the nation's first commercial 

 harvest of pond-raised hybrid striped 

 bass. It was also a significant step for 

 Sea Grant researchers who have spent 

 the past decade developing this type 

 of aquaculture into a profitable venture. 



But despite the success of Brothers' 

 operation, the culture of hybrid striped 

 bass is not yet an efficient enterprise, 

 says Ron Hodson, Sea Grant's asso- 

 ciate director. He identifies three prob- 

 lems in hybrid culture that Sea Grant 

 scientists will attempt to tackle in 1990. 



One problem concerns the produc- 

 tion of broodstock. All eggs used in 

 the Brothers operation are taken from 

 wild fish. Hodson and NCSU zoologist 

 Craig Sullivan are looking for ways to 

 domesticate broodstock. 



They will experiment with the use of 

 hormones in maximizing egg produc- 

 tion. Solving these concerns will give 

 aquaculturists control over the life cy- 

 cle of the hybrid, Hodson says. 



And the NCSU duo will be investi- 

 gating ways to increase survival of 

 fingerlings in controlled environments. 

 Decreasing the loss of fingerlings 

 could solve another problem facing 

 the aquaculture industry and add 

 more fish to the final harvest. 



Feed can be a costly problem for 

 fish farmers. Because feed for hybrid 

 striped bass is based on animal pro- 

 teins (primarily fish meal), more than 



50 percent of the cost of raising the 

 hybrids can be spent on feed. 



This year, Margie Gallagher of ECU 

 will investigate less expensive ways of 

 providing protein to hybrid striped 

 bass in production. 



At the same time, Joseph and Celia 

 Bonaventura of the Duke University 

 Marine Laboratory will explore ways to 

 force-feed these fish in the larval 

 stage. 



Since these tiny fish don't feed well 

 naturally in their early stages, the 

 Bonaventuras will attempt to develop 

 a process that allows the fish to ab- 

 sorb food molecules. This is, in effect, 

 a force-feeding, Hodson says. 



The primary focus of Sea Grant's 

 aquaculture research will be to assure 

 that the successes of the past are fine- 

 tuned, making hybrid striped bass an 

 important ingredient in America's ex- 

 panding seafood market. 



Seafood 



During the 1980s, we dared to eat 

 what we had never eaten before— 

 sushi, shark, squid and surimi— and 

 all in the name of good health. 



Like oat bran, seafood was a 

 healthy "in" in the 80s. 



But seafood's meteoric rise in popu- 

 larity left the food industry sometimes 

 playing catch up as they rushed to 

 develop new products and address 

 health and safety concerns. 



Four new UNC Sea Grant projects 

 are designed to help the food industry 

 solve some "fishy" problems. 



NCSU seafood scientists Tyre 

 Lanier, David Green, Roy Carawan 

 and Brian Sheldon are examining 

 ways to refine surimi, or minced fish, 

 processing. 



Presently, 30 percent of the protein 

 contained in the raw fish is rinsed 

 down the drain as the fish is re- 

 peatedly washed and minced during 



