TlieBack Pa 



"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 publications. For 

 more information on any of the projects 

 described, contact the Sea Grant offices in 

 Raleigh (919/737-2454). For copies of pub- 

 lications, write UNC Sea Grant, Box 8605, 

 NCSU, Raleigh, N.C. 27695-8605. 



You've just bought your 

 dream cottage by the sea, 

 and around it you envision 

 lush greenery and flowers. 

 You start thumbing through 

 seed, bulb and plant cata- 

 logs to make the most dramatic selections. 

 Stop. 



This vision of vegetation can lure even 

 the greenest thumb to disaster. 



Along the oceanfront, the rules of plant 

 selection, use and culture are subject to 

 drastic revision. The salt spray, beating 

 sun and dry, loose sand can kill inland 

 varieties of plants, shrubs and trees that 

 are not adapted to tolerate the harsh 

 oceanfront environment. 



Karl Graetz, a horticulturist and author of 

 Seacoast Plants of the Carolinas, says 

 homeowners can't expect to change their 

 beachfront homes into tropical paradises. 



Instead, Graetz advises that coastal 

 gardeners choose native plants and 

 shrubs. 



Those plants have adapted to the coastal 

 environment and, they're salt hardy, 

 Graetz says. "Besides, the native plants 

 are really gorgeous, and most people 

 don't recognize that." 



Homeowners can consult with coastal 

 nurserymen about their plant selections. 

 Or they can familiarize themselves with 

 Graetz's 206- page Seacoast Plants book. 



Seen as the bible for coastal landscap- 

 ing, Seacoast Plants, now in its sixth print- 

 ing, has helped thousands of coastal 

 residents take a practical approach to 

 seaside planting. 



For a copy of this informative book, write 

 UNC Sea Grant. Ask for publication 

 UNC-SG-73-06. The cost is $4.50. 



You always order 

 flounder. Fried. You're 

 afraid of oysters. You're not 

 alone. 



For many Americans, 

 seafood is an unknown, at 

 least when compared to more familiar fare 

 such as beef, chicken and pork. 



"They're overwhelmed with seafood. 

 There's so many species," East Carolina 

 University scientist David Griffith says. "It's 

 like they're saying 'Well, fish is fish.' " 



Griffith and fellow ECU anthropologist 

 Jeff Johnson arrived at that conclusion 

 after a recently completed Sea Grant 

 study of seafood consumers. 



In two years of interviews, market 

 research and just plain observations of the 

 way people eat, the two pinpointed 

 regional differences in seafood preferences 

 and preparation as well as times in our 

 lives when we're open to influences that 

 could change our eating habits. 



Most surprising, Griffith says, is that 

 distance from the coast "had less to do 

 with seafood consumption than whether 

 they lived in a rural or urban area." 



Of the four consumer groups studied- 

 coastal urban, coastal rural, inland urban 

 and inland rural— only in the latter did 

 eating habits shift significantly from 

 changes in the family, such as marriage or 

 the birth of children. 



Consumers in the other three groups 

 most likely altered eating habits for health 

 reasons or at the advice of friends or co- 

 workers. 



In comparisons according to race, cook- 

 ing styles and seafood preferences follow- 

 ed fairly separate paths. Whites tended to 

 fry foods less and favor fresh fish fillets, 

 shellfish and imitation seafood products 

 more than non-whites. Whites also ate 

 more frozen processed fish products. 



Such data is of particular interest to 

 seafood manufacturers and marketing 

 firms, who use the information to adjust 

 everything from advertising to supermarket 

 shelf placement. 



The industry's real task may lie in teaching 

 consumers the types of seafood and eas- 

 ing the apprehension many still feel toward 

 anything but steak and potatoes. 



When asked to group photos of different 

 meats, consumers consistently separated 

 beef, pork and chicken from each other, 

 but tended to lump all seafood together. 

 The average buyer would, for example, dif- 

 ferentiate chicken nuggets from a whole 

 chicken, but not make the distinction be- 

 tween fresh flounder and fish sticks. 



"In fact," says Griffith, "there's a bunch 

 of really good different seafoods out there, 

 and if people stopped lumping them all 

 together, they'd find a lot to choose from." 



Griffith and Johnson's final report is due 

 out this spring. The two are now participat- 

 ing in a study on seafood consumers' 

 reactions to news of coastal pollution. 



North Carolina's 

 coastline became famous 

 as The Graveyard of the 

 Atlantic for good reason. 



For 400 years, ship cap- 

 tains have known of the 

 hazards of navigating off the Tar Heel 

 coast. And many captains disregarded 

 warnings and lost their ships to the 

 ravages of shifting sands and unsure winds. 



Hundreds of these wrecks have been 

 found and are noted on maps kept on file 

 at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

 Administration office in Rockville, Md. The 

 files include information about the ships 

 and how and when they became victims 

 of The Graveyard of the Atlantic. 



The files contain full descriptions of 

 some of the wrecks and are noted with 

 Loran-C coordinates. Others are marked 

 on the maps but are simply described as 

 "unknown." All known wrecks and 

 obstructions in U.S. coastal waters are 

 covered. 



For more information about wrecks in 

 your area, write to the Operations Section 

 N/CG241, National Ocean Service, NOAA, 

 Rockville, Md. 20852. 



While winter's cold winds whirled 

 around your home, you made up your 

 mind. After years of thinking about it, 

 you're finally going to buy a place at the 

 coast. 



Before you lay down your hard-earned 

 continued next page 



