"One goal of the Year of the Coast 

 is to educate people about our coastal 

 waters, and that includes how pollution 

 generated inland affects these waters," 

 Doll says. "This project will paint storm 

 drains in the watersheds draining to the 

 Albemarle and Pamlico sounds and the 

 Cape Fear River. It will also inform 

 people that what they do in cities such 

 as Raleigh and Greensboro is affecting 

 our coastal waters." 



Urban runoff is a major source of 

 nonpoint pollution, the leading cause of 

 poor water quality and a threat to coastal 

 waters that support fishing, shellfishing 

 and recreation. Storm drains are a major 

 conveyor of this pollution from streets, 

 sidewalks and parking lots. But many 

 people who dump trash into these drains 

 are unaware that they flow into creeks, 

 streams, coast-bound rivers and, in some 

 coastal areas, directly into sounds and 

 estuaries. 



Gov. Jim Hunt declared 1994 the 

 Year of the Coast to promote the protec- 

 tion and wise management of North 

 Carolina's coastal resources. In re- 

 sponse, the storm drain stenciling 

 project was organized by N.C. Sea 

 Grant, N.C. Big Sweep, Keep America 

 Beautiful, the N.C. Coastal Federation, 

 Stream Watch, 4-H and the N.C. Coop- 

 erative Extension Service, the U.S. Fish 

 and Wildlife Service and the divisions 

 of Coastal Management, Environmental 

 Management and Water Resources 

 within the N.C. Department of Environ- 

 ment, Health and Natural Resources. 



As a Year of the Coast activity, 

 organizers are recruiting volunteer 

 groups to select the streets or neighbor- 

 hoods where they will paint the mes- 

 sages. Meanwhile, city officials are 

 being asked to dispense the stencils and 

 approve painting sites chosen by volun- 

 teers. The stencils will be donated to 

 cities on a rotating basis, and a training 

 video and safety brochures will accom- 

 pany them. 



The project will continue through 

 early fall. And once the Year of the 

 Coast is over, Doll hopes that storm 

 drain painting in North Carolina will 

 continue and extend inland. 



"Stenciling is a pollution preven- 



tion program that involves the commu- 

 nity," she says. "That's what makes it so 

 effective." 



To participate or get more informa- 

 tion, write Doll at N.C. Sea Grant, Box 

 8208, N.C. State University, Raleigh, 

 NC 27695-8208, or call 919/515-5287. 



Marine Resource 

 Bibliography 



Marine Education: A Bibliography 

 of Educational Materials Available from 

 the Nation's Sea Grant Programs has 

 proven useful to a wide range of educa- 

 tors, and the demand has far exceeded 

 supply. In its fourth printing, this bibli- 

 ography is available for teachers and 

 others interested in helping students 

 explore and understand our oceans and 

 Great Lakes. 



The materials outlined in this bibli- 

 ography are available from the Sea Grant 

 program or institution that developed 

 them. Entries include ordering instruc- 

 tions and information about materials 

 available free or at nominal cost. N.C. 

 Sea Grant is offering a limited number 

 of these bibliographies free. But please 

 include $1 to cover postage. 



Marine Debris 

 Conference 



When researchers from around the 

 world recently gathered at the Third 

 International Marine Debris Conference 

 in Miami to discuss possible solutions to 

 marine debris, Sea Grant communicators 

 Jeannie Faris and Kathy Hart listened. 



In a project funded by the National 

 Marine Fisheries Service, the communi- 

 cations duo attended the conference with 

 a mission: to understand the scope of the 

 marine debris problem worldwide and to 

 hear the innovative solutions offered by 

 researchers and resource managers from 

 around the globe. 



Back in North Carolina, the team is 

 using its newfound knowledge to pro- 

 duce a readable booklet that summarizes 

 the conferences findings. Such a docu- 

 ment will be useful for maritime, tourist 

 and waste management industries; 

 coastal communities; regulatory agen- 

 cies; and international organizations. 



N.C. Big Sweep Executive Director 



Susan Bartholomew also attended the 

 conference. She presented to conference 

 attendees some of the innovative educa- 

 tional efforts — boat litterbags, videos, 

 educational manuals — used by Big 

 Sweep to educate the public about the 

 problems of aquatic litter. Big Sweep is 

 the nation's largest statewide waterway 

 litter cleanup. 



To learn more about the conference 

 and findings, keep an eye on Coastwatch. 

 An article will appear soon. 



Nets Recycled 



In another marine debris project, 

 marine education specialist Lundie Spence 

 is examining the potential for recycling 

 old or torn commercial fishing nets in the 

 Southeast. 



This project, also funded by the 

 National Marine Fisheries Service, draws 

 on the expertise of Sea Grant fisheries 

 specialists in North Carolina, South 

 Carolina and Georgia. Along with Spence, 

 these specialists will be talking with 

 fishermen about how they currently 

 dispose of their nets, what materials their 

 nets are made of and whether they would 

 be willing to bring old or torn nets to a 

 central location for possible recycling. 



Working with the recycling industry, 

 Spence will investigate whether the nets 

 can be recycled and if the cost of collect- 

 ing the nets can be offset by recycling 

 sales. 



Net recycling has been effective on 

 the West Coast, where fishing activities 

 are concentrated in large ports. Fishermen 

 can easily dispose of their nets at a central 

 location. However, Southeast fisheries are 

 more scattered. Fishermen use small 

 harbors or home landings all along the 

 coast to dock their boats. Disposal of old 

 nets at central locations would require 

 more time and effort by fishermen. 



"Just because net recycling worked 

 on the West Coast doesn't mean it's 

 workable in the Southeast," Spence says. 

 "The logistics are different, the fishermen 

 are different, the fisheries are different and 

 the nets are different. 



"This project must look at net recy- 

 cling from a Southeast point of view and 

 determine its viability before we jump into 

 a recycling program," she says. 



COASTWATCH 25 



