COASTAL 



TIDINGS 



N.C. Aquariums Expanding 



Want a close-up view of reef fishes 

 swimming along a re-created USS Monitor 

 shipwreck in a 180,000-gallon ocean tank? 

 How about examining sea stars, rays and 

 urchins? 



These 

 aquatic animals 

 will be featured 

 in the newly 

 renovated N.C. 

 Aquarium at 

 Roanoke Island, 

 scheduled to re- 

 open in spring 

 2000. The 

 Roanoke 

 aquarium and 

 the two other 

 aquariums will 

 double their size and expand their 

 educational efforts, thanks to a $32 million 

 appropriation from the N.C. General 

 Assembly. 



The renovated 70,000-square-foot 

 facility at Roanoke Island will feature the 

 "Waters of the Outer Banks," highlighting 

 local freshwater, brackish and ocean 

 environments. New and larger tanks will 

 house sharks, barracuda, sea turtles and 

 other marine life found in the Outer Banks' 

 aquatic habitats. 



I/N.C Aq, 



The Fort Fisher aquarium at the 

 mouth of the Cape Fear River, which will 

 not close for renovations, will feature the 

 "Waters of the Cape Fear River System." 



Tanks and 

 exhibits will 

 highlight 

 aquatic life 

 found in 

 freshwater 



A model of the renovated Roanoke Island Aquarium 



rivers, swamps, 

 estuaries and 

 open ocean. 



The 

 aquarium's 

 centerpiece is a 

 180,000-gallon 

 ocean habitat, a 

 two-story tank 

 offering multilevel views of large sharks, 

 groupers, barracuda and loggerhead turtles 

 swimming around re-created Cape Fear 

 rock ledges. 



The Pine Knoll Shores aquarium, 

 which will close this fall for renovations, 

 will feature "Aquatic Life from the 

 Mountains to the Sea." The five North 

 Carolina aquatic zones include mountain 

 streams, piedmont rivers and lakes, coastal 

 plain waters, swamps, marshes and open 

 ocean. — AG. 



Get Wise about Water 



Where does drinking water come 

 from? What is an aquifer? How does a 

 septic tank work? Who monitors water 

 pollution? 



If you've ever pondered questions like 

 these, North Carolina Sea Grant has a 

 book to help you answer them. The new 

 Coastal Water Quality Handbook is a source 

 of information for North Carolina citizens 

 who want to maintain and improve the 

 quality of their coastal waters. 



The 72-page book answers many of 

 the questions concerned residents have 

 asked Sea Grant in letters and at public 



meetings. Topics include water quality, 

 river and estuarine pollution, the impor- 

 tance of estuarine habitats, water quality 

 and fisheries, seafood safety, coastal 

 drinking water and water treatment, the 

 legal framework for protecting water 

 quality and the actions citizens can take to 

 improve water quality. 



Illustrations and a glossary help make 

 unfamiliar terms clear to the lay reader. To 

 order a copy, send a check for $6 to North 

 Carolina Sea Grant, NC State University, 

 Box 8605, Raleigh, NC 27695-8605. Ask 

 for publication UNC-SG-97-04. — R.W.S. 



Fish 

 Sounds 



Feople think of the ocean as 

 a quiet, restful place — but the 

 truth is, it can be downright noisy. 

 Boats, submarines and personal 

 watercraft all make distinctive 

 sounds that the U.S. Navy 

 monitors and classifies. But the 

 world of underwater sound does 

 not stop there. 



The lonesome songs of 

 humpback whales and the whistles 

 and clicks of dolphins are well- 

 known, but undersea mammals 

 are not the only noisy creatures in 

 the deep. In fact, says Sea Grant 

 fisheries agentjim Bahen, some 

 anglers can identify fish by their 

 sounds. 



White perch and snapping 

 shrimp make loud dicks that are 

 audible through boat hulls. 

 Croaker sound like frogs. Red 

 drum are so called because they 

 make a drumming sound with 

 their air bladders. 



Fishers also know that some 

 boats have a particular hum that 

 attracts fish. Large pelagic fish 

 such as tuna and mackerel, 

 though they don't make noises 

 themselves, seem to prefer boats 

 with certain engine sounds and 

 will come up to investigate when 

 they hear them. 



Of course, fish don't have 

 ears like ours. Most have bones 

 called otoliths — ear stones — 

 that perceive sound vibrations. 

 Scientists also theorize that fish 

 "hear" sound through their lateral 

 lines. This "sixth sense" is 

 presumed to be what prevents fish 

 from running into one another 

 when they school. 



— R.W.S. 



COASTWATCH 5 



