From the Editor 



Settling In 



L seems like the arrival of 1999 has been 

 lost amid Y2K fever. The year 2000 may herald 

 mystery and intrigue, but here at North Carolina 

 Sea Grant, we will take full advantage of 1999. 



This spring, we expect to name a new asso- 

 ciate director of research, a move that will bring 

 us back to full staff. I am one of four new staff 

 members who joined Sea Grant last fall. 



Steve Olson, our new associate director for 

 outreach, arrived from Oregon in November with 

 a strong sense of North Carolina Sea Grant ef- 

 forts. As director of the National Coastal Re- 

 sources Research and Development Institute, he 

 oversaw funding for a variety of demonstration 

 projects here. The Tar Heel ties run even deeper 

 in his home — his wife, Laura grew up in Greenville and attended 

 East Carolina University. 



We four "new kids on the block" found ourselves learning 

 much about the entire program in a very short time. In early De- 

 cember, North Carolina Sea Grant hosted a panel of experts as part 

 of a national effort to review Sea Grant programs across the coun- 

 try. To show the depth and breadth of the program here, we chose 

 to share a series of Sea Grant success stories. 



The entire staff, along with researchers and coastal residents 

 who put Sea Grant ideas into practice, provided background on 

 topics from water quality to seafood technology, aquaculture to 

 coastal hazards, fishery gear innovations to marine education. 



At times our task seemed overwhelming, but the coastal tour 

 itself was a wonderful introduction to the people who make Sea 

 Grant tick. Our two-day adventure started in Wilmington and 

 ended in Lake Mattamuskeet. Time constraints kept us from con- 

 tinuing to the Outer Banks, so we brought a Hatteras clam farmer 



inland to share his success story — a rake-your- 

 own clams venture. 



You may wish you could have tagged along 

 on our whirlwind tour, but regular Coastwatch 



I readers have already been transported to the loca- 

 tions of these successful Sea Grant projects. 

 The tour folders were filled with 

 Coastwatch articles that told readers of the rise 

 of hybrid striped bass farms and efforts to 

 make coastal homes safer. Stories noted the 



J arrival of bluefin tuna, implementation of new 

 seafood regulations and the popularity of skim- 

 mer trawls. 

 As you may have gathered, my welcome to 

 Sea Grant has been hectic. I could not have made 

 the transition without the strong support of helpful colleagues, espe- 

 cially Jeannie Faris Norris. 



Coastwatch readers have long appreciated Jeannie' s fine writ- 

 ing style. What you may not have seen so directly has been her keen 

 eye for editing and design, her ability to help writers make action 

 come alive on the written page and her smiles while she manages 

 multiple projects with ease. Her patience undoubtedly will serve her 

 well as she prepares for a new career in nursing. 



Another Coastwatch regular is also charting new adventures. 

 Historian David Cecelski has added a unique perspective to our 

 pages. He has shed light on the roles of lifesavers and photogra- 

 phers, gardeners and midwives whose individual efforts combined 

 to shape coastal life as we know it today. 



David has a historian's heart, but he has at least one eye on the 

 approaching year 2000. He expects to see a collection of his col- 

 umns published next spring. 



In the meantime, welcome to 1999, courtesy of Coastwatch. □ 



Katie Mosher, managing editor 



Contributors 



Writers: 



David Cecelski D Ann Green Q Katie Mosher ° T. Edward Nickens 

 Jeannie Faris Norris D Julie Ann Powers Renee Wolcott Shannon 



Photographers: 



Cedric N. Chatterley Michael Halminski a Herman Lankford B Scott D. Taylor 



