COASTAL 



TIDINGS 



Raleigh School Wins Ocean Mural 



Don 't look 

 for it on any atlas, 

 but there is a new 

 ocean — in 

 Raleigh. 



Leesville 

 Elementary School 

 boasts a new ocean 

 mural, a tribute to 

 the 1998 Year of 

 the Ocean. Lees- 

 ville students were 

 the North Carolina 

 winners in the 

 national Ocean 

 Challenge contest 

 sponsored by the 

 Wyland Founda- 

 tion. One school in 

 each state was 

 selected to receive a mural and a special 

 program on oceans. 



During an October visit, a mural artist 

 known simply as Wyland painted a 

 humpback whale for the mural. Students 

 added other Atlantic Ocean sea life — 

 hammerhead sharks, manatees, sea horses, 

 turtles and angelfish. The final mural was a 

 diptych — two pieces divided by a hallway. 



This Leesville Elementary School student 

 adds a sea creature. 



Together they 

 form a single 

 piece of art. 



The Leesville 

 students' interest 

 in oceans is not 

 new. Each year, 

 fourth graders take 

 a nine- week 

 coastal studies 

 unit that includes 

 water quality, 

 marine life and 

 coastal ecosys- 

 tems. The unit 

 culminates in an 

 overnight field trip 

 for hands-on 

 research at the 

 coast. 



In addition to the mural, several 

 Raleigh students offered readings from 

 Wyland' s latest book for the Ocean 

 Clwllenge documentary. 



To learn more about the Ocean 

 Challenge and Wyland' s visit to Leesville 

 Elementary, check out the Web site at http:// 

 www.wylandfoundation.org/toumc.html. 



—KM. 



Fishery Resource Grants 

 Blend Experience, Research 



Fishers have observations, intuition 

 and hypotheses from years of experience 

 on the water. Scientists have research 

 methods to gather and analyze data. 



Put them together and what do you 

 get? Innovative solutions to fisheries issues, 

 courtesy of the state-funded Fishery 

 Resource Grant Program. 



The North Carolina Marine Fisheries 

 Commission will soon select the 1 999 

 grant recipients from applications that 

 meet the Jan. 1 5 deadline. State legislators 

 have appropriated $1 million annually for 

 the program, which is administered by 

 North Carolina Sea Grant. 



Fishers who have problem-solving 

 ideas may apply for the grants. Applicants 

 must be active in commercial or recre- 

 ational fishing, or have endorsement from 

 and involvement with those active in the 

 industry. 



Sea Grant helps to match applicants 

 with researchers at North Carolina 

 universities who can suggest appropriate 

 research and data-analysis methods. 



To learn more about an innovative 

 study of the environmental impacts of 

 inshore trawling, funded by a Fishery 

 Resource Grant, turn to page 32. 



— KM. 



Seafood 

 Allergies 

 Common 



Are you allergic to seafood 

 or other kinds of food? The Food 

 and Drug Administration (FDA) 

 estimates 1 60 foods cause allergic 

 reactions in sensitive individuals. 

 Milk, eggs, peanuts, shellfish, tree 

 nuts, soybeans, wheat and fish 

 account for 90 percent of all 

 severe allergic reactions. 



In the United States, an 

 estimated one-tenth of 1 percent 

 of consumers are allergic or at risk 

 of developing an allergy to 

 seafood, according to Samuel 

 Lehrer, a researcher at the Tulane 

 University School of Medicine. 



Finfish allergies are more 

 common in children, while adults 

 seem to be more sensitive to 

 shellfish. One seafood that can 

 cause allergic reactions is sulfite- 

 treated shrimp. Fishers use sulfites 

 to combat discoloration of 

 shrimp after harvest. 



Consumers who are allergic 

 to sulfites may experience cramps, 

 nausea or vomiting. Those with a 

 severe reaction may suffer 

 breathing problems or shock. 



To protect consumers at risk 

 for sulfite allergies, the FDA's 

 Hazard Analysis and Critical 

 Control Point (HACCP) regula- 

 tions require the labeling of all 

 sulfite-treated shrimp. — AG. 



COASTWATCH 



