COASTAL 



TIDINGS 



Bald Head 

 Beauty 



magine white-tailed deer 

 wandering through a maritime 

 forest as fan-shaped cabbage 

 palmetto trees sway in an ocean 

 breeze. 



These animals and trees are 

 found at the Bald Head Woods 

 Coastal Reserve on Bald Head 

 Island, one of eight sites in the 

 North Carolina Coastal Reserve. 

 Officials from the N.C. Depart- 

 ment of Environment and Natural 

 Resources and the Division of 

 Coastal Management (DCM), 

 Bald Head Island Ltd. and the 

 Village of Bald Head recently 

 dedicated the 1 73-acre reserve. 



"When people visit the Bald 

 Head Woods Reserve, they get to 

 see a maritime forest that is 

 different from others in North 

 Carolina," says John Taggart, 

 coastal reserve coordinator for 

 DCM. Bald Head Reserve is the 

 only place in the state where you 

 can find cabbage palmetto trees. 



DCM acquired the Bald 

 Head site in 1 992 with grants 

 from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife 

 Service and the Natural Heritage 

 Trust Fund. Bald Head Island Ltd. 

 donated a portion of the forest 

 valued at $1 million. 



The coastal reserve program 

 is part of the state's Coastal Area 

 Management Act (CAMA). Read 

 about the 25th anniversary of 

 CAMA on page 20. —AG. 



4 HIGH SEASON 1999 



DNA Probe Advances 

 Pfiesteria Research 



the weather heats up this 

 summer, North Carolina could see more 

 fish kills and algal blooms. But North 

 Carolina Sea Grant scientists are unlock- 

 ing the secrets of nitrogen pollution and 

 toxic dinoflagellates, and their findings 

 could help prevent these annual nuisances. 



In a project that started with seed 

 money from North Carolina Sea Grant, 

 researchers Parke Rublee and JoAnn 

 Burkholder have created DNA probes that 

 can detect Pfiesteria piscicida in water 

 samples. Isolated strands of DNA peculiar 

 to Pfiesteria find their genetic mates in the 

 samples, and then DNA amplification or 

 fluorescent dye markers make the 

 presence of the fish killer obvious. So far, 

 the probes have been used to determine 

 the geographic distribution of Pfiesteria 

 and to identify two other dinoflagellates, 



one of which is a second species of 

 Pfiesteria. 



The newly discovered species shares 

 many of Pfiesteria piscicida' 's hallmarks, 

 including a strong attraction to fish, the 

 ability to manufacture toxins, a complex 

 life cycle with an amoebic stage and an 

 animal-like pattern of behavior. 



Burkholder' s recent research also 

 finds that Pfiesteria piscicida prefers a 

 particular larval stage of clams and oysters. 

 Within seconds, the toxic dinoflagellate 

 forces its way between the valves of the 

 larval shellfish and eats the entire organ- 

 ism, except for the adductor muscle. 

 Further research might explain why 

 Pfiesteria prefers this larval stage and 

 examine its sublethal and chronic effects 

 on finfish and shellfish populations. 



— R.W.S. 



Ms 



Catch-and-Release Fishery Emphasized 



concern grows over dwindling 

 fish stocks, more recreational fishers 

 are turning loose their fish after 

 snapping a photo or tagging their 

 catch. "We really want to 

 emphasize catch and release," 

 saysjim Bahen, recreational 

 fishing agent for North 

 Carolina Sea Grant. "It's 

 easy to catch more than you 

 need." 



This year, Bahen is co-chair 

 of the steering committee for the 

 first National Symposium on 

 Catch and Release in Marine 

 Recreational Fisheries Dec. 5-9 

 in Virginia Beach, Va. The 

 symposium will address hook- 

 release mortality, educational 

 and fisheries management 

 issues, fishing tournament 

 concerns, angler behavior and 

 recreational fishing ethics. 



North Carolina fishers 

 may be particularly interested in new 

 research findings on the use of circle hooks 



in tuna, billfish, sharks, striped bass and 

 summer flounder. Circle hooks have 

 been successfully used in the catch 

 and release of giant tuna along the 

 Outer Banks in recent years. 

 Charter captains, fishing 

 tournament organizers and 

 angling leaders are 

 encouraged to attend. 

 Because the symposium will 

 address fish-discard mortality 

 with the use of rod and reel 

 gear, representatives of the 

 commercial hook-and-line 

 fisheries may also be 

 interested. 



For more information, 

 contactjim Bahen at North 

 Carolina Sea Grant, 91 0/ 

 256-2083, orjon Lucy, Virginia 

 Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), 

 P.O. Box 1346, Gloucester Pt., 

 VA 23062 (804/684-7166; e- 

 mail: lucy@vims.edu) or visit the 

 VIMS Web site at www.vims.edu. 



— R.W.S. 



