(phosphate-rich) and Oligocene (not 

 phosphatic) study sites. 



"There are lots of different 

 sources the nutrients can be coming 

 from, and the next five years will 

 help us determine which sources are 

 important and how significant they 

 are to primary productivity in shelf 

 waters on a global basis," Snyder 

 says. 



"Can they co-exist?" says Snyder. 

 "Can we actually enhance the 

 primary productivity of this area by 

 creating new hard substrate? The 

 nutrient story is going to be the 

 answer to that." 



Another relevant question is 

 whether hardbottom habitats could be 

 improved by removing sand, which 

 could then supply extensive beach 



Designating reef reserve areas may become necessary 

 to allow long-lived and older reproductive-age fish 

 of hardbottoms to reproduce, if there are strong nutritional links, 

 then protective zones may also be required 

 in the surrounding softbottom communities. 



All of these variables will factor 

 into future economic ventures in this 

 area. Snyder says the value of the 

 phosphate beneath Onslow Bay may 

 equal or outweigh the value of the 

 material being mined by Texasgulf 

 Inc. in Aurora. Beaufort County's 

 phosphate mining constitutes a 

 significant portion of the world's 

 phosphate resource. 



With the world population 

 expected to double again in less than 

 30 years, phosphate to fertilize crops 

 will be critical, he says. A choice 

 will have to be made whether to 

 extract ore from the estuaries, where 

 mining activities disrupt and con- 

 taminate finfish and shellfish 

 nursery areas, or to move activity 

 offshore, says Snyder. 



The team's research may shed 

 light on the interaction between the 

 "live" benthic resources and the 

 underlying hard mineral resources. 

 In other words, asks Snyder, could 

 the disruption from phosphate 

 mining create prolific, high-relief 

 hardbottom habitats? Could new 

 natural reefs be artificially created 

 by breaking up the rock surfaces 

 now covered by mobile sands? 



renourishment in areas such as 

 Carolina and Wrightsville beaches. 

 The sand used in today's projects 

 comes from nearby inlets. But these 

 new shelf deposits could be a viable 

 source of new beach sediment for 

 renourishment, Riggs says. 



"But first you have to understand 

 the system. How important are 

 sandbottoms to hardbottoms? And at 

 some point in time, some judgment 

 has to be made on what you want to 

 manage for. That's what farming 

 does; you eliminate the woodlands 

 and you cultivate the cornfields. 



"Our goal is to understand the 

 processes, so we can have some 

 sound basis for making some 

 decisions," says Riggs. "This is 

 pioneering work. We're opening 

 doors, and every time we go down 

 to the bottom we learn something 

 new about what's going on down 

 there. It's sort of mind-boggling. 



"It has to be like ... in the 1800s 

 when the early scientists went out 

 West, across the plains and to the 

 Rocky Mountains, and described 

 those areas for the first time," he 

 says. "That's what it's like going out 

 on the shelf." □ 



To get a true picture of 

 Onslow Bay hardbottoms, 

 you might dress out in 

 SCUBA gear and dive to the 

 ocean depths, if you prefer a 

 tamer — but still colorful — 

 adventure, send for a copy of 

 Sea Grants hardbottom 

 distribution poster and fishing 

 map. 



This 39-by-27-inch poster 

 is a guide to the natural 

 offshore reefs between Cape 

 Lookout and Cape Fear. The 

 flip side of the poster features 

 five four-color paintings of the 

 reefs, it is an excellent educa- 

 tion tool for showing various 

 hardbottom habitats and their 

 flora and fauna. 



For a copy, send $5 to 

 Sea Grant Publications, Box 

 8605, NCSU, Raleigh, NC 

 27695. Ask for UNC-SG-8&25. 



And stay tuned for an 

 undersea journey through 

 these hard rock oases via an 

 upcoming Sea Grant educa- 

 tional video. 



COASTWATCH 7 



