Photo by Hans Paerl 



Blue-green algae found on the Neuse River near New Bern 



The results of Paerl, Stanley and 

 Christian's research will provide much 

 needed information on Microcystis 

 growth and harmful effects in the 

 Neuse estuary. Data obtained in the 

 study will be useful to state agencies 

 interested in not only the control or 

 eradication of the bloom, but also what 

 effects it has on fisheries in the Neuse 

 River estuary. 



A study in 

 Teamwork 



In the past few years, residents 

 along the White Oak River have 

 noticed several changes in the river. 

 Recreational boaters complained of 

 shallower waters and of some areas 

 which had become barely navigable. 

 Commercial fishermen reported that 

 their catches of fish and shellfish were 

 getting smaller. Agreeing that 

 something had to be done to "save 

 their river", they formed the White 

 Oak River Advisory Council. 



According to council members, 

 sedimentation is the problem here. 

 Over the years, sediment, such as sand 

 and silt, has been building up at the 

 mouth of the river and causing the 

 channel to become narrower and 

 shallower. Sedimentation was also 

 blamed for the river flowing more 

 slowly than normal. Charles Daly, a 

 spokesman for the council, says past 

 studies have indicated that this 

 buildup of sand and silt on the White 

 Oak was caused by the dredging of the 

 Intracoastal Waterway by the U.S. 

 Army Corps of Engineers and the con- 

 struction of a causeway, N.C. 24, at 

 Swansboro. The council took their con- 

 cerns to the governor in an appeal for 

 funds to study the problem. 



Last fall, $50,000 was appropriated 

 by the General Assembly. A unique 

 study team, involving state and 

 federal agencies, universities, private 

 consulting firms and local citizens, was 

 formed. This year, Sea Grant will also 

 be lending support to the White Oak 

 River project. Working together on 

 the team are representatives from the 

 council, NCSU, the University of 

 North Carolina at Chapel Hill and 

 Wilmington, ECU, Water Resources 

 Research Institute, Sea Grant, the 

 Department of Transportation's Divi- 



sion of Highways and the Department 

 of Natural Resources and Community 

 Development's Office of Water Re- 

 sources, Office of Coastal Manage- 

 ment, Division of Marine Fisheries 

 and Division of Environmental 

 Management. A report on the team's 

 research will be presented to the 

 legislature this summer. 



According to B. J. Copeland, direc- 

 tor of Sea Grant, an important out- 

 come of the study will be the example 



In the last 10 years, Atlantic Coast 

 populations of striped bass have been 

 declining rapidly. At the same time, 

 commercial fishing pressure had in- 

 creased. To replenish stocks of this 

 very desirable food and sport fish, re- 

 searchers have tried stocking larvae in 

 lakes and reservoirs. But survival rates 

 of the wild-stock larvae have been very 

 low. However, much higher survival 

 rates have been recorded with some 

 striped bass hybrids. 



Two Sea Grant researchers, Howard 

 Kerby and Mel Huish of the zoology 

 department at NCSU, have been suc- 

 cessful in the past few years raising 

 striped bass X white bass hybrids. 

 Working at the NCSU Aquaculture 

 Demonstration Project at Aurora, 

 they have raised fish from fingerlings 

 stocked in ponds, cages and large cir- 



of government agencies working with 

 universities and local citizens. "I think 

 we're on to something good here," 

 Copeland says, "working together as a 

 team, we can put science applications 

 to work on the council's problem, and 

 their involvement is essential in this 

 study. I think this is a very effective 

 way of providing the council and the 

 state with the information needed to 

 solve this problem." 



cular pools. Survival rates have nor- 

 mally exceeded 90 percent. 



"Hybrids," Kerby says, "grow 

 faster, are heavier and have a deeper 

 body. A hybrid the same length as a 

 striped bass will weigh more because of 

 its deeper body. Hybrids are also har- 

 dier," he adds, "which makes them 

 easier to handle and work with under 

 culture conditions." 



This year, Kerby and Huish, assist- 

 ed by graduate student Curry Woods, 

 will focus their research on production 

 of striped bass hybrids during the first 

 eight months of life — from fertilized 

 eggs to fingerlings. In one phase of this 

 project, hybrid fry will be cultured to a 

 larval stage in 10,000-gallon circular 

 pools. In a second phase, hybrid larvae 

 will be stocked in quarter-acre ponds 

 for grow-out to the fingerling stage. 



Raising fry and fingerlings 



