THE BACK PAGE 



"The Back Page" is an update 

 on Sea Grant activities — on 

 research, marine education and 

 advisory services. It's also a good 

 place to find out about meetings, 

 workshops and new publications. 

 For more information on any of 

 the projects described , contact the 

 Sea Grant offices in Raleigh 

 (919/737-2454). 



There's a new threat 

 to some of North 

 Carolina's water sup- 

 plies, but it's not 

 drought or a toxic 

 chemical. The culprit is 

 an aquatic weed, 

 Hydrilla verticillata. 



Ron Hodson, Sea Grant's associate 

 director and an NCSU zoologist, is 

 leading a research project aimed at 

 finding ways to control the weed, 

 which has appeared in 15 lakes and 

 reservoirs around Raleigh. Officials are 

 worried that the weed will spread as it 

 has in Florida, where it clogs 

 waterways with a thick mat of vegeta- 

 tion, choking out recreational boating 

 and fishing. The threat to Raleigh-area 

 water supplies is serious, Hodson says, 

 since hydrilla infestations can lock up 

 as much as 60 percent of the water in a 

 lake. 



Hodson and his team, which in- 

 cludes Neil Rhodes, David DeMont 

 and Melvin Huish of NCSU, and 

 Graham Davis of East Carolina Uni- 

 versity, are setting up test enclosures 

 in several Wake County lakes. In the 

 enclosures, the team will test an in- 

 tegrated approach to weed control that 

 includes the use of herbivorous fish, 

 periodic draw-downs to lower water 

 levels, and applications of approved 

 herbicides. When their studies are 

 complete, the team plans to recom- 

 mend hydrilla-control measures to the 

 City of Raleigh and the Water 

 Resources Research Institute, both of 

 which funded work on the project. 



Hydrilla, which is not native to the 

 U.S., probably came here from South 

 America as a plant for aquaria. It was 



found growing in Florida in 1960. No 

 male hydrilla plants have been found 

 in the U. S., and the weed produces no 

 seed here. Even so, it proliferates 

 through several forms of vegetative 

 reproduction. Once established, the 

 hydrilla takes root in the lake or river 

 bottom, forms a tuber there, grows to 

 the surface, and shades out its com- 

 petition. 



So far, the only hydrilla reported in 

 North Carolina has been in Wake 

 County, where heavy infestations have 

 troubled three lakes in the William B. 

 Umstead Park. Hydrilla has also found 

 its way into Lake Wheeler, a municipal 

 reservoir for Raleigh. 



Hodson says the public can help 

 control the spread of hydrilla by tak- 

 ing care not to transport it out of an in- 

 fested area. A single sprig carried off 

 on a boat or trailer can live to start a 

 new colony, he says. He also cautions 

 people not to discard any exotic plant 

 or fish in such a way that it can survive 

 to reproduce. 



Sea Grant researcher, 

 Tyre Lanier, has added 

 an international perspec- 

 tive to his project this 

 year. Takayuki Aka- 

 hane, a biochemist from 

 Tokyo, Japan, is 

 spending a year in the United States 

 working with NCSU's Department of 

 Food Science on Lanier's surimi 

 research. 



Surimi, which is washed and minced 

 fish, is popular in Japan, where it is the 

 base of a variety of seafood products. 

 In his Sea Grant work, Lanier has 

 combined ground shrimp with surimi 

 to produce a shrimp-shaped seafood 

 that not only fooled a panel of taste- 

 testers, but also sparked the interest of 

 several major food companies. But, 

 there were still unanswered questions 

 about surimi, so Lanier welcomed a 

 link to Japan's surimi know-how. 



Taka is running several tests on 

 Lanier's surimi to find a new additive 

 source and to measure changes in fish- 

 meat quality. At present, sugar is be- 

 ing added to surimi products to im- 



prove gel properties. While the 

 Japanese like a hint of sweetness in 

 their surimi, Americans balk at the 

 taste and added calories. Taka is 

 testing a solution that he hopes will 

 halt the process of muscle changes dur- 

 ing storage and in that way preserve 

 the fresh quality of the fish meat. 



Wayne Wescott, 

 UNC Sea Grant's new 

 marine advisory agent, 

 has joined Hughes Tillet 

 in the Sea Grant office at 

 the N.C. Marine 

 Resources Center on 

 Roanoke Island. 



Wescott, a native of Manteo, brings 

 a solid base of experience to the Sea 

 Grant program. He received his un- 

 dergraduate and masters degrees in 

 business administration from East 

 Carolina University. He has worked as 

 a commercial fisherman and managed 

 a fishing cooperative in Dare County. 

 Wescott has also been an extension 

 education and training specialist for 

 commercial fishermen under a Sea 

 Grant education project. With the pro- 

 ject, he planned, developed and 

 scheduled courses and workshops to 

 help fishermen learn about new types 

 of gear, new fishing methods, marine 

 finances and more. 



If you'd like Wescott's help, give 

 him a call. The number is (919) 473- 

 3937. 



In May 1979, much of 

 the Brittany coast of 

 France was ruined by an 

 oil spill from the huge 

 Amoco Cadiz. Miles of 

 marshlands were 

 destroyed, valuable fish 

 and wildlife habitats were spoiled, and 

 the shoreline lay open to erosion. Ernie 

 Seneca, a botany professor at North 

 Carolina State University, was called 

 in to help re-establish the marsh, using 

 several grass-transplanting techniques 

 he developed during a Sea Grant pro- 

 ject. Two years later, the same site is 



