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). 



Cold water can be a 

 killer no matter how well 

 you swim. The loss of 

 body heat is probably 

 the greatest hazard to 

 the survival of a person 

 in the sea because water 

 cools the body 25 percent faster than 

 air. As the body's core (inner) temper- 

 ature begins to fall, the victim experi- 

 ences the condition called hypother- 

 mia. Signs of pain, tiredness, poor co- 

 ordination, numbness, poor speech and 

 mental confusion appear. When the 

 core body temperature falls below 90° 

 F, the victim becomes unconscious. At 

 85° F, heart failure occurs. 



Your survival in cold water de- 

 pends on several factors including 

 water temperature, body size, body fat 

 and activity in the water. For exam- 

 ple, fat people cool more slowly than 

 thin people, and children cool faster 

 than adults. Whatever the factors, 

 there are some steps you can take to 

 improve your chances of survival un- 

 til you're rescued. 



Don't swim. A person cools 35 per- 

 cent faster by swimming. Instead, 

 keep your head and neck above water. 

 If you're wearing a life vest, assume 

 the fetal position, or if there is another 

 person in the water, huddle together. 

 If you're not wearing a life vest, tread 

 water just enough to keep your head 

 above the water. And remember, your 

 will-to-live will make a difference. 

 Keep a positive attitude about your 

 rescue. 



To treat a hypothermia victim, re- 

 warm him carefully. Do not massage 

 his arms or legs since cold blood could 

 flow to the core, further lowering the 



body temperature. Move the victim to 

 shelter and warmth as soon as pos- 

 sible. Apply warm, wet towels to the 

 head, neck, groin, chest and abdomen. 

 Again, do not heat the arms or legs. If 

 a victim needs cardiopulmonary resu- 

 scitation, place him on a hard, flat sur- 

 face. All hypothermia victims should 

 be seen by a doctor. 



Even if a victim appears drowned, 

 administer heart massage and mouth- 

 to-mouth resuscitation. Cold-water 

 drowning victims have a good chance 

 of survival. 



For more information on cold-water 

 drowning, write Sea Grant, Box 5001, 

 Raleigh, North Carolina 27650-5001. 

 Ask for Cold Water Drowning: A 

 New Lease on Life. 



A new 90-foot 

 weather tower is operat- 

 ing at the N. C. Marine 

 Resources Center at Ft. 

 Fisher. Since December, 

 fishermen from as far as 

 55 miles offshore have 

 been reporting back sea conditions to 

 Sea Grant staffers at the center via 

 VHF radio (Channel 68). In turn, the 

 Sea Grant staff passes the information 

 along to the National Weather Service 

 office in Wilmington where the reports 

 are incorporated into the marine 

 weather forecast and broadcast over 

 the 24-hour National Oceanic and At- 

 mospheric Administration (NOAA) 

 weather radio. 



All this adds up to the Marine 

 Weather Relay Program (MAWREP). 

 And it means fishermen are helping 

 predict sea conditions, and improving 

 weather forecasting for offshore areas. 

 They won't waste valuable time and 

 fuel if conditions are too rough for 

 fishing. 



John Foster at the Sea Grant Aqua- 

 culture and Research Demonstration 

 Center is compiling the annual lists of 

 elver harvesters and buyers. The aqua- 

 culture center itself is on the list of in- 

 terested buyers of the baby eels. If 

 you'd like to be added to that list or to 



the list, of sellers, call (919) 322-4054 or 

 send your name, company name, ad- 

 dress and telephone number to: John 

 Foster, Sea Grant Aquaculture and 

 Research Demonstration Center, 

 Route 2, Box 305, Aurora, N. C. 

 27806. Indicate whether you plan to 

 sell or buy elvers. 



If you're on a list, you will auto- 

 matically receive copies of both. If 

 you're not, you can request copies 

 from the same address. 



The third annual 

 SEAS (Southeast At- 

 lantic States) Diving 

 Conference and Under- 

 water Film Festival will 

 be held in Raleigh, Feb. 

 25-27 at the Radisson 

 Plaza. The conference includes work- 

 shops on diving-accident manage- 

 ment, sharks, wreck diving, fish print- 

 ing, seafood preparation, the Atlantis 

 III Project, diving on the Andrea 

 Doria, fish-and-shell identification and 

 more. 



A Saturday evening film festival will 

 be presented in Memorial Auditorium 

 featuring Jack McKenney, an under- 

 water cameraman, film producer, 

 stuntman, writer and photographer. 



And you'll be able to check out ex- 

 hibit booths displaying the latest in 

 scuba diving equipment, underwater 

 photographic gear and diving resort 

 areas in the Caribbean. 



The conference is co-sponsored by 

 UNC Sea Grant, the N. C. Office of 

 Marine Affairs, N. C. Marine Educa- 

 tion and Resources Foundation and 

 N. C. Wreck Divers Association. 



For registration information, write 

 SEAS '83, P.O. Box 31186, Raleigh, 

 N. C. 27622, or phone (919) 733-2290. 



^lini-grant funds have been award- 

 ed to Alan Stutts and Chrystos 

 Siderelis of the NCSU Department of 

 Recreation Resources Administration 

 and Leon Abbas, UNC Sea Grant's 

 recreation specialist, to study public 

 policy concerning recreational boaters. 



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