THE BACK PACK 



"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). 



Any boater who's 

 been caught in a sum- 

 mer squall knows that 

 blue skies and calm 

 waters can be deceiving. 

 Within minutes, skies 

 darken. Winds whip the 

 boat. Waves splash the deck. 

 Newman Cantrell, of the Coast 

 Guard office at Fort Macon, says there 

 are some things you can do to prevent 

 being caught in a squall. Get a weather 

 report before you leave port. Listen to 

 the National Weather Service channel 

 for special broadcasts. If you notice a 

 sudden coolness in the air, a quicken- 

 ing of the wind, or black, looming 

 clouds, head for a safe harbor. 



If you have to ride it out, be sure 

 you're wearing a personal flotation 

 device. The Coast Guard estimates 

 that 85 percent of the people who 

 drown each year would have lived if 

 they had been wearing personal flota- 

 tion devices. 



Gad Degani, a visiting scholar to 

 East Carolina University (ECU) from 

 Israel's MIGAL Galilee Technological 

 Research Center, will be working with 

 Sea Grant researcher Margie Lee 

 Gallagher to study the nutritional 

 needs of the American eel. Partially 

 supported by Sea Grant funds, Degani 

 will spend six months in the U.S. on a 

 post-doctoral fellowship. 



In Israel, Degani had begun study- 

 ing the possibility of using fermented 

 cow manure as a feed for eels. He will 

 continue his studies at ECU and at Sea 

 Grant's Aquaculture Research and 

 Demonstration Center in Aurora. 



The North Carolina 

 Humanities Committee 

 has awarded a $3000 

 grant to Lundie Spence, 

 Sea Grant's education 

 specialist, for one of her 

 summer workshops. The 

 grant will provide scholarships for 25 

 teachers and administrators to attend 

 "America's 400th Anniversary 

 Workshop" in Manteo, July 17-22. 

 The workshop will focus on the na- 

 tion's first colony — its culture and its 

 environment. 



The educators will collect native 

 foods, visit the site of the Elizabeth II 

 (a replica of an authentic 16th Century 

 ship), and explore the archaeological 

 digs that have provided historians 

 with clues about the lives of those 

 early settlers. 



The workshop is sponsored by Sea 

 Grant, the N.C. Department of Public 

 Instruction, the 400th Anniversary 

 Committee and the N.C. Marine 

 Resources Center at Roanoke Island. 



M any recreational 

 fishermen like to catch 

 enough shrimp to fill 

 their freezers. But they 

 have questions about 

 what size net to use, 

 what size otter boards or 

 doors are best for their nets, and what 

 horsepower motor yields the greatest 

 catch at the lowest fuel cost. Wayne 

 Wescott, a Sea Grant marine advisory 

 agent in Manteo, has written a 

 Blueprint that will help recreational 

 fishermen answer these questions. 

 Recreational Shrimping provides 

 some tips for rigging a recreational 

 boat for shrimping. 



For a free copy, write UNC Sea 

 Grant. Ask for UNC-SG-BP-83-2. 



Estimated Socio- Economic Im- 

 pact in North Carolina of a Short- 

 ened Menhaden Season, by Vito 

 Blomo, Michael Orbach and John 

 Maiolo of the East Carolina Univer- 



sity Department of Sociology, An- 

 thropology and Economics, explains 

 the impact of a recommendation that 

 would shorten the fishing season for 

 menhaden in North Carolina. The 

 recommendation was made to the N.C. 

 Marine Fisheries Commission by the 

 Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Com- 

 mission to reduce the fishing pressure 

 on menhaden, less than one year old, 

 which have not spawned. The ECU 

 team considered what changes the rec- 

 ommendation would have on fisher- 

 men and shoreside processing facilities. 



For a copy of this working paper, 

 write UNC Sea Grant. Ask for UNC- 

 SG-WP-83-04. The cost is $1.50. 



Understanding Septic Systems 

 a Blueprint written by Craig Cogger of 

 the North Carolina State University 

 Department of Soil Science, provides 

 the homeowner with an introductory 

 lesson into the operation of conven- 

 tional and "alternative" septic sys- 

 tems. Systems such as the low-pres- 

 sure pipe and mound systems can pro- 

 vide alternative waste treatment 

 methods in marginal soils, particularly 

 along the coast. 



For a free copy of this Blueprint, 

 write UNC Sea Grant. Ask for UNC- 

 SG-BP-83-1. 



Have you had a ques- 

 tion on coastal law 

 lately? Maybe you were 

 getting ready to build a 

 beachfront house and 

 the maze of regulations 

 and permits had you 

 confused. Walter Clark, Sea Grant's 

 new coastal law specialist, can tell you 

 what you need to know to get through 

 that maze. Clark comes to Sea Grant 

 from the Office of Coastal Manage- 

 ment where he's been in charge of the 

 Coastal Area Management Act 

 (CAMA) permit process. He holds a 

 law degree from Wake Forest Univer- 

 sity and a master's in regional plan- 

 ning from the University of North 

 Carolina at Chapel Hill. Each of his 



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