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). For copies of 

 publications , write UNC Sea 

 Grant, NCSU, Box 8605, Raleigh, 

 N.C. 27695-8605. 



When you get the 

 itch to spend some time 

 outdoors this summer, 

 don't forget about mos- 

 quitoes. On North 

 Carolina's coast, salt 

 marsh mosquitoes are 

 more numerous, more aggressive and 

 can fly longer ranges than inland 

 species. They'll also bite during the 

 day, says Nolan Newton, head of the 

 Vector Control Branch of the N.C. 

 Division of Health Services. 



Mosquito season varies each year 

 according to the weather, but usually 

 runs from April until October, says 

 Charles Apperson, an extension en- 

 tomologist at North Carolina State 

 University. Heavy rains and high tides 

 bring the potential for mosquitoes. 



"Adult female mosquitoes lay their 

 eggs in depressions in the salt marsh 

 that are going to be flooded by rains or 

 high tides," says Apperson. The eggs 

 hatch when these sites are flooded. 

 They quickly pass through several 

 aquatic life stages before becoming 

 adults. 



Thousands of mosquitoes can hatch 

 from such a brood, fly inland and dis- 

 perse. In six or seven days, the female 

 mosquito is mature enough to bite, 

 says Apperson. 



Mosquitoes bite us because they are 

 attracted to our body heat and the 

 moisture, vapor, carbon dioxide and 

 sweat in our skin, says Apperson. Only 

 the female bites because it needs to 



collect the proteins from blood to 

 produce eggs. When this is done, she 

 flies to the breeding site to lay her 

 eggs. 



Apperson recommends using 

 repellents to ward off these pesty in- 

 sects. He also suggests that coastal 

 property owners make sure they are 

 not inviting mosquitoes into their 

 homes. Repair screen doors and get rid 

 of standing water in gutters, pots, tires 

 and the like, he says. 



If you want to bring your dog or cat 

 along to the beach, use repellents on it, 

 too, says Newton. Dogs should be 

 given preventative heartworm 

 medicine and, if possible, be placed in a 

 mosquito-free shelter. 



Dave Hill, a Sea 

 Grant seafood technician 

 at the NCSU Seafood 

 Laboratory in Morehead 

 City, spends his time at 

 a drafting table, 

 sketching seafood plants. 

 He makes line drawings of new plant 

 layouts and expansions of old plants. 

 Lately, Hill has noticed more of his 

 sketches turning into reality. 



For example, in 1982 and 1983, 21 

 companies asked the Seafood Lab for 

 help. Hill supplied them with line 

 drawings of crab plants, oyster shuck- 

 ing houses, freezer plants and retail 

 markets. Of the 21, seven plants are 

 completed and operating with an es- 

 timated new employment of 300 peo- 

 ple. And, three more plants are under 

 construction. When they are com- 

 pleted, about 130 more jobs will be 

 open. 



If you'd like to contact Hill or any of 

 the Sea Grant staff at the Seafood Lab, 

 write NCSU Seafood Laboratory, P.O. 

 Drawer 1137, Morehead City, N.C. 

 28557, or call 919/726-7341. 



The Effects of Salinity on the 

 Potential of a Blue-Green Algal 

 (Microcystis aeruginosa) Bloom in 

 the Neuse River Estuary, N.C., by 

 Hans W. Paerl, Patricia T. Bland, Jef- 



frey H. Blackwell and N. Dean 

 Bowles, all of the UNC Institute of 

 Marine Sciences, examines the 

 saltwater tolerance for the major 

 bloom-forming nuisance species of 

 blue-green algae in the Neuse River. 

 The study also looks at the algae's 

 ability to survive and proliferate in the 

 marine environment. 



For a copy of this working paper, 

 write to UNC Sea Grant. Ask for 

 UNC-SG-WP-84-1. The cost is $1.25. 



Mini -grant funds have been award- 

 ed to John Maiolo, an East Carolina 

 University sociologist, to study the 

 social and economic impacts resulting 

 from growth in the North Carolina 

 crab fishery. 



This state ranks third on the Atlan- 

 tic Coast in blue crab production. 

 Pamlico Sound has yielded about 10 

 million pounds of crabs annually since 

 1970. And since 1978, North Carolina 

 fishermen have landed record catches 

 of blue crabs. 



But the growth of the fishery hasn't 

 been without its problems. Maiolo will 

 analyze the conflicts among fishermen, 

 the competition for space and the ef- 

 fects of changes in stock availability as 

 a result of the growing fishery. 



The waterway is 

 crowded. Droves of 

 swimmers ride the waves 

 as big and little boats 

 whiz by them. Who has 

 the right to use this 

 waterway? Everyone. 

 The laws concerning such rights on 

 North Carolina's waterways are com- 

 plicated. And the problems may be 

 getting worse with increased coastal 

 development, says Walter Clark, UNC 

 Sea Grant's coastal law specialist. 



These laws, or public trust rights, 

 are "the rights that you have as a 

 citizen of the state to use state 

 property," says Clark. This property 



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