Coastwatch 



Managing Editor 

 Katie Mosher 



Senior Editors 

 Ann Green 

 Pam Smith 



Designer 

 Linda Noble 



Circulation Manager 

 Sandra Harris 



The North Carolina Sea Grant College 

 Program is a federal/state program that 

 promotes the wise use of our coastal and 

 marine resources through research, extension 

 and education. It joined the National Sea Grant 

 College Network in 1970 as an institutional 

 program. Six years later, it was designated a 

 Sea Grant College. Today, North Carolina Sea 

 Grant supports several research projects, 

 a 12-member extension program and a 

 communications staff. Ron Hodson is director. 

 The program is funded by the U.S. Department 

 of Commerce's National Oceanic and 

 Atmospheric Administration and the state 

 through the University of North Carolina. 

 Coastwatch (ISSN 1068-784X) is published 

 bimonthly, six times a year, for $15 by the 

 North Carolina Sea Grant College Program, 

 North Carolina State University, Box 8605, 

 Raleigh, North Carolina 27695-8605. 

 Telephone: 919/515-2454. Fax: 919/515-7095. 

 E-mail: kmosher@unity.ncsu.edu. 

 World Wide Web address: 

 http://www2.ncsu.edu/sea_granl/seagrant.htinl. 

 Periodical Postage paid at Raleigh, N.C. 



POSTMASTER: Send address changes to 



Coastwatch, North Carolina Sea Grant, 

 North Carolina State University, Box 8605, 

 Raleigh, NC 27695-8605. 



Front cover photo of aquaculture 

 oyster beds and table of contents 

 photo of traditional tonging for 

 oysters by Scott D. Taylor. 



Printed on recycled paper. ® 



COASTAL 



TIDINGS 



NC State Faculty Honored with Scholarship 



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122* 1' 



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Retired NC 

 State University 

 faculty members 

 Frank and Rachel 

 Thomas have been 

 honored with an 

 undergraduate 

 scholarship 

 endowment at the 

 university. 



The Frank 

 Bancroft and 

 Rachel Kirby 

 (Kinlaw) Thomas 



Food Science and Family and Consumer 

 Scholarship will provide support to 

 undergraduate students studying food 

 science or nutrition. Priority will be given to 

 students from areas where seafood and 

 freshwater fisheries are important. 



The scholarship endowment was 

 announced recently at the 5th Joint Meeting 

 of the Atlantic Fisheries Technology 

 Conference and Tropical and Subtropical 

 Seafood Science and Technology Society of 

 the Americas' banquet in Atlantic Beach. 



Frank Thomas, chair of the North 

 Carolina Sea Grant Outreach Advisory 

 Board, began his career at NC State in 1958 

 as an assistant professor in food science and 

 a food processing extension specialist. 

 While working at the university, Thomas 

 developed the Coastal Seafood Processing 

 Program and facilities that later became the 

 NC State Seafood Lab. The program, 

 together with one proposed by East Carolina 

 University, formed the North Carolina Sea 



Rachel and Frank Thomas 



Grant marine 

 extension 

 program. 



After retiring, 

 Thomas helped 

 secure legislative 

 funding to 

 construct the NC 

 State University 

 Center for Marine 

 Sciences and 

 Technology 

 (CMAST) in 

 Morehead City. 

 A Sea Grant field office also will be 

 located in this facility, expected to be 

 completed in May. 



Rachel Thomas worked in the N.C. 

 Cooperative Extension Service from 1951 

 until her retirement in 1989. As an extension 

 agent, she initiated the "Best Food Buys" 

 Teletip (telephone) service that ran bi- 

 monthly for 10 years. She also developed 

 statewide educational programs to help 

 families improve their nutritional status and 

 make the most of their food dollars. 



After her retirement from NC State, 

 she developed special food and nutrition 

 products for the extension service. 



Contributions are being accepted to help 

 build the endowment. Make checks payable 

 to the Frank B. and Rachel Thomas 

 Endowment, and send to N.C. Agricultural 

 Foundation, NC State, Box 7645, Raleigh, 

 NC 27695-7645. For additional information, 

 send e-mail inquiries to Dave_Green@ 

 ncsu.edu or call 252/726-7341 . - A.G. 



In the Next Issue of Coastwatch 



When North Carolina's dogwoods bloom, the first shad and herring can't be 

 far behind, swimming up the rivers to spawn. For centuries, fishing communities 

 along the Cape Fear, Neuse, Roanoke and Chowan Rivers have depended on 

 these anadromous fish for food and profit. Join Renee Wolcott Shannon as she 

 explores the past, present and uncertain future of this once-lucrative fishery. In 

 addition, fossils will reveal stories of coastal North Carolina's past, thanks to a 

 sneak preview of the new North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. Walk with 

 Pam Smith along a prehistoric time line to discover the prevalent flora and fauna. 



2 WINTER 2000 



