COASTAL 



TIDINGS 



18 Fishery Resource Grants Awarded 



Eighteen new projects have been 

 selected for the North Carolina Fishery 

 Resource Grant Program (FRG) in 

 response to a second solicitation for 

 proposals in 1999. 



The grants, totaling over $400,000, 

 are diverse — ranging from studies on 

 non-native catfish in the Cape Fear River 

 to the impact of pesticides on blue crabs. 



The FRG program was the first of its 

 kind in the United States. Its premise is 

 that innovative ideas for management of 

 coastal resources are likely to arise from 

 the intuition and knowledge of people 

 who make a living on or near the water. 

 The North Carolina program has been 

 modeled by other states such as Virginia, 

 which now has a similar program in 

 place, and Georgia, which is considering 

 its own program. 



North Carolina Fishery Resource 

 Grants target commercial and recre- 

 ational fishers, seafood processors, and 

 others either involved in fishing indus- 

 tries or who have participation or support 

 from industry representatives. 



Recipients often work along with 

 academic researchers to increase the 

 scientific validity of the projects, 



fostering a valuable liaison between 

 scientific and fishing communities. 



The N.C. General Assembly 

 provides funds for the FRG program, 

 which is administered by North Carolina 

 Sea Grant. The legislature reformulated 

 the grant selection committee in 1999 to 

 include representatives from the N.C. 

 Marine Fisheries Commission and its 

 advisory panels, the N.C. Division of 

 Marine Fisheries, and North Carolina 

 Sea Grant. 



Since the creation of the program in 

 1994, more than 170 projects from all 

 regions of the North Carolina coast have 

 been funded. 



"Fm pleased with the outcome of 

 the second solicitations and look forward 

 to continued improvement of the FRG 

 program for the upcoming year," says 

 Steve Olson, former associate director for 

 outreach for North Carolina Sea Grant. 



Forty-six proposals for the FRG 

 2000 program were received in January. 

 For more information, call the Sea Grant 

 office in Raleigh at 919/515-2454, or 

 check the Web at www.ncsu.edu/ 

 seagrant and follow the research link to 

 the FRG pages. - C.H.V. 



Prestigious Knauss Fellowships 



Huggler is completing a master's degree in environmental 

 management at Duke's School of the Environment. His research focuses 

 on the success of partnerships between the public and private sectors in 

 preserving wetlands and estuaries. He is assigned to the House Resources 

 Subcommittee on Wildlife, Fisheries and Oceans. 



Lyons is pursuing two graduate degrees — a master's in regional 

 planning at UNC-CH and a master's of environmental management at 

 Duke's School of the Environment. He is the first student to work on 

 both degrees simultaneously. He has been assigned to the Federal 

 Emergency Management Agency. 



Elizabeth Nicholson is completing a master's degree in environ- 

 mental management at Duke's School of the Environment. She is 

 focusing her graduate studies on marine ecosystems and U.S. fishery 

 policy. She has been assigned to the National Oceanic and Atmo- 

 spheric Administration's National Ocean Service, Coastal Ocean 

 Program, where she will be working on a national initiative on marine 



Elizabeth E. Nicholson protected areas. — A.C 



Parti 



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Paddlers' Survey 



The North Carolina Coastal 

 Plain Paddle Trails Initiative is 

 working with coastal communi- 

 ties to develop a paddle trail 

 network for the state's coastal 

 plain waters. The initiative is a 

 partnership among North 

 Carolina Sea Grant, the N.C. 

 Division of Parks and Recreation, 

 and the nonprofit Partnership for 

 the Sounds. 



To better understand 

 paddlers' needs, the group is 

 working with North Carolina 

 State University to conduct a mail 

 survey. The study will determine 

 what attracts paddlers to eastern 

 North Carolina, the infrastructure 

 needed, and the economic impact 

 of paddling activities. 



Anyone who has kayaked or 

 canoed in the coastal plain within 

 the last year, can participate. 

 Surveys will be sent to randomly 

 selected persons on the database. 

 Survey respondents will be eligible 

 for a drawing for a free Wilder- 

 ness Systems kayak. 



To participate, call North 

 Carolina Sea Grant coastal 

 recreation and tourism specialist 

 JackThigpen at 252/441-3663 or 

 e-mail: jthigpen@pinn.net. -A.G. 



icipants 

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COASTWATCH 5 



