COASTAL 



TIDINGS 



Fish Farming 

 Focus 



Learn more about the 

 expanding aquaculture 

 opportunities in North Carolina 

 during a special field day 

 program Sept. 30. 



The event will be from 9 

 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Vanguard 

 Fish Farm in Chocowinity. The 

 location is off U.S. 17 on Fire 

 Tower Road in Beaufort 

 County. 



The focus will be on 

 current operations for hybrid 

 striped bass and catfish 

 farming. Participants will see 

 demonstrations of holding tank 

 systems and a portable in-pond 

 grader — and the use of border 

 collies to control birds. 



Discussions also will 

 include the potential for yellow 

 perch and flounder aquacul- 

 ture, including updates on the 

 latest research from North 

 Carolina Sea Grant. 



For more information, 

 contact Steve Gabel at 252/ 

 482-8431 or Mike Frinsko at 

 252/757-2802. -K.M. 



Fisheries Report Card 



ft rricane Floyd prevented some 

 fishers from catching fish — 1999 saw the 

 smallest seafood harvest in 26 years. But 

 the storm apparently had minimal impact 

 on the overall health of North Carolina's 

 fish stocks last year. 



The N.C. Division of Marine 

 Fisheries (DMF) 1999 annual stock 

 report, released in July, indicates that 

 several important coastal fisheries are on 

 the road to recovery. Of the 39 stocks 

 listed in the DMF report, 12 are listed as 

 "viable" and "recovering," eight are listed 

 as "concerned" and 10 are listed as 

 "overfished." 



Finfish are showing 

 most improved signs, 

 the report says. While 

 red drum, the state 

 saltwater fish, still is 

 listed as "overfished," 

 several good years' 

 classes are making 

 their way into the 

 spawning stock. Weakfish 

 and summer flounder continue 

 strong recoveries. 



Among the "viable" stocks are 

 Atlantic menhaden, dolphin, spotted sea 



trout, striped bass in the Albemarle and 

 ocean, and shrimp. 



On the "concerned" list are Atlantic 

 croaker, black sea bass, striped mullet, reef 

 fish, bay scallops, oysters and crabs. 



Among the "overfished" are black sea 

 bass north of Hatteras, monkfish, river 

 herring in the Albemarle, Atlantic sturgeon 

 and spiny dogfish. 



Bay scallops were downgraded from 

 "viable" to "concerned" due to several 

 poor spawning seasons. Oysters were 

 reclassified from "overfished" to "con- 

 cerned." Habitat disturbances, water 

 quality and disease play as 

 much of a role in the status 

 of oysters as overfishing, 

 the report says. 



DMF director 

 Preston Pate attributes 

 improvements to 

 "important strides North 

 Carolina has made in 

 fisheries management over 

 the years." 



Fisheries management plans 

 map out long-term management 

 strategies for the state's economically 

 important species. - P.S. 



llhiSirauon h\- John Norton 



22 Fishery 

 Resource Grants 

 Awarded 



octopus become a common 

 catch for Tar Heel fishing vessels? And 

 how many bottlenose dolphins call the 

 bays and sounds of North Carolina 

 home? 



Some curious North Carolinians 

 want to know. With support from the 

 North Carolina Fishery Resource Grant 

 Program (FRG), they plan to find out. 

 More than $600,000 has been awarded 

 this year to people looking for new ways 



to improve or protect the state's coastal 

 resources and fishing industries. 



Research topics reflect the varied 

 concerns of coastal industries — ranging 

 from the exotic to more commonplace 

 problems, such as how to handle seafood 

 safely or how to bring in lots of an intended 

 catch while leaving other species unharmed. 



Twenty-two research proposals were 

 accepted in the first round of FRG funding 

 this year. Additional proposals received in 

 June are now under review. Proposals for 

 the 2001 cycle will be due Dec. 1 , 2000. 



The FRG program has been a model 

 for other states. Its premise is that the 

 people who make a living from the water are 

 likely to have unique ideas regarding coastal 



4 



AUTUMN 2000 



