FROM THE EDITOR 



A Silver Year 



To 



I urning 25? I guess your reaction depends on 

 your perspective. 



When I was in my late teens, I recall 

 decorating a coworker's desk in dreary colors and 

 emphasizing the quarter-century mark as being a 

 milestone of aging. And in today's dot.com world 

 of teenage entrepreneurs, that feeling may be 

 heightened. 



Today, though, I look at 25 as a time of 

 adventure, when the sky is the limit. Yet it is also a 

 time to build a plan and see it through. 



So, what does it mean that the North Carolina 

 Sea Grant College Program is turning 25? Once 

 again the interpretation may vary. 



On the one hand, the program has the 

 perspective of seeing the state — and our coast in 

 particular — move through a period of tremendous 

 growth. 



Yet ahead of us, we have the opportunities of not just the new 

 century, but also this new millennium. 



And so this year is one of both celebration and challenge. 



Later this year, we will offer an entire issue that traces the North 

 Carolina Sea Grant College Program from its official start — the 

 plaque on our wall has a memorable date: July 1976 — to the present 



Now, some of you with especially sharp memories are undoubt- 

 edly ready to pick up the phone or sign onto e-mail to offer me, a 

 relative newcomer to Sea Grant, a slight correction. Of course, you 

 remember Sea Grant projects back in the early 1970s. 



And yes, you are right. The first Sea Grant projects in North 

 Carolina were funded in 1970 through an institutional grant, with a 

 primary focus on commercial fisheries and seafood processing. 



Because of the success of those early projects, North Carolina's 

 program was elevated to a Sea Grant College Program in 1976. In the 

 years since, the program has expanded to consider additional areas, 

 including water quality, erosion, coastal law and policy, recreation 

 and tourism, marine education, and aquaculture. 



Our "Sea Grant College" title has confused some outsiders, who 

 think that we are a degree-granting institution. Rather, the title is 

 recognition that the program fulfills all of the multiple aspects of the 



National Sea Grant College Program's mission: 

 research, education, extension and communications. 



While our administrative office is at North 

 Carolina State University, the program is not limited 

 to this campus. Sea Grant is part of the University of 

 North Carolina system, and thus can support 

 projects in any of the 16 institutions. Through a 

 consortium agreement, we also work with Duke 

 University, which has had its Marine Laboratory in 

 Beaufort for decades. Our Morehead City office is 

 in NC State's new Center for Marine Sciences and 

 Technology. Our Wilmington office is in the 

 University of North Carolina at Wilmington's 

 Center for Marine Science, and our Manteo office 

 operates through East Carolina University's Institute 

 for Coastal and Marine Research. 



We are planning our special issue, but we 

 already have one exciting product: a new brochure that describes the 

 North Carolina Sea Grant program. If you are a new reader — perhaps 

 you received a Coastwatch subscription as a holiday gift — the 

 brochure will acquaint you with the program. If you are an old friend, 

 you'll appreciate the photos of staff members in the field — or, more 

 likely, in or near the water — and a discussion of recent projects. 



The challenge of this year will be the update of our North 

 Carolina Sea Grant strategic plan. Director Ron Hodson and Associate 

 Director Steve Rebach have been meeting with researchers around the 

 state, seeking their input. We're also seeking guidance from our 

 Outreach Advisory Board and Ad-Hoc Research Advisory Board, 

 both of which have representatives from state and local government 

 and coastal business and community interests. 



The current plan is posted on the Web at www.ncsu.edu/seagrant. 

 Take a few moments on a cold winter day to read it over. Then send 

 me a note or an e-mail with your thoughts on the issues Sea Grant 

 should be addressing as we move into our next quarter-century. 



And, if you are planning some major house or office cleaning this 

 winter or spring, keep an eye out for old photos of Sea Grant staffers 

 and researchers at work. I am sure we can find some way to put those 

 images to good use — especially if they have mod haircuts from the 

 1970s or a touch of disco fever from the 1980s. 



Katie Mosher, Managing Editor 



CONTRIBUTORS 



Writers: 



Ann Green D Katie Mosher D Pam Smith D Cynthia Henderson Vega 



Photographers: 



Rebecca Dunning Q Mark Hooper Herman Lankford ° Katie Mosher D Pam Smith D Scott D. Taylor D Sheri Thomas 



