FROM THE EDITOR 



Defining Sea Grant 



You would think it's a simple task: Define 

 Sea Grant in a sentence or two. 



But, as one colleague explained, it is like 

 being pushed forward by your mother, as she 

 says, "Tell the nice people what you do." It can 

 get you tongue-tied even if you love your job. 



Putting all of the North Carolina Sea Grant 

 programs into a quick identification is tough 

 enough, considering the variety of missions — 

 research, education and outreach. Then add in the 

 spectrum of topics — commercial and recre- 

 ational fisheries, aquaculture and mariculture, law 

 and policy, erosion and coastal construction, 

 recreation and tourism, water quality, marine 

 education, seafood technology, etc. 



Now consider the entire National Sea Grant 

 College Program that serves Atlantic and Pacific coasts, the Gulf 

 and the Great Lakes' states, as well as programs in Hawaii and 

 Puerto Rico, and projects in Pacific islands. Some focus on 

 fisheries. Others consider ports and urban issues their strength and 

 rarely deal with fish. 



During recent national Sea Grant Week meetings, we 

 discussed the Sea Grant identity — and determined that our history 

 of successful projects in coastal communities has "branded" the 

 program, to use a hot phrase from the marketing realm. 



While the Sea Grant Association has adopted the phrase 

 "Science Serving America's Coasts," the communicators network 

 will continue fine-tuning descriptions and other efforts to identify 

 the overall Sea Grant program. 



A few years back, the national program adopted a "graphic 

 identity" that uses a seabird in flight over the words: Sea Grant. 

 The logo — used by all the state programs and the national office 

 — lets you recognize a report, brochure or video as part of the 

 wider Sea Grant program. 



So, if you travel to Galveston, Texas and find rip current 

 information in your hotel room, the Sea Grant logo assures you 

 that you can trust the information. Or, when teachers or students 



are doing online searches about lobsters or 

 stormwater run-off, they quickly recognize the 

 Sea Grant sites as providing sound science. 



Sea Grant Week also offered a chance to 

 review the progress on a national effort known as 

 theme teams. The themes — including urban 

 coasts, coastal ecosystems and habitats, coastal 

 hazards and seafood technology — show that 

 much of our work has impact beyond our state 

 line or geographic region. 



For example, a Connecticut Sea Grant 

 project that translates satellite information into 

 programs used by local officials may be quickly 

 adapted for use in West Coast states. Our efforts 

 to restore urban streams as an initial step to 

 improve coastal water quality can be translated to 

 Great Lakes states. For more information on the national themes 

 for Sea Grant, please send me an e-mail at katiejnosher@ncsu.edu 

 or call me at 919/515-9069. 



Earlier I spoke of the trust that you can have in products from 

 across the Sea Grant network. Indeed it is a vast array — from 

 bookmarks to interactive online curricula, from videos that 

 entertain while teaching to newsletters that keep folks up-to-date. 



Among that strong competition, Coastwatch is honored to 

 have received another "People's Choice" award for best magazine, 

 as determined by those attending the meeting. We tied with Texas 

 Shores, by, of course, Texas Sea Grant. The judges' blue ribbon 

 winner in the category was Coast and Sea by Louisiana Sea Grant. 



And probably the greater honor was found in the numerous 

 comments from folks who not only glanced at the magazine during 

 the voting, but in fact are regular readers who recall specific stories 

 of interest. In this busy world, to know that readers make time to 

 read Coastwatch is indeed an honor. 



In closing, I take a moment to note the passing of David 

 Lawrence of Harkers Island. A wildlife artist, he was co-founder of 

 the Core Sound Decoy Carvers Guild and the Core Sound 

 Waterfowl Museum. Our sympathies go to his family and friends. 



Katie Mosher, Managing Editor 



CONTRIBUTORS 



Writers: 



Ann Green D Katie Mosher n Pam Smith D Cynthia Henderson 



Photographers: 



Andy Fisher D Michael Halminski a Herman Lankford D Julie Robinson 

 AlinaSzmant D Ken Taylor D Scott D. Taylor D Danielle Waples 



