Carolina had shown three years of Sea 

 Grant excellence. In July 1976, the program 

 received full Sea Grant College Program 

 status — and a new budget of $1 million. 



Coastal Challenges 



It was an exciting time, not only for 

 Sea Grant, but for other coastal programs as 

 well. The marine science centers evolved 

 into the N.C. Aquariums. And the state was 



Coastal erosion and construction 

 specialist Spencer Rogers led early efforts 



to promote dune vegetation. File Phou h\ Alien Weiss 



working closely with the federal Coastal 

 Plains Regional Commission, an agency 

 from the War on Poverty. 



North Carolina's coast, with its string 

 of barrier islands, was beginning to see 

 tourist opportunities — but Jones and 

 others did not want the result to be the 

 sprawl of Virginia Beach or Myrtle Beach. 



"We wanted to be more upscale," he 

 says, pointing to the aquariums as attrac- 

 tions that could focus attention on the 

 coastal ecosystems. "We had a concern 

 about economic development. We wanted 

 development consistent with the environ- 

 ment," Jones explains. 



In addition, they saw Sea Grant's 

 applied research and extension programs as 

 offering new opportunities for sustained 



economic development. Jones points to 

 aquaculture, or fish farming. "What do you 

 do Down East when you can't rely on 

 tobacco anymore? We looked at marine 

 research as a source of employment, 

 tourism and recreation," Jones says. "We 

 did some good thinking." 



And the state benefited through the 

 years. For example, Sea Grant research led 

 to the development of pond-based hybrid 



Consumer seafood safety specialist 

 Joyce Taylor developed countless 



reCipeS. File Ptiolo by Cassie Griffin 



striped bass aquaculture that is now a 

 multimillion-dollar industry that has drawn 

 national and international acclaim. "Ron 

 Hodson translated good science into 

 practical husbandry that led to hybrid 

 striped bass as an industry," Copeland says. 



Copeland, too, had the strong 

 scientific background and could connect 

 with the public. "He's not only a good 

 scientist, he is a good people person. He 

 could talk to the fishermen. He could talk to 

 the scientists. He could talk to the budget 

 folks at the legislature. We all worked 

 together," Jones said. 



Rickards recalls a reception in 

 Morehead City. After a short social period, 

 Copeland stood up and introduced each of 

 the 80 or 85 people in the room. "The fact 

 that he could do that and remember 

 everyone is amazing," Rickards says. 



Copeland was equally adept at 

 growing a staff. "The best thing we did is 

 hire good people," he says. 



For example, as extension director, 



Jim Murray was always developing new 

 projects. "Jim has tremendous people skills. 

 He could get our staff to do new things and 

 relate to clientele on all levels." 



David Duane, who monitored the North 

 Carolina progress as a program officer in the 

 National Sea Grant office and later served as 

 national director, remembers the eclectic 

 nature of the North Carolina program, 

 including work with fisheries, dune and 



Aquaculture researchers included, from 

 left, Ronald Hodson, Ed Noga, Mel Huish, 

 Margie Gallagher, Howard Kerby and 



Randy Roush. File Photo by Allen Weiss 



marsh grasses, and coastal zone manage- 

 ment. And there was seafood technology. 



"I used to chuckle about croaker 

 bologna," he recalls. "But they were creating 

 products from underutilized species." 



In fact, underutilized species were the 

 topic of a number of studies, not just in food 

 science, but in social sciences as well. Those 

 studies resulted in award-winning publica- 

 tions, a television program and countless 

 presentations. 



"The project led to a real and measur- 

 able change in people's attitudes and 

 behaviors towards traditionally unwanted 

 trash fish," explains sociologist Jeff Johnson 

 from ECU. 



A key to North Carolina's "well-oiled 

 machine," Duane says, was a series of Sea 

 Grant liaisons at various campuses, and 

 outreach to both communities and federal 

 agencies, including the U.S. Army Corps of 

 Engineers and the National Park Service. 



And North Carolina research work was 

 Cont i n u e d 



COASTWATCH 17 



