Coastwatch 



Senior Editors: 

 Daun Daemon 

 Jeannie Fans Norris 



Designer: 

 Linda Noble 



Marketing Coordinator: 

 Elizabeth Burke 



Circulation Manager: 

 Sandra Harris 



The North Carolina Sea Grant College 

 Program is a federal/state program that 

 promotes the wise use of our coastal and 

 marine resources through research, extension 

 and education. It joined the National Sea Grant 

 College Network in 1970 as an institutional 

 program. Six years later, it was designated a 

 Sea Grant College. Today, North Carolina Sea 

 Grant supports several research projects, 

 a 1 2-member extension program and a 

 communications staff. Ron Hodson is interim 

 director. The program is funded by the U.S. 

 Department of Commerce's National Oceanic 

 and Atmospheric Administration and the state 

 through the University of North Carolina. 

 Coastwatch (ISSN 1068-784X) is published 

 bimonthly, six times a year, for $15 by the 

 North Carolina Sea Grant College Program, 

 Box 8605, North Carolina State University. 

 Raleigh, North Carolina 27695-8605. 

 Telephone: 919/515-2454. Fax: 919/515-7095. 

 E-mail: faris @unity. ncsu.edu or 

 ddaemon@unity.ncsu.edu. 

 World Wide Web address: 

 http://www2.ncsu.edu/sea_grant/seagrant.html. 

 Periodical Postage paid at Raleigh, N.C. 



POSTMASTER: Send address changes to 



Coastwatch, North Carolina Sea Grant, 

 Box 8605, North Carolina State University, 

 Raleigh, NC 27695-8605. 



Front cover photo of sushi. 



Table of contents photo of 

 "Mending Nets: Noonday Glare, " 

 a serigraph by Claude Howell. 



Printed on recycled paper. ® 



COASTAL 



TIDINGS 



Studying Bluefin Tuna 



Recreational fishers know that the 

 waters off Cape Hatteras are a hot spot 

 for bluefin tuna, which gather there 

 from January till March. Scientists 

 now see the area as a hot spot for 

 research on the migratory 

 patterns of the fish, which can 

 live 30 years, exceed 10 feet 

 in length and weigh up to 

 1 ,200 pounds. "Scien- 

 tists are excited because 

 the fish are here in such 

 high numbers," says Jim 

 Bahen, North Carolina Sea 

 Grant marine extension agent 



Researchers believe that 

 bluefin tuna in the Atlantic 

 are divided into two families, 

 but they do not know if the stocks 

 intermingle. A team from Stanford 

 University, the National Underwater 

 Research Center, the Monterey Bay 

 Aquarium and the National 

 Marine Fisheries Service 

 recently began studying 

 bluefin tuna off Cape Hatteras 

 Local charter boats and many recreational 

 big-game anglers cooperated with the 



team and helped tag and release over 

 3,000 tuna in the 1996 season. 



The study's results may help 

 managers decide whether North 

 Carolina should establish a commer- 

 cial bluefin fishery. Because the 

 fish are so valuable — bringing as 

 much as $30 a pound — strict 

 regulations aim to keep 

 stocks healthy. Currently, 

 the federal government 

 permits only recreational hook- 

 and-line fishing for bluefin. 



Preliminary figures show that 

 recreational bluefin tuna fishing 

 has an annual $30 million to $40 

 million economic impact for 

 Outer Banks towns, says Bahen, 

 who organizes bluefin tuna 

 workshops. Not only do charter boat 

 companies reap the benefits, he notes, 

 but local restaurants and hotels turn 

 a large profit during a time of 

 year when business was 

 traditionally slow. Says Bahen, 

 "A sleepy village on the Outer 

 Banks has now become a world-class 

 fishing spot." m 



In the Next Issue of Coastwatch 



At certain places on the North Carolina coast, history, culture, 

 natural beauty and lore meet to transcend mere geography. Starting in 

 the next issue of Coastwatch, a new series on these coastal landmarks, 

 written by Eddie Nickens and photographed by Scott Taylor, shows the 

 soul of the North Carolina coast. The first stop is at "The Hook," the 

 sandy spit of Cape Lookout where humans and nature often seem at 

 odds. Whaling history, fly-fishing, the birth of a national park, working a 

 long-haul net — you'll cover it all. Future excursions will take you to "The 

 Ditch" (the Intracoastal Waterway), "The Point" (Cape Hatteras), "The 

 Stream" (the Gulf Stream), "The Inlet" (Oregon Inlet) and "The Reef 

 (alongside the Outer Banks). 



Also in the next issue, Odile Fredericks explains how the Coastal 

 Waters Heritage Tourism Council works to boost boating tourism with 

 water trails to historic and cultural sites along the coast. In another 

 article, Fredericks looks at a new state law that will allow coastal towns to 

 build over public waters along their historic waterfronts. □ 



2 WINTER I99H 



