COASTAL 



TIDINGS 



Sound Country Celebration 

 at Edenton 



Chowan 

 River 



Celebrate the natural and cultural 

 resources of the Albemarle area with the 

 first Sound Country Celebration in 

 Edenton Nov. 

 14-15. More 

 than a good 

 time, this 

 festival raises 

 money to protect 

 the region's 

 ecologically 

 significant lands 

 and to support 

 small businesses 

 engaged in eco- 

 tourism. 



The 

 celebration will 

 feature canoe 

 and kayak races 



sponsored by North Carolina's Canoe 

 Racing Association (anybody can enter), 

 demonstrations by paddle-powered 

 watercraft, regional arts and crafts, 

 interpretive canoe outings, raffles, 

 daylong music, educational booths, 

 food vendors and contests. 



Activities Nov. 14 will concentrate 

 along the Edenton waterfront with 

 guided canoe and kayak outings on 



Hertford 4 



32 



US 

 17 



Perquimans 



NC 



Albemarle 

 Sound 



Pembroke Creek, Queen Ann Creek 

 and Bennetts Millpond. The Nov. 15 

 activities include outings on Bennetts 

 Millpond and 

 demonstrations 

 of "old-timey" 

 farm equip- 

 ment at the 

 Albemarle 

 Recreation 

 Center. 



The event 

 is sponsored 

 by the N.C. 

 Coastal Waters 

 Heritage 

 Council, the 

 town of Edenton, 

 Chowan County, 

 N.C. Division 

 of Parks & Recreation, Trestle House 

 Inn, Albemarle Recreation Center, 

 Albemarle Resource Conservation 

 and Development, Chowan/Edenton 

 Chamber of Commerce and Pro-Canoe 

 of Raleigh. 



For information, call Nancy 

 Nicholls at 1-800/775-01 11, Peter L. 

 Bogus at 252/482-2282 or Rodney 

 Johnson at 252/482-7437. □ — J.F.N. 



us 



64 



Phelps 

 Lake 



En Garde! 



Like skinny torpedoes, needlefish race through the water in search of dinner. 

 Their long beaks and tiny, razor-sharp teeth are perfect for snatching small fish. 



These surface-dwellers range from about 2 feet to more than 



4 feet long. Their fins are set far back on their bodies, , — ^"|»> 



and they sport a lateral line from head to tail. 



They are magnificent — 

 and dangerous — ^cS^^ ^A. 

 jumpers. On occasion, 



needlefish have impaled people, causing injury or death. 



Three species inhabit the waters off North Carolina's 

 coast: the flat needlefish, the Atlantic ^^ Zyf 

 needlefish and the houndfish ^ ■"•^ES^^?. _ A/ 



— D.D. 



Fishery 

 Resource 

 Grants 

 Awarded 



Th e state has awarded more 

 than $743,000 in research grants 

 that will allow people who are 

 interested in fishery resources to 

 test their ideas about improving 

 those resources. 



Twenty of the 53 proposals 

 were funded. Altogether, the 

 applicants requested more than 

 $2 million. 



The Fishery Resource Grant 

 Program is based on the premise 

 that people who are involved in 

 fishery resources have some of the 

 best insight into how to improve 

 the industry and the habitats. 

 Grant recipients must be involved 

 in commercial or recreational 

 fishing, aquaculture or maricul- 

 ture, or seafood handling, or they 

 must have endorsements from 

 those industries and substantial 

 involvement with them. 



The program is funded by 

 the North Carolina legislature 

 and administered by North 

 Carolina Sea Grant, which 

 oversees the competitive applica- 

 tion process. The state Marine 

 Fisheries Commission makes the 

 final funding decisions. This 

 summer was the first time grants 

 were awarded twice in one year. 

 Earlier this year, $41 6,400 was 

 awarded to 1 9 projects. 



If the program is funded for 

 1 999, the next opportunity to 

 apply for a Fishery Resource 

 Grant will come this fall. For 

 information, call Sea Grant at 

 919/515-2454. ® — D.S.B. 



COASTWATCH 



