Dermo, which may inhibit the oyster 

 from producing the oxygen compounds 

 it needs to defend itself. 



Other environmental factors may 

 also affect the oyster's susceptibility to 

 Dermo. Maryland scientists learned in 

 lab studies that tributyltin, a bottom 

 paint for protecting boat hulls, increased 

 the oyster's likelihood of infection. 

 Comparable results were found at 

 VIMS when scientists tested the effects 

 of polyaromatic hydrocarbons, a by- 

 product of fossil-fuel combustion that 

 accumulates in estuarine sediments. 



Tackling the problem from a differ- 

 ent angle, another group of scientists 

 from VIMS, Rutgers and the University 

 of Maryland is working with Maryland 

 Sea Grant shellfish specialist Don 

 Meritt to use genetic breeding tech- 

 niques to rear strains of oysters resistant 

 to Dermo and MSX. Already, scientists 

 have reared MSX-resistant stocks. 

 These stocks have also been subjected 

 to 1 8 months of Dermo exposure. Now 

 scientists are placing the specially bred 

 oysters in floating trays in the Choptank 

 River in Maryland and Mobjack Bay in 

 Virginia. They will compare their 

 growth and disease resistance with local 

 oysters. Surviving oysters will be sent 

 back to the lab for breeding. 



Dermo struck Chesapeake Bay and 

 North Carolina estuaries hard in the late 

 1980s. But it's been prevalent in the 

 Gulf of Mexico since 1950. Because of 

 the prolonged exposure to the parasite, 

 Gulf stocks of the Eastern Oyster may 

 have developed natural immunities that 

 don't exist in mid-Atlantic stocks. By 

 further testing the susceptibility of Gulf 

 stocks and analyzing their DNA, scien- 

 tists are hoping to locate a genetic 

 marker to identify resistance. 



• Adapted from an article written 

 by Merrill Leflerfor Marine Notes, a 

 publication of the Maryland Sea Grant 

 College Program. 



Ocean-Fresh Flavor 



What makes saltwater fish taste 

 different from freshwater fish? 



A University of Wisconsin Sea 

 Grant researcher knows the answer. 

 He is investigating what makes fish 

 have an ocean-fresh flavor. 



Food scientist Robert Lindsay 

 says he hopes to improve the con- 

 sumer appeal of fish by studying 

 compounds responsible for the enjoy- 

 able, sealike flavor of ocean fish. He 

 also wants to find ways to eliminate 

 unpleasant flavors in fish. 



Lindsay has learned that ocean 

 fish have a distinctive taste due to a 

 diet rich in bromophenols — chemical 

 compounds occurring naturally 

 throughout the marine environment in 

 sea mosses, algae, sandworms and sea 

 salt. 



He can produce the same flavor in 

 freshwater fish by adding tiny 

 amounts of bromophenols to their diet. 

 Bromophenol-fed fish have slightly 

 whitened flesh and a mild, marinelike 

 flavor, similar to crab or lobster. 

 Panels of taste-tasters preferred the 

 flavor of these fish over fish that were 

 not fed the special diet. 



Aquaculturists may be able to use 

 Lindsay's research to improve the 

 flavor of commercially grown fish and 

 shellfish. 



Consumers have complained that 

 large, commercially grown shrimp and 

 prawns are lacking in flavor. Lindsay 

 says the shellfish are lacking because 

 they're fed commercial feeds that 

 don't contain the normal flavors 

 available in the wild. 



Lindsay is also trying to get rid of 

 unwanted fish flavors. Because the 

 most unpleasant fish flavors are 

 caused by the oxidation of long-chain 

 fatty acids in fish and fish oils, he's 

 working with antioxidants. 



Fish processors could add these 

 antioxidants directly to fish fillets or 

 fish oils to suppress unpleasant fish 



flavors or mix the antioxidants with 

 fish spices during packaging and 

 freezing. 



• Adapted from an article written 

 by Linda Hart for Littoral Drift, a 

 newsletter published by the University 

 of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute. 



Fisheries Management 

 for Fishermen 



Sea Grant has produced a much- 

 needed manual to help fishermen 

 unlock the mysteries of fisheries 

 management jargon. It will also help 

 them decipher fisheries regulatory 

 processes. 



"Fisheries Management for 

 Fishermen: A Manual for Helping 

 Fishermen Understand the Federal 

 Management Process" explains the 

 dramatic increase in fishery regula- 

 tions over the last five years. The 

 manual describes new methods of 

 measuring the health and abundance 

 of fisheries and the framework in 

 which fishery managers must operate. 

 It is written by Richard Wallace and 

 Stephen Szedlmayer of the Auburn 

 University Marine Extension and 

 Research Center, along with William 

 Hosking of the Alabama Sea Grant 

 Extension Service. 



"The manual is helpful to all 

 kinds of people," Hosking says. "It is 

 even being used as a part of the text 

 and outside reading material for 

 fisheries management courses on the 

 college level." 



To receive the free manual, write 

 the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant 

 Consortium, P.O. Box 7000, Ocean 

 Springs, MS 39566-7000. Include 

 $1.25 for shipping and handling 

 within the United States, $2 for out- 

 side the United States. □ 



COASTWATCH 23 



