COASTAL 



TIDINGS 



New Program for Oyster Gardeners 



A, 



new program will allow folks to 

 grow oysters under docks or piers in many 

 North Carolina coastal waters. 



The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries 

 (DMF), with assistance from North Carolina 

 Sea Grant, has initiated a new Under Dock 

 Oyster Culture Program. Qualified permit 

 holders can attach up to 90 square feet of 

 oyster cultivation containers to a dock or pier 

 owned by the permit holder and in approved 

 waters. 



The program contains an educational 



\A/ien the 



N.C. Aquarium 

 at Fort Fisher 

 staff wanted 

 to stock a new 

 "Exotic Aquatics" 

 exhibit with 

 lionfish, they 

 didn't have to 

 search very far. 



Although 

 the poisonous 

 fish are native to 

 the warm waters 

 of the Indian and 

 Pacific oceans, 



component developed by Steve Rebach, 

 North Carolina Sea Grant associate director. 



To help applicants understand legal 

 requirements and safety precautions related to 

 harvesting oysters, the program includes an 

 educational manual that explains the oyster 

 life cycle, growing areas and oyster resources. 

 Applicants must pass a quiz before receiving 

 the permit. 



To get an application and review the 

 manual, visit the Web: www.ncfisheries.net/ 



shellfishAJDOCl.htm. 



ABOVE: Beautiful, exotic and dangerous. Lionfish native to Pacific waters 

 are now found off North Carolina's Atlantic Coast. 



_ Port Fi§her. Aquarium,, 

 Hosts Exotic Aquatics 



-AG. 



Other 

 strange and 

 beautiful 

 species from 

 across the 

 world also are 

 on display at 

 the new gallery, 

 including 

 venomous sea 

 snakes from 

 the Pacific and 

 fluorescent 

 cuttlefish 

 — Red Sea 

 mollusks that 



the divers found a large numberjust 35 miles off 

 Bald Head Island. 



The beautiful fish — first seen in North 

 Carolina waters in the summer of 2000 by 

 scuba divers — have increased dramatically in 

 East Coast waters. Now, they are considered an 

 invasive species that could threaten the survival 

 of some native fish. 



At Fort Fisher, the lionfish inhabit a 500- 

 gallon exhibit, along with scorpionfish that are 

 found from Massachusetts to Brazil. 



shoot ink to foil enemies. All of the strange and 

 beautiful animals browse for morsels within 

 their living coral habitat. 



To help visitors learn about the animals 

 and their ecosystems, the exhibit incorporates 

 interpretative technology, including flat-panel 

 liquid-crystal displays that provide facts and 

 illuminate the featured animals. 



To find out more about the new gallery, 

 visit the Web: www.ncacjuarium.com and click on 

 Fort Fisher. -A.C. 



ABOVE: Bill Todd will be a guest speaker 

 at a 2006 Planet Ocean Seminar. 



NASA Aquanaut 

 Set for Planet Ocean 

 Seminar 



How do astronauts use the ocean 

 depths for space training? 



On March 21, National Aeronautics 

 and Space Administration (NASA) 

 aquanaut Bill Todd will explain the "Use of 

 the Underseas Habitat Aquarius." The 6:30 

 p.m. event is part of the 2006 Planet Ocean 

 Seminars Series at the University of North 

 Carolina at Wilmington's Center for Marine 

 Science (CMS). 



Todd, manager of NASA's Underseas 

 Team, will discuss the Extreme Environment 

 Missions Operation - or "NEEMO" - that 

 prepares astronauts for the physical and 

 mental demands of working in space. 

 Todd also is a simulation supervisor at the 

 Johnson Space Center in Houston. 



Aquarius — owned by the National 

 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

 (NOAA) and operated by UNCW- allows 

 researchers to send real-time video and data 

 to the Internet. Inside the lab, six people 

 can work, eat and sleep for up to 1 days at 

 ocean depths of 120 feet. The facility is part 

 of NOAA's National Undersea Research 

 Center headquartered at UNCW. 



The Planet Ocean series is free, but 

 seating is limited. To reserve your spot, call 

 910/962-2301 after March 14. 



CMS is located at 5600 Marvin K. 

 Moss Lane, off Masonboro Loop Road, 

 Wilmington. To learn more about Aquarius, 

 visit the Web: www.nurp.noaa.gov. 



— A.G. 



Coastwatch I Winter 2006 I www.ncseagrant.org 3 



