COASTAL 



TIDINGS 



Knauss Fellows Start Year in D.C. 



fwi 



I wo North Carolina scholars 

 have been selected as Dean John 

 A. Knauss Manne Policy Fellows. 

 Wilhelmina Innes of Duke University 

 and Leigh Zimmerman of the 

 University of North Carolina at 

 Wilmington (UNCW) are spending 

 2006 in Washington D.C. learning 

 about federal policy-making 

 processes that affect the ocean, 

 coastal and Great Lakes region. 



Innes, a native ofTowanda, Pa., 

 graduated from Duke with a Master 

 of Environmental Management 

 in 2005. As a Knauss fellow, she 

 works with the Marine Mammal 

 Commission, an independent agency 

 that oversees policies and programs 

 related to marine mammal conservation. 



Innes will participate in various projects with 

 the commission, including a comprehensive review 



Wilhelmina Innes 



Leigh Zimmerman 



of recovery efforts for nght whales. 



Zimmerman, ofWImington, 

 N.C, graduated from UNCW 

 with a Master in Marine Science in 

 2005. For her Knauss fellowship, 

 she works with the Center for 

 Sponsored Coastal Ocean 

 Research, part of the National 

 Ocean Service. One of her projects 

 involves planning a workshop for 

 researchers examining red tide in 

 the Gulf of Mexico. 



Zimmerman believes the 

 fellowship will help her better 

 understand the complex blend of 

 science and policy. 



The National Sea Grant 

 College Program sponsors the 

 fellowship, valued at $40,000. 



For more information about the fellow- 

 ship, visit www.ncseagrant.org/Fellowships. — K.A. 



New Tagging Program 

 to Begrn May 2006 



ABOVE: A new striped bass reportingprogram 

 takes effect in May. 



A new mandatory Atlantic Ocean striped 

 bass reporting program will be in effect from May to 

 October. The program is designed to provide more 

 reliable numbers on the recreational harvest of striped 

 bass during the closed commercial season in the 

 Albemarle Sound Management Area. 



Recreational anglers must complete catch cards 

 that are available at fishing piers, tackle shops and 

 marinas. The catch cards will count all striped bass 

 harvested from the inland waters of the Albemarle Sound and extending north to the state line and 

 south to Eagle's Nest Bay. 



Once fishers complete catch cards, they are issued landing tags that must be affixed through 

 the mouth and gill cover of each striped bass prior to its removal from the vessel. Fishers must affix 

 the tag before the vessel is removed from the water. 



Anglers are required to report striped bass released live back into the ocean. 



This program is similar to the Atlantic Ocean Striped Bass Summer Catch Card Landing Tag 

 Program implemented by the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries last year. During the program, 

 which lasted from Sept. 1 to Oct. 3 1, 2005, a total of 57 striped bass were reported and tagged. 



In 2004, recreational fishers — who are not allowed to take more than two fish a day 

 — harvested more than 5 million pounds of striped bass from North Carolina's ocean waters. 



For more information about the tagging program, or to obtain an on-board tagging kit, contact 

 Doug Mumford at doug.mumford@ncinail.net or by calling 800/338-7804 or 252/946-6481. -J.H. 



NOAA Funds 

 N.C. Hypoxia Study 



A trio of Duke University researchers 

 recently received a National Oceanic and 

 Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) 

 grant to study the effects of hypoxia on 

 North Carolina fishenes. The three-year 

 grant, worth approximately $576,000, was 

 awarded to Kevin Craig, Larry Crowder and 

 Martin Smith. 



Hypoxia refers to waters with low 

 levels of dissolved oxygen. Most marine 

 organisms become stressed under these 

 conditions and tend to avoid hypoxic areas. 

 Hypoxia can occur naturally, but often is 

 related to human impacts such as nutrient 

 enrichment from runoff. 



Crowder and Craig, ecologists, 

 hope to assess the ecological impacts of 

 hypoxia on fisheries in North Carolina, with 

 emphasis on the shrimp fishery. Smith, 

 an economist, will derive monetary dollar 

 figures representing what value people 

 place on ecological functions, such as clean 

 ue mmm eaaa . water. 

 |||||ipil||i I Results of the study 



. will provide an indication 



'\aH I of what "costs" are 

 % \ associated with hypoxia. 

 These costs could be 

 '^''^I^HBi I calculated in terms of 

 ;^yJi dollars lost within a 

 WrS^*//'^'.' fishery, ecological costs or 

 W&$/;-jiJ& impacts to water quality, 

 explains Craig. 

 The project is part of the Coastal 

 Hypoxia Research Program (CHRP), 

 managed by the NOAA Ocean Service's 

 Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean 

 Research. CHRP will provide resource 

 managers new tools, techniques and 

 information for making informed decisions 

 and assessing alternative management 

 strategies regarding hypoxia. Determining 

 the causes of hypoxia, being able to 

 predict its occurrence, and evaluating 

 the subsequent impacts are necessary to 

 developing potential management options, 

 according to NOAA. - E.S. 



Coastwatch I Spring 2006 I www.ncseagrant.org 5 



