COASTAL 



TIDINGS 



Seafood Traceability 

 Guide Available 



["ear of bioterrorism, changes in global 

 markets and food scandals — all are factors in 

 consumers' increasing concerns about food 

 safety. 



To help seafood dealers and processors 

 cope with consumer concerns and comply with 

 federal guidelines, North Carolina Sea Grant 

 has developed Seafood Traceability: A Practical 

 Guide for the U.S. Industry. 



Written by Ami Petersen and David Green 

 of the North Carolina State University Seafood 

 Laboratory in Morehead City, the new manual 

 provides guidelines for recordkeeping. It also 

 explains how to set up traceability systems, 

 including barcodes on items. In addition, 

 it contains a glossary, online references and 

 additional resources. 



The United States initiated traceability in 

 the food supply chain after the terrorist attacks 



on the World Trade 

 Center on Sept. 11,2001. 



In December 2004, 

 the federal Food and 

 Drug Administration 

 issued a ruling requiring 

 all links in the food 

 supply chains and 

 transporters of food to 

 establish and maintain 

 records to trace and track 



•mmmmmmmmmmm 



their suppliers by Dec. 9, 



2006. Implementation 



began with the largest companies in 2005. 



The new seafood traceability booklet 

 will be available as a PDF file on the North 

 Carolina Sea Grant Web site. Visit www. 

 ncseagrant.org and follow the "Products" links. 



- A.G. 



Oyster Shell 

 Tax Credits 

 Initiated 



Seafood Traceability: 



A Practical Guide for (he U S Industry 



6y w. Powea, »w Covo Gran 



New Fellows On Board 



"Tw 



I wo new fellows have come 

 aboard North Carolina Sea Grant. 



E-Ching Lee of Raleigh has 

 joined the staff as the 2006-2007 

 Science Communications Fellow. 



During her one-year 

 fellowship, Lee will develop 

 communications products for j 

 the N.C. Fishery Resource Grant | 

 Program and the N.C. Blue Crab 

 Research Program. The two 

 programs, funded by the N.C. 

 General Assembly and administered 

 by Sea Grant, highlight fishery and 

 habitat topics that are important 

 along the North Carolina coast 

 and across the state in terms of 

 economic and environmental value. 



A native of Malaysia, Lee holds j 

 a bachelor's degree in computer | 

 science from Hanover College in 

 Indiana and a master's in technical 

 communication from North Carolina State 

 University. She also holds another master's in 

 computer science from the University of Virginia 



Warren Mitchell 



Warren Mitchell has been 

 selected as the 2006-2007 Marine 

 Fisheries Fellow for North Carolina 

 Sea Grant and the N.C. Division of 

 Marine Fisheries (DMF). 



As the new fisheries fellow, 

 Mitchell will assist DMF in analyzing 

 a long-term data set on larval and 

 earlyjuvenile fish ingress at the Pivers 

 Island Bridge near Beaufort Inlet. He 

 also will participate in "bridgnet" 

 sampling in which fish larvae are 

 collected using a plankton net. 



A native of southern Florida, 

 Mitchell holds a bachelor's degree 

 in biological oceanography from the 

 Florida Institute of Technology and 

 a master's in fisheries and wildlife 

 sciences from NC State. 



For more information about 

 the Science Communications 

 Fellowship or the Marine Fisheries 

 Fellowship, visit the Sea Grant Web site: www. 

 ncseagrant.org and click on "Public Education" 

 and then follow the "Fellowships" links. — A.G. 



^)ne customer's 

 trash is now a restaurant 

 owner's tax credit — at 

 least for North Carolina 

 seafood restaurants and 

 other seafood-related 

 businesses. 



A provision in this 

 year's state budget, 

 passed by the N.C. General Assembly, 

 gives a tax credit of $1 per bushel of oyster 

 shells given to the N.C. Division of Marine 

 Fisheries (DMF). The credit will take effect 

 this tax year, but expiresjan. 1 , 201 1 . 



Listed as a "species of concern" by 

 DMF, oyster stocks in North Carolina are 

 in decline. Officials hope the new law will 

 boost donations to DMFs existing oyster 

 shell recycling program, which provides shell 

 material for oyster sanctuaries. Research 

 shows that an oyster shell attracts more 

 larvae than other substrates, such as 

 limestone marl. 



Donated shells also help other 

 restoration efforts, such as the N.C. 

 Oyster Hatchery Program led by the 

 North Carolina Aquariums. The program 

 provides DMF sanctuaries with "seeded" 

 shells — those with juvenile oysters already 

 attached. In July, more than three million 

 seeded shells raised at Carteret Community 

 College's aquaculture facility were delivered 

 to DMF sanctuaries throughout the state. 



For more information about the 

 North Carolina Oyster Shell Recycling 

 Program, visit ncfisheries.net and click on 

 "Oyster Shell Recycling." — K.A. 



Coastwatch I Autumn 2006 I www.ncseagrant.org 5 



