is the long, lazy days of 

 summer come to a close for most of us, many 

 North Carolina Sea Grant researchers are already 

 busy with cutting-edge research. Recently, 

 Sea Grant awarded more than $630,000 in 

 competitive grants in the first year of a two-year 

 funding cycle. The projects address key issues 

 identified in Sea Grant's strategic plan. 



For more than 30 years, 

 Sea Grant has emphasized solid, 

 peer-reviewed scientific research 

 that can be applied to the real- 

 world problems and issues 

 facing North Carolina's coast, 

 says Steve Rebach, North Carolina 

 Sea Grant's associate director. 



"Sea Grant's research 

 not only enhances the sustainable 

 use and conservation of ocean and 

 coastal resources, but also benefits 

 communities and economies," he adds 



COAST 



LEFT: To improve oyster restoration efforts, 

 a team of Sea Grant researchers from 

 UNCW will study successful reefs. 

 RIGHT: CraigSullivan ofNC State plans 

 to study the hybrid striped bass genome. 



AQUACULTURE 



Among new aquaculture projects, 

 researchers will examine pressing questions 

 about hybrid striped bass, one of the state's 

 most commercially valuable aquaculture species. 



Researchers Russell Borski and Craig 

 Sullivan of North Carolina State University will 

 use new methods to study the hybrid striped 

 bass genome, as well as the organism's structure 

 and function of proteins. 



"We expect to identify key genes and 

 proteins whose expression are diminished during 

 suboptimal growth or dysfunctional maturation, 

 but are enhanced in high-performance fish," says 

 Borski. 



Such a discovery will help researchers 

 pinpoint reasons why certain fish grow more 

 quickly than others. It also will help researchers 

 identify biomarkers that distinguish these 

 individuals and their families for breeding. 

 Finally, the researchers expect their findings will 

 shed light on the optimal conditions for hybrid 

 striped bass growth and reproduction. 



"These developments will allow us to solve 

 problems with breeding and growth of hybrid 

 striped bass, enabling further expansion of 

 hybrid striped bass farming in North Carolina 

 and across the nation," Borski says. 



Borski also is part of a southern flounder 

 research team that includes Harry Danielsjohn 



Godwin and Thomas Losordo of NC State, along 

 with Wade Wantanabe of the University of North 

 Carolina at Wilmington (UNCW). The team has 

 developed technology for growing out southern 

 flounder in recirculating systems, and it is ready to 

 be put in action. They plan to work with a grower in 

 southeastern North Carolina. 



"Based on our past and current Sea 

 Grant-funded projects, we are confident that 

 we have reached the point where growout 

 technology can be successfully transferred to the 

 aquaculture industry and establish 

 southern flounder farming as a viable 

 aquaculture activity in the United 

 States," says Daniels, the principal 

 investigator for the project. 



Despite these successes, control- 

 ling differences in growth between 

 males and females remains a challenge. 

 Because female flounder grow two to 

 three times faster than males, control- 

 ling sex ratios can have significant 

 effects on harvest size and production 

 economics, Daniels explains. 



Female flounder are able to 

 reverse their sex based on growing 

 conditions, and previous research 

 indicates that high or low temperatures 

 in tanks can cause a population to 

 become predominantly male. 



Daniels and his team will study other factors 

 related to sex reversal, such as stocking densities 

 and light exposure. They hope to refine and transfer 

 biotechnologies to produce all-female fmgerlings, 

 thus reducing unwanted reproduction and elimi- 

 nating male stock that would not reach market size. 



"The development of southern flounder 

 culture would be a significant contribution to the 

 U.S. aquaculture industry through the introduction 

 of a high-value product that can be readily 

 marketed worldwide," says Daniels. 



Additional Aquaculture Projects 



• Molecular Mechanism Controlling Dermo 

 Proliferation and Spread in Crassostrea virginica: 

 Parasite-Induced Inhibition ofApopstosis as a Target 

 for Anti-Parasite Therapy. Francis Hughesjr. and 

 Inna Sogolova, University of North Carolina at 

 Charlotte. C o n t i n u e a 



Coastwatch I Autumn 2006 I www.ncseagrant.org 19 



