Coastwatch 



Managing Editor 

 Katie Mosher 



Senior Editors 

 Kathleen Angione 

 Ann Green 



Contributing Editor 

 E-ChingLee 



Designer 

 Linda Noble 



Circulation Manager 

 Sandra Harris 



The North Carolina Sea Grant College Program 



is a federal/state program that promotes 

 stewardship of our coastal and marine resources 



through research, extension and education. 

 It joined the National Sea Grant College Network 

 in 1970 as an institutional program. Six years later, 

 it was designated a Sea Grant College. 

 Today, North Carolina Sea Grant supports 

 research projects, a 15-member extension 

 program and a communications staff. 

 Michael Voiland is executive director. 

 The program is funded by the U.S. Department 

 of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

 Administration and the state through the 

 University of North Carolina. 

 Coastwatch (TSSN 1068-784X) 

 is published six times a year by the 

 North Carolina Sea Grant College Program, 

 North Carolina State University. Box 8605, 

 Raleigh, North Carolina 27695-8605. 

 Telephone: 919/515-2454. Fax: 919/515-7095. 

 Subscriptions are $15. 

 E-mail: katie_mosher@ncsu.edii 

 World Wide Web address: 

 http://www.ncseagrant.org 

 Periodical Postage paid at Raleigh, N.C. 



POSTMASTER: Send address changes to 



Coastwatch, North Carolina Sea Grant, 

 North Carolina State University, Box 8605, 

 Raleigh, NC 27695-8605. 



COASTAL 



TIDINGS 



Sea Grant 



North Carolina 



Cover photo of Salter Path seafood shop 

 by Scott Taylor. Table of Contents photo of 

 blue crabs by Elaine Logothetis. 



Printed on recycled paper. @ 



BACK ROW, FROM LEFT: Alan Power, Joe Heimlich, Chris Centile, Steve Olson. FRONT ROW, FROM LEFT: Debbi Berger, 

 Katie Mosher, Timothy Keeney, Ronald Hodson, Donna Moffitt, Peggy Sloan, Eric Reinhard, Jim Maddy. 



'Aquatic Invaders' Earns 

 Coastal America Award 



\A/hat do you do with an unwanted 

 goldfish? How do you get rid of leftover fishing 

 bait? Why clean your boat hull between outings? 



"The more people who can answer 

 questions like these, the better ofF we all will be," 

 says Peggy Sloan, education curator at the N.C. 

 Aquarium at Fort Fisher, one of eight sites testing 

 the new "Aquatic Invaders" program. 



"Educators and audiences identify specific 

 steps to avoid the spread of these species — such 

 as properly caring for home aquariums and water 

 gardens, and choosing native bait when fishing," 

 explains Katie Mosher, communications director 

 for North Carolina Sea Grant and the project 

 coordinator. 



The program will be released nationally 

 in 2007 to more than 200 facilities accredited 

 by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums 

 (AZA). But the Aquatic Invaders project already 

 has earned honors from Coastal America, a 

 nationwide partnership of federal, state, and 

 local government and non-government agencies 

 dedicated to preserving coastal watersheds. 



"Through this outstanding team effort, 

 nearly 140 million people annually may learn 

 how to protect our environment from aquatic 

 invasive species, which cost our nation nearly 

 $138 billion per year to control," states Timothy 

 R.E. Keeney, deputy assistant secretary for oceans 

 and atmosphere, U.S. Department of Commerce. 



During the AZA national meeting in 

 September, Keeney presented the 2006 Coastal 



America Partnership Award to the Aquatic 

 Invaders toolkit team on behalf of President 

 George W. Bush and the 1 2 federal agencies of 

 the Coastal America Partnership. 



Aquatic Invaders is led by North Carolina 

 Sea Grant, North Carolina Aquariums, AZA, 

 Georgia Sea Grant and the University of 

 Georgia Marine Extension Service. The project 

 is funded by a grant from the National Oceanic 

 and Atmospheric Administration's National 

 Sea Grant College Program. 



The project team also drew upon the 

 expertise of two dozen representatives of the 

 Sea Grant and AZA networks and partner 

 agencies, who also will receive awards. 



Aquatic Invaders engages audiences for 

 about 20 minutes with fun interaction. "Our 

 preliminary results suggest that this program 

 and partnership are effective," says Sloan, who 

 leads the project's program committee. 



"Audience evaluations indicate that 

 people enjoy the program and can define 

 'aquatic invasive species.' The audiences also 

 understand how to prevent introduction and 

 reduce the spread of these species," Sloan says. 



"This project blends the scientific research 

 results of the Sea Grant network with the 

 potential for our educators to reach millions 

 ofvisitors to AZA facilities," adds Steve Olson, 

 government affairs director for AZA, and 

 former North Carolina Sea Grant associate 

 director for outreach. — K.M. 



2 Coastwatch I Holiday 2006 I www.ncseagrant.org 



