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North Carolina Sea Grant
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image: River otter.

Winter 2025

INSIDE THE NEW ISSUE OF COASTWATCH MAGAZINE…

Accounting for the Unaccounted

Thousands Hoped for Any Word of Family and Friends After Helene

Volunteer operators for a Community Emergency Response Team updated a database that provided responders with GPS coordinates to check as they searched mountains, valleys, and riversides… 

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image: Frying Pan Tower.

Teachers on the Tower (video)

Frying Pan Tower: A Platform for Educators

What better way to give educators more tools to teach about the ocean than to take them out into the Graveyard of the Atlantic?

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image: oysters ready to eat.

A Booming Industry — And a New Threat

North Carolina Oysters Face Unexplained “Mass Mortality Events”

A cutting-edge project is addressing “the biggest hindrance to sustainable oyster aquaculture development in the Southeast.”

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image: Melinda Martinez in the field.

Early Warnings

Satellite Imagery May Help Protect Coastal Forests from Climate Change

A former North Carolina Sea Grant-Space Grant Fellow is pioneering a new method that will inform conservation planning...

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image: Coastal Conference participants mingle.

The 2024 NC Coastal Conference in Review

A Look Back at the Biggest NC Sea Grant Gathering to Date

The 2024 North Carolina Coastal Conference in November brought together over 330 coastal enthusiasts…

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image: flooded park.

Managing Coastal Nitrogen Pollution

Lessons from New Bern

Engineered solutions help to maintain coastal resilience and protect local economies…

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Environmental Sentinels

Microplastics and Metals in Oysters

“Our goal is to provide scientific data in context that can aid decision-making and dispel misinformation.”

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image: smokestacks.

Mind the Gap

Findings from the UN’s 2024 Emissions Gap Report

As emissions reach all-time highs, far more stringent goals are necessary to keep global warming under a threshold that would make heightened climate impacts unstoppable…

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image: river otter.

Hook, Line & Science

Anglers vs. River Otters, Why We Fish Where We Do, and More

Here’s the the latest science and news for anglers…

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image: flooding in Beaufort.

Vital Signs: New Sea Level Rise Projections for North Carolina

The NC Coastal Resources Commission Science Panel’s Report

A new report predicts marked sea level rise on the northern, central, and southern NC coast by 2050 and 2100…

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image: monarch butterfly on a flower.

The Guide to Coastal Living

From Shore to Shady Spots: Plants That Thrive on Our Coast

Eco-friendly native plants and smart gardening practices can help to create healthy and beautiful coastal landscapes… 

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image: fishers near Figure Eight Island.

Public Trust

Bland Simpson Recounts “A Fisherman Challenged at Rich Inlet”

“If you don’t let us fish in peace, the Attorney General’s office and the News & Observer will soon learn there is a private North Carolina ocean beach not open to the public.” 

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image: Sauteed Tuna Steaks with Tarragon.

Mariner’s Menu: Winter Wonders

Sautéed Tuna Steaks with Tarragon, Baked Clams with Garlic Butter, and Oyster Fritters

Enjoy these seasonal favorites from North Carolina Sea Grant’s popular online seafood guide…

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image: Kayelyn Simmons, former Knauss fellow, scuba-diving.

Coastal Currents

News and Opportunities from North Carolina Sea Grant

Two open fellowships, a new paid apprenticeship in the commercial seafood industry, a look ahead at an ocean acidification education project, and more…

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INSIDE THE FALL 2024 ISSUE…

The Catastrophic Power of Hurricane Helene

North Carolina’s New History of Record-Breaking Storms

Only six years separate Florence and Helene, but these “once-in-a-thousand-year” hurricanes have much in common. Along with other storms that have hit our state, Helene offers lessons — and a warning…

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image: underwater diver.

The Undersea Vision of Fabien Cousteau

Building the “ISS of the Ocean”

PROTEUS™ — the undersea equivalent of the International Space Station — will speed scientific discovery and may even spur medical breakthroughs…

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image: Coast Guard rescues people, pets near Riegelwood, N.C.

The Guide to Coastal Living

Storm Readiness and Recovery Basics

Here’s practical information for you and your community during and after a major storm…

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image: loggerhead sea turtle.

Tracking Loggerheads

The Mysteries of Sea Turtle Migration

Satellite tagging on Bald Head Island reveals that loggerheads cover long distances up and down the East Coast — and beyond…

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image: house damage, Atlantic Beach after Hazel.

Hurricane Hazel

October 15th, 1954

“She had torn the south-facing beaches of Brunswick County all to hell and gone, wrecking the crab-and-fish houses and putting great schooners up into yards in Southport, and thrown fishing boats onto main streets in Morehead City and Beaufort.” 

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image: inside a poultry CAFO.

Mapping the Impacts of North Carolina’s Poultry Industry

A Novel Solution to a Lack of Public Data

How do concentrated animal feeding operations and their waste impact our state’s waterways? 

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image: high school student collecting trash.

Plastic from the Mountains to the Sea

Researchers and Community Members Join Forces on Plastic Pollution in North Carolina

From plastic trash along creeks and rivers, to microplastics in waterways — and in our bloodstreams — plastic pollution is present on every continent, including Antarctica…

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image: largemouth bass.

Hook, Line & Science

Shrinking Fish, Saving Manta Rays, and More

Scientists discover a global phenomenon — shrinking fish — but the reasons behind it aren’t clear cut…

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image: stream.

Coastwatch Classroom

NC Stream Watch’s Indoor-Outdoor Classrooms

“We have goals to raise awareness about natural resource careers earlier, rather than waiting until people are in college — trying to spark those little nuggets of this is a possibility early on.” 

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image: Buttery Shrimp.

Mariner’s Menu

For Autumn Appetites

Here’s what to make this Fall — with videos about how to make it…

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image: Madeline Payne.

Coastal Currents

News and Research Updates

New fellows, new hires, and exciting new projects…

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image: starry night over water.

The Contamination of Indigenous Lands

BONUS CONTENT FROM THE SUMMER 2024 ISSUE

Health issues are becoming more frequent for “The People of the Falling Star.” The answers may lie at their feet… 

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Most Popular

Sharks, sea level rise, the ISS of the Ocean, and a “river of time.” Articles, features, new and old favorites. Here’s what our readers have been perusing the most…

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image: The view from Hatteras Lighthouse with the sky and landscape in background to show the stretch off Hatteras.
The infamous Diamond Shoals stretch off Hatteras, with shallow sandbars always in flux.

INSIDE THE SUMMER 2024 ISSUE…

image: Ghost forest.

North Carolina’s True Ghost Story

A Tale of Carbon, Salt, and Sea Level Rise

A new study is using satellite imagery to predict the next ghost forests...

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image: Damaged Bulkhead.

The Guide to Coastal Living

Bulkheads: Challenges and Tips

Bulkheads sometimes are cheaper to install, but the long-term costs of maintenance can be steep…

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image: John Mallette.

Catching up with John Mallette

The Untold Stories of African Americans in North Carolina’s Seafood Industry

“As long as I was around a boat and I was on the water, I really didn’t care about anything else.”

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cover image: Seashells of NC.

Seashells of North Carolina

Excerpts from the Updated and Expanded New Edition

Beachcombers and researchers alike have revered the original publication for decades. North Carolina Sea Grant and UNC Press have just released the latest edition…

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image: researchers at unearth evidence of ancient oyster fisheries.

Ancient Oyster Fisheries

Old Practices and What They Reveal

Indigenous peoples sustained massive oyster fisheries for 5,000 to 10,000 years — or longer…

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Hook, Line & Science

The Award-Winning Series for Anglers

Saving the red snapper, angling around windmills, and the night life of oyster toadfish…

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image: starry night over water.

Soul of the Soil

The Contamination of Indigenous Lands

Health issues are becoming more frequent among the Waccamaw Siouan Tribe. The answers may lie at their feet…

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image: eel ladder and spillway.

1,000 More Miles

New Fish Passage Facilities Restore Access to NC Habitat

Updates at the Blewett Falls Hydroelectric Project now allow American eel and other fish to access previously blocked upstream riverine habitat…

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image: aerial view of marsh and seashore.

Letter from the Executive Director

The Latest Updates from North Carolina Sea Grant

June marked the start of another hurricane season, and NOAA has projected above-normal Atlantic hurricane activity through November 30th…

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image: forest fire.

How Climate Change Affects Your Health

Infographics on Air Quality and Heat Waves

Global warming impacts human health, especially during summertime…

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image: rip currents safety poster.

Rip Currents Safety

Know Your Options

Over a million people have seen this poster in 2024. Share it and save a life…

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image: biofouling species.

Vital Signs: Caribbean Creep

Warming Waters and the Spread of New Species

More species are moving into the Mid-Atlantic…

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image: Hurricane Florence from space.

Safety Alert: Hurricane Season Is Here

Tips, Tools, and Resources

New guidance from NOAA advises people not to focus on a specific storm category. A storm’s “scale” only reflects the strongest winds near the center of the storm — not potentially life-threatening flooding from storm surge or rain…

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Image: NC Coast aerial view

Special Announcement: The NC Coastal Conference Returns to the Coast

Registration is now open.

This year’s conference will again feature a wide array of presentations that address pressing issues for our state’s coastal communities and ecosystems…

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image: grilled scallops kabob.

Mariner’s Menu

New Cooking Videos

Here’s what to make — and how to make it.

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image: man lays next to largest "sea dragon" fossil discovered.

Creature Feature: Conan O’Brien Worms, Sea Dragons, and Ocean Aliens

BONUS CONTENT from the SPRING 2024 issue

Recent research proves the ocean contains no shortage of curiosities…

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Browse by Subject

No matter what you’re looking for, there’s a good chance we’ve covered it over the last 45 years. 

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image: Alligator in the grass.
An alligator rests in a yard off of Hwy 133. Credit: Ken Blevins/Star News.

INSIDE THE SPRING 2024 ISSUE

mountains and a glacier

March 27, 2024

Ice to Ocean

As glaciers melt and seas rise, new findings about ground elevations at the coast confirm that the battle between land and sea has become increasingly one-sided — and that an ecological transformation of coastal NC has begun.
image: rip currents safety poster.

March 26, 2024

The Rip Currents Safety Poster

Share this poster. Print it out and put it up — and save a life.
image: blue land crab emerging from hole.

March 26, 2024

What’s the Deal with that Big Blue Crab on the Beach?

A new species has arrived in North Carolina — and you might even find one in your garage.
image: crab and shrimp salad on lettuce bed.

March 26, 2024

Mariner’s Menu: Spring’s Savory Dishes

Spring’s Savory Dishes: Crab and Shrimp Salad, Fresh Deviled Clams, Broiled Soft Crabs With Basil-butter Sauce

Skeleton of a carp fish isolated against a black background

March 26, 2024

Can Fish Bones Protect Us from the Sun?

Researchers investigate a sustainable alternative to harmful UV filters in sunscreens.
image: parasitic worm and lobster eggs.

March 26, 2024

Creature Feature: Conan O’Brien Worms, Sea Dragons, and Ocean Aliens

Recent research from the Caribbean to the U.K. to Antarctica proves the ocean contains no shortage of curiosities.
image: graphic of a magnifying glass over water with bubbles that say "PFAS".

March 26, 2024

Emerging Contaminants: Mystery in the Cape Fear

New testing reveals eight previously unrecorded forms of PFAS

March 26, 2024

Are Fishing and Boating Regulations Protecting Endangered Whales?

The North Atlantic right whale is a critically endangered species, with fewer than 400 estimated alive today. Two leading causes of right whale mortality are fishing gear and vessels.
image: offshore wind turbines in front of a sunset.

March 26, 2024

Hook, Line & Science

Fishing at Wind Farms, Live Imaging Sonar, and More…
image: bow of a sailboat heads towards a cloudy horizon.

March 26, 2024

The Straits by Skipjack

From the short dock along Lida Pigott’s cut in Gloucester off the north side of The Straits, on as blustery a Sunday summer afternoon as one might want, the 28-foot skipjack Natty Lou headed out, her mainsail reefed.
image: factory smokestacks release smoke into the air during sunset.

March 25, 2024

Vital Signs: Greenhouse Gas Emissions Hit Highest Levels

50 Leading Scientists on “Unprecedented” Human-Caused Global Warming
image: aerial view of a living shoreline.

March 25, 2024

The Guide to Coastal Living

The Guide to Coastal Living provides North Carolinians with quick information about how to address coastal hazards and how to live in a coastal environment. The series launches with this look at living shorelines — a strategy that provides invaluable benefits to our communities and coast.