From the Executive Director

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Some people may consider winter a time of hibernation, a slowing of life — and maybe a quieter season as colder weather moves us inside more often than not. However, for our North Carolina Sea Grant team and partners, this winter has been a hive of activity. 

We’re grateful to you all for your strong support for our program, which has resulted in consistent federal support for both last year and this. Your support has been heard across the state and the nation. Within the Sea Grant national network, your support has echoed loudly through your sharing of the positive impacts for our coastal communities, economies, and the environment.   

As you may know from our Coastwatch articles, news stories, and social media, North Carolina Sea Grant annually contributes to significant research and extension programming across our core focus areas: healthy coastal habitats, resilient communities and economies, sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, and education and workforce development. 

Our program’s collective positive effects since 2018 are notable indeed. This edition of Coastwatch includes just some examples of the impacts of our program and partners:

• The Ready, Set, Resilience project’s support for middle schoolers facing upheaval;
• The Sea Grant-Coastal Federation partnership promoting shellfish aquaculture;
• Mountains-to-Sea fellow Ella Moore’s project to track landfill leachate;
• Anne Smiley and Sea Grant’s inaugural Coastal Resilience Team Competition winners’ latest study on wetlands at New Bern;
• Sea Grant-Space Grant fellow Megan Geesin’s new study on shoreline changes at the Rachel Carson Reserve;
• Our research partnership investigating North Carolina’s blue crab population.

North Carolina Sea Grant’s impacts started decades ago, and we are sad to share that one of our early leaders, B.J. Copeland, director from 1973 to 1993, passed away on January 14. 

B.J. was known far and wide across the state. He brought North Carolina Sea Grant to fruition, served on the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission, and volunteered in his church and community, among many other contributions.  

You can read about his life and achievements in his obituary, and you can read about his  contributions to North Carolina Sea Grant in the Coastwatch story celebrating the program’s 25th anniversary.

We celebrate B.J. Copeland’s life and also look ahead as we move through 2026. We’re anticipating another great year, with your support and engagement leading our collective path forward. Of note, we’re again delighted to announce the return of the North Carolina Coastal Conference in November. For the latest conference updates, stay tuned to North Carolina Sea Grant’s news, social media, and Coastwatch.

As always, if you have perspectives and suggestions that you’d like to share, please let me know at snwhite3@ncsu.edu.  

— Susan White, Executive Director
North Carolina Sea Grant