Sandra Harris

Dec 1, 2008

Oyster Metrics: Reef Research Identifies Habitat

On the edge of Masonboro Sound near Wilmington, researcher Martin Posey stands in ankle-deep mud near an oyster reef. He bends over the created reef and marvels at the new oyster larvae, also called spat.

Dec 1, 2008

NATURALIST’S NOTEBOOK: Secrets of the Shallows: Nuisance Moss Animal Invades North Carolina Coast

Last fall, something strange started appearing in the waters surrounding Ocracoke Island. "It looked like a bunch of little clear tree branches," Gene Ballance,a fisherman and Ocracoke native, says of the mysterious substance. "It seemed to have zero gravity — it didn't want to sink or float — it just hung there in the water," he describes. "It's like trying to explain an alien or a UFO or something — an unidentified floating object."

Dec 1, 2008

Simply Shellfish: Growers Tout Shellfish Aquaculture Sustainability

It's a sustainable form of agriculture that puts tasty dishes on the tables of restaurants and homes across the country. It's an industry that stimulates the economy. And it promotes a lifestyle of coastal tradition in North Carolina.

Dec 1, 2008

Rediscovering Learning: Ocracoke Offers Teachers Renewal Experience

In the waters of the Pamlico Sound near Ocracoke, an N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries trawler drags the bottom with nets. As several teachers gather around a culling table, Louis Daniel sorts through the seaweed and catch from the last haul.

Dec 1, 2008

Re-establishing Cordgrass: Fisheries’ Friend and Shoreline Protector

Just as Brad Marx is describing the variety of wildlife he often sees at the marina, a small green heron lands on a dock overlooking a strange floating contraption.

Oct 1, 2008

PEOPLE & PLACES: Growing Coastal Stewardship: Student Aquaculture On The Outer Banks

A 30-year teaching veteran, she always looks for new ways to keep herself and her students motivated to learn. In 2006, with the help of John McCord of the University of North Carolina Coastal Studies Institute (CSI), she started an oyster hatchery program with her middle school students at Cape Hatteras Secondary School of Coastal Studies. For the 2007-2008 school year, Shisler and McCord enlisted Turano's help to add black sea bass and flounder for a tag-and-release program.

Sep 1, 2008

PEOPLE & PLACES: Revisiting A Relic: Technology Key To Model Of CSS Neuse

The Civil War gunboat CSS Neuse was still a waterlogged hulk fresh from the Neuse River in the mid-1960s when amateur historian Bill Rowland began recording the relic for posterity.

Sep 1, 2008

Education In Action: Schoolyard Projects Protect Estuaries

Manteo Middle is one stand-out example of the ongoing growth and success from the cultivation of those first seeds. APNEP expects to fund a new round of demonstration projects at the end of this year.

Sep 1, 2008

Recognizing Quality At Your Local Seafood Counter

The face of the North Carolina seafood industry is constantly changing. Demand is increasing for commodities like crab, flounder and shrimp. Seafood processing operations, which used to be predominantly at the coast, are moving to inland locations.

Sep 1, 2008

Revealing The Deep: Teachers Explore Undersea Research and Technology

Thomas shows educators a quick way to measure topography — known as "relief — formed by mountain ranges, plains and canyons on the ocean floor. By using a simple shoe box with holes punched in the lid and other household materials, Thomas demonstrates how to map underwater terrain.