2008

Jun 9, 2014

Coastal Ocean Observing: Real-Time Data Available To Students

Based at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, CORMP provides oceanographic data in near-real time and information on weather conditions, as well as living marine resources. Data from buoys also provide valuable tools for the National Weather Service in making rip current forecasts.

Dec 15, 2008

Investigating the Mysteries of Blue Crab Migration

Heading down the channel into North River, which forms the border between Currituck and Camden counties, the three men start their rhythmic routine: hooking each red-and-green-striped buoy; pulling up the attached pot; shaking the blue crabs into the culling sink; separating them into baskets by size and sex; baiting the pot with fresh menhaden; and throwing the pot back into the water with the buoy trailing behind.

Dec 15, 2008

Picking Up the Paddle: Fuel-Free Fishing in North Carolina

As gas prices hover near all-time highs, many recreational fishers likely think twice about fueling up their boats for a day on the water. But the fish are still biting for those who prefer paddling to power boating.

Dec 1, 2008

Finding Fish in Lots of Water

REAL STORY — not a fish tail tale. A casual shellseeker on Atlantic Beach ignores the buffsurfers off the Fort Macon jetty and instead catches the eye of a glum surf fisherman in green waders slicing bait on top of a cooler. She interrupts his concentration (and cigarette), saving, "I have to write a magazine article on how fishermen catch fish. What can you tell me?" Without raising his head, he growls, "When you write that article, I'll be sure and buy that magazine, 'cause I don' know!"

image: aerial view of marsh and seashore.

Dec 1, 2008

PEOPLE & PLACES: Oak Island Lighthouse: Welcome Sight for Mariners and Landlubbers

Four, one-second flashes of light every 10 seconds at Latitude: 33.8939 North, Longitude: 78.0351 West. By sea, that's the visual and global "address" of the Oak Island Lighthouse.

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.