Summer 2017

Sep 21, 2017

MARINER’S MENU: Where There’s Smoke, There’s Grilled Seafood

Today, with all our advances and conveniences, we still love to cook outdoors over a flame. And it’s not just burgers and steaks anymore. A meal of fresh seafood, prepared simply outdoors and eaten in the company of friends, is one of life’s real pleasures.

Aug 8, 2017

PEOPLE AND PLACES: Discovering Down East on the Outer Banks National Scenic Byway

The beaches of the Outer Banks are legendary, but its roadways are steering into the spotlight. This summer, the Outer Banks National Scenic Byway is ready to guide visitors on an exploration of the culture and history of the North Carolina coast.

Jul 14, 2017

Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Sex in the Sea

There are four survival instincts in the animal kingdom: feeding, fighting, fleeing and … reproducing. Let’s think about the last one: How do animals in marine environments procreate?

Jul 6, 2017

SEA SCIENCE: Growing Better Bivalves: Science, Local Knowledge Enhance N.C. Business

Media stories often cite Sandbar Oyster Company as an unlikely partnership between a scientist and a fisherman — a successful duo not only in the half-shell market, but also in ecological restoration.

Jul 6, 2017

ON THE WATER: Crab Pots Collected from Coastal Waters

The North Carolina General Assembly selected North Carolina Sea Grant to administer the Crab Pot Removal Pilot Program. Sea Grant contracted with the N.C. Coastal Federation, which worked with the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries and its Marine Patrol, along with teams of commercial fishermen, for the project during the annual winter “no-potting” period.

Jul 6, 2017

FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Here Comes the Sun: Illuminating Summer Fun, Sea Grant Stories

Our beaches and soundside communities indeed have changed over my lifetime. Yet their beauty and bounties persist in so many ways. Similarly, this issue of Coastwatch takes you on a range of explorations.

Jun 1, 2017

SEA SCIENCE: Restoring Our Oysters: Dealing with the Sponge Problem

Niels Lindquist, an ecologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Institute of Marine Sciences, noticed that many of the oysters served at roasts were difficult to open because of brittle shells. The oysters had small holes in their shells, a telltale sign of an infestation by the boring sponge, a common estuarine organism in the family Clionaidae.

image: aerial view of waterfront marina in Southport, NC.

Jun 1, 2017

CURRENTS: Resilience at the Coast: Conference Features Science and Policy

LEFT: Jonathan Pennock (right), director of the National Sea Grant College Program, was a speaker. RIGHT: The conference drew a wide range of participants. Photos by Becky Kirkland/NC State Communications.…

Jun 1, 2017

CURRENTS: WRRI Conference Brings Together More Than Research

Members of The Nile Project gave a short performance during lunch on the first day of the conference. As the man behind the music, Mina Girgis acts as a linchpin, pulling together artists to create a unique sound for an important cause: sustaining the Nile River.

A white balloon with a red payload flying in a blue sky

Jun 1, 2017

Community Colleges Compete in Ballooning Challenge

This spring, six North Carolina teams took their scientific expertise out of this world. They participated in the third annual Community College High-Altitude Ballooning Team Challenge and Competition.