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2001
Montastraea with Spirobranchus giganteus

2001

Corals and Sea Urchins: Two Parts of the Same Story

The biodiversity of a coral reef often is compared to that of a tropical rain forest. Bountiful. Lavishly beautiful. Teeming with life. Rich enough in resources to feed and heal Earth's six billion souls. Now, add "threatened" to the list of similarities.

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More From 2001

young clams

A NEW BAG OF TRICKS FOR CLAM FARMERS

With support from the Fishery Resource Grant program (FRG), Hooper is using bags to dramatically increase the survival of hard clams during the first critical year of grow-out. His findings could make other North Carolina clam mariculturists happy, too.
menhaden boats

BEAUFORT FISHERIES: LAST MENHADEN PLANT IN STATE FACES UNCERTAIN FUTURE

Inside Beaufort Fisheries, the strong smell of menhaden drifts through a dark, empty room. Large cobwebs hang down like a white veil on a light bulb. Huge presses sit empty throughout the room.
Southern Farm Tilapia operation

FISH FARMING: AQUACULTURE OFFERS DIVERSITY

As Eastern North Carolina farmers look to diversify their operations, aquaculture opportunities continue to draw attention.
Mattamuskeet Lodge

FISHING FOR CREDIT: ECU Students Explore Lake Mattamuskeet

That's good news to Roger Rulifson, East Carolina University professor of biology and director of the Field Station for Coastal Studies at the Lake Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge. He's hoping to begin research to help pinpoint — and control — a parasite that is taking a heavy toll on the once abundant eel fishery.
Town Creek

LEGAL TIDES: Land Trusts: Protecting Coastal Resources and Cultural Values

And for good reason. Town Creek ranks as a nationally significant natural heritage site. The North Carolina Heritage Program considers it the best remaining example of the Lower Cape Fear River's original freshwater fauna.
menhaden

MENHADEN RESEARCH: ECHOES OF A FISHERY

It's almost dusk when North Carolina Sea Grant researcher Chris Taylor anchors an old white research boat in the middle of the Neuse River. As several seagulls flutter over the boat, Taylor drops a brown metal cylinder, similar to a fish finder, deep into the water.
kayaks and canoes

PADDLING INTO NATURE: WATER TRAILS ABOUND IN EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA

It is a quiet, cloudy day on the Pamlico River in downtown Washington. There are no sounds except for the lapping of paddles through the mossy green water. More than a dozen paddlers create a spectrum of color as they stroke slowly in red, green and yellow kayaks and canoes toward an old railroad bridge.

PEOPLE & PLACES: Cliffs of History

From atop the trail, the view is typical of many mountain forests. Lush foliage, steep inclines and animals scurrying about. But this is not a mountain forest. This is the Cliffs of the Neuse State Park in the small town of Seven Springs, near Goldsboro.

PEOPLE & PLACES: Goose Creek State Park: Home to Diverse Ecosystems

As the drumming of the pileated woodpecker echoes through a tea-colored swamp, Goose Creek State Park ranger Phoebe Wahab surveys the water for signs of wildlife.

SEA SCIENCE: Oyster Reef Restoration: A Sound Investment

The state invests around $700,000 each year restoring ever-diminishing oyster reefs. But the total annual oyster harvest is not much more than that — about $800,000 to $900,000 — and most does not come from restored reefs, according to Mike Marshall, fisheries biologist for the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF). The math can make oyster reef restoration appear less than profitable.
Captain George Beckwith with red drum

SEA SCIENCE: Recreational Science: Drumming Up Fishery Conservation

In a two-year research project funded by the N.C. Fishery Resource Grant Program (FRG), George Beckwith of Down East Guide Service in Oriental, and co-researcher Rob Aguilar endured pests and foul weather to learn about post-hooking mortality in red drum. Despite it all, Beckwith remains so enthusiastic about the study — which he describes as groundbreaking — that he reapplied to FRG and is taking on another year of study.
Wrightsville Beach bridge

THE GREAT DIVIDERS: OLD-FASHIONED DRAWBRIDGES DWINDLING ALONG COAST

Perched in a tiny wood building high on the edge of the Wrightsville Beach bridge, Nancy Cayton focuses her binoculars south toward the Intracoastal Waterway.
RV Perkins

UNDERWATER EXPLORERS: ECU STUDENTS UNCOVER EDENTON SHIPWRECK

At the mouth of Pembroke Creek in downtown Edenton, several scuba divers bob up and down in dark, chocolate-colored water marked with tall white pipes. Nearby, divers stand shoulder deep in water with waterproof drawing boards. A few feet away, a man in a black wetsuit wades near cypress knees and green lily pads so thick they create a shamrock pattern in the water.

Christmas in Edenton: A Revolutionary Holiday

This year though, there will be no English tea to go with mama's lemon pound cake. Two months ago, a group of prominent Edenton women pledged to boycott English tea, cloth and other goods in support of the independence movement. The mistress, one of the 51 signers of the resolution, has learned that some are even calling it "The Edenton Tea Party." Now, other women are joining the boycott.
Ships in Wanchese Harbor

The Changing Face of Wanchese: Boatbuilding Booming as Fishing Declines

As the wind slices across the waterfront at Wanchese Seafood Industrial Park, Buddy Davis walks briskly toward a sleek white yacht. Davis, who is CEO of Davis Boatworks, stops and glances at the shiny wooden deck and tuna tower on the new 61-foot boat.
Wilmington Port

The Wilmington Port Project: Expanding Prosperity

Upriver is the State Port. Erik Stromberg's Wilmington. Dockside, the view of the Cape Fear is partly obscured by stacks of box-car sized containers. Skyscraper-tall cranes deftly move cargo on and off giant vessels flying flags from distant places. People. Trucks. Rail tracks. Choreographed motion and commotion.

And Sharing the Wealth

When the Wilmington State Port channel-deepening project began last year, it represented thousands of hours of detailed planning by dozens of federal and state agencies, engineering and environmental consultants, safety specialists, and community stakeholder groups.
A black and white picture of a lighthouse

Keepers of the Light: Generations Honor Hatteras Tradition

Jennie Fulcher Sharp recalls her father, Charles Fulcher, wanting a good job that could allow him to spend time with his family — a family that would eventually include a dozen children. He found that balance as an assistant lightkeeper for the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, where he served from shortly before Sharp's birth in 1906 to 1920. "Family is the most important thing," explains Sharp, now 95 years old.

North Carolina Sea Grant: Making Coastal Science Count for 25 Years

For 25 years, North Carolina Sea Grant has brought science to coastal communities — and coastal residents have offered healthy doses of common sense to academics.
Froglet on a blade of grass

Museum ‘Morgue’ Helps Scientists Assess Habitats

When Alvin Braswell spotted a river frog along the edge of North Carolina’s Lumber River in 1974, he didn’t know that he had found a rare amphibian — the last river…