SEA SCIENCE: Riding the Waves: Identifying and Protecting Marine Mammals

Between July and October 2013, about 700 dolphins stranded along the U.S. East Coast, drawing the attention of scientists and coastal residents.

SEA SCIENCE: When Worlds Meet: Relevant Results When Citizens, Scientists Collaborate

In addition to working on the lines between disciplines, Freitag appreciates and wants to foster discussion about the application of research and creative ways to develop outreach opportunities. She hopes that someday, scientific literacy will be high enough that the line between the expert scientist and average person will be sufficiently gray that people will become comfortable working across it.

CURRENTS: New Challenges Ahead

When colleagues discuss Steve Rebach, they use many adjectives — Passionate, efficient, smart, but invariably, they all agree on one thing: when Rebach is around, there will be laughs.

FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Forecast Calls for Change

Inside this edition of Coastwatch, you'll find out where to catch the Chefs Competition at the N.C. Seafood Festival in Morehead City, celebrate Hatteras Island culture at Day at the Docks, and bring the family out for fun at the Outer Banks Seafood Festival. I'm into eating, but if you're more into birding and biking — maybe not at the same time — head to the Wings Over Water Wildlife Festival or join Cycle North Carolina's annual Mountains to Coast ride.

NATURALIST’S NOTEBOOK: Silver Spawners: Restoring Shad to the Cape Fear

But the silvery shad, a favorite of anglers, should find the Cape Fear a bit more welcoming these days. Returning spawners will discover fish-friendly improvements advanced by the Cape Fear River Partnership — a coalition of 23 state and federal agencies, municipalities and conservation groups.

Then and Now: Susan White Returns to North Carolina

In her whirlwind first few months at Sea Grant, White has had multiple visits to the coast, but alas, no time to bundle up in waders and layers to venture out for field work. Instead, she has more informal fact-finding missions: learning about critical and emerging topics and needs along the coast and through the watersheds.

Trail Mix: Scenic Byway, Maritime Trail Beckon to Visitors

This season, whether you prefer to travel in the comfort of your car or of your armchair, the Outer Banks has something for you.

LITERARY TRAILS: Lost and Found in the Northeastern Corridor

In Literary Trails of Eastern North Carolina: A Guidebook, Georgann Eubanks offers readers 18 tours that take them to the places that have inspired novelists, playwrights, poets and journalists to write about eastern North Carolina.

MARINER’S MENU: Broiled Oysters

A hard-to-open oyster shell holds a tasty treat. We share a recipe for broiled oysters from Mariner's Menu: 30 Years of Fresh Seafood Ideas, a resource book by Joyce Taylor, available at UNC Press and many bookstores.

Undersea Exploration: Charting New Pathways to the Abyss

This spring, Ross and colleagues embark on the final voyage of an ambitious four-year project designed to fill at least part of that knowledge void. The cruise is slated for May 2 to 27.

A Simulated Sea Drive

These visitors to the Nature Research Center at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences are actually onboard a model submersible that has been featured since the center opened in April 2012.

FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: It’s Good To Be Home

Having grown up in Orange County, I really did not expect to be able to utter those words from Raleigh, given my coastal research background. It is with pleasure that I have begun a new adventure here with North Carolina Sea Grant. With many wonderful opportunities to engage with a range of partners from across the state, inland to coastal, I often now feel closer to the coast than when I was living in Charleston, S.C.

FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Teamwork Offers Keys to Success

For example, the coming year will bring exciting opportunities to broaden Sea Grant's engagement with academic partners through a new Coastal and Marine Science Consortium that will include leaders of marine-focused programs across the University of North Carolina system and Duke University.

Mercury Content, Gear Changes among New FRG Projects

The N.C. Fishery Resource Grant Program will fund nine projects in 2013. Administered by North Carolina Sea Grant, FRG supports cooperative research among commercial and recreational fishermen, seafood businesses, and scientists in projects that have practical applications for the community.

SAILING THROUGH STORMY SEAS: Fish Houses Change to Stay Afloat

Over the past decade, local fish houses are fighting against an influx of cheaper and higher volumes of seafood imports. Adding to this, the economic downturn of 2008 has hit the wholesale and retail operations of fish houses, particularly those that rely on coastal tourists.

From Sheepshead to Softshells: North Carolina’s James Beard Award Contenders Talk Local Seafood

This year, North Carolina had 13 semifinalists and has one finalist for the awards. Like Beard, many North Carolina contenders feel a strong connection to the shore and to fresh, local seafood.

Marine Debris, Oyster Health among New BCSRP Projects

This year, North Carolina Sea Grant will fund six N.C. Blue Crab and Shellfish Research Program projects. The BCSRP pairs crabbers, and shellfish harvesters and farmers with researchers and fishery managers to investigate and enhance North Carolina's blue crab and shellfish fisheries.

Mummichog Tagging: 384.36F2B3418C is in the Creek

Beside a small creek in Beaufort, Paul Rudershausen struggles to unlock a transceiver unit. His effort is a sign that the device has been working well. When the unit was first installed, he said, he might have had to unlock the big metal door several times a day to troubleshoot. Now the lock has become stiff from limited use because all is working as it should.

Sea Grass Sustains Fisheries

If you like local seafood, then you like sea grass. Also called submerged aquatic vegetation or SAV, sea grass provides habitat, at some point, to many of the finfish and shellfish species people like to eat in North Carolina.

SIZE MATTERS: Testing a New Mesh Size for Black Sea Bass

This time, they are experimenting with various mesh sizes that will trap fish 11 inches or longer, the new size limit for the commercial black sea bass fishery. They also want to ensure sublegal, or undersized, fish can escape.

GUTTING-EDGE SCIENCE: Fish Stomachs Help Identify Atlantic Pelagic Food Web

Catching fish is the most important part of fishing. Gutting is a messy step to cook what is landed. For seafood lovers and anglers, fish guts and gonads are rarely of any value. Most often, they land in the trash.

Introducing North Carolina’s Amazing Coast: Natural Wonders from Alligators to Zoeas

When I first read Georgia's Amazing Coast in 2005, three thoughts popped into my head. First, Georgia and North Carolina have a ton of coastal animals, plants and habitats in common. Second, although the two coastal areas have many similarities, Georgia has a number of plants and animals — many presented in the beautifully illustrated plates of that book — that differ from what exists in the Tar Heel State. Third, there should be a similar book for North Carolina. So now it is 2013, and our book is finally here!

NATURALIST’S NOTEBOOK: A Shell’s Life

Sometimes, the beach can yield unexpected treasures. Fourteen-year-old Anne Fogleman made the pages of the News & Observer for her rare find on a recent seashell hunt with the N.C. Shell Club. She was beachcombing at Shackleford Island when she spotted a tropical cockscomb oyster attached to a buoy.

Scotch Bonnet: Beachcombing Biology: The Stories Your Finds Tell

Beachcombing — spending time on a beach looking for lost or discarded items, natural specimens, etc., that are useful or interesting — is a great and inexpensive way to get some exercise and meditation time, along with a dose of vitamin D.

The Science of Shipwrecks

The riches of the North Carolina coast — sparkling beaches, winding shores and hidden coves, vibrant port cities, and abundant fishing — include another kind of treasure, often the buried kind.

A Center for Growing Seafood, Testing Ideas

By design and location, North Carolina State University's Marine Aquaculture Research Center, or MARC, is something of a hybrid — a mix of opportunity and challenge, science and economics.

PEOPLE & PLACES: Taking Kids Outside Matters: Promoting Environmental Literacy in North Carolina

Not all outdoor education experiences involve getting wet. But students learn while having fun — snorkeling, hiking, canoeing, walking in the woods, beachcombing, you name it. More than the simple enjoyment that these activities provide, outdoor education is an important component in learning about the environment.

Q&A WITH GEORGANN EUBANKS

Here, Eubanks chats about her travels in eastern North Carolina, what influence place has on writers and how she thinks readers can best use her guidebooks.

SEA SCIENCE: Traversing Untrodden Ground

The mud sucks at her boots as Teri O'Meara enters the marsh on Carrot Island. But the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill graduate student doesn't turn back. Instead she ventures in deeper to compare bacterial and fungal activity in different areas on the island.

Beyond the Choir: Scientists Tune in More Students

There is a resounding crack as Coley Hughes pries open the top of the fish's skull. The buzz of 28 high school students falters, replaced by a collective gasp and some nervous giggles.

LOCAL CATCH: Hunting Lions

In early June, the "If You Can't Beat 'Em, Eat 'Em" lionfish/lobster spearfishing tournament took place in Carteret County.

NATURALIST’S NOTEBOOK: Dinosaurs in the Rivers?

A prehistoric species, Atlantic sturgeon were a common menu item along the East Coast in the 19th century. However, Atlantic sturgeon are making news these days for placement on a different list: the federal endangered species list.

PEOPLE & PLACES: Voiland Earns Sea Grant National Honor

Voiland's 40-plus years of service to the Sea Grant network — from an early focus on Lake Ontario in New York to his administrative roles — were cited for the William Q. Wick Award for Visionary Career Leadership through Administration. The award honors a network leader who served Oregon Sea Grant in multiple roles.

PEOPLE AND PLACES: Diamond Shoals and Frying Pan: Offshore Light Towers Beckon New Missions

For 35 years, Diamond Shoals Light Tower performed its duty admirably, beaming a flashing light across the waved-toss Atlantic. It warned passing ships to steer clear of the shalow sandbars extending from the Outer Banks.

CURRENTS: Estuarine Species in the Spotlight

North Carolina Sea Grant's popular seafood availability chart was recently adapted for display at the N.C. Aquarium at Roanoke Island's new pier.

Local Catch: Traditional Working Boats of the Outer Banks

The waters of the state are as diverse as the skiffs and boats that use them. Often, boats are specific to their intended catch, with adaptations to produce a higher-quality product.

MARINER’S MENU: Ingesting Invaders: Serving Up Lionfish

Some coastal restaurants, such as Bistro by the Sea in Morehead City, are trying to help reduce the population of this species by serving up these fish to eager diners (see the Coastwatch article, "Hunting Lions").

Meeting of the Minds: Scientists and Teachers Connect

As sons of teachers, Ethan Theuerkauf and Justin Ridge understand the limited resources and tight schedules that educators face in their classrooms.

PEOPLE AND PLACES: Turning an Eye (and Ear) on Core Sound

There's a natural rhythm to life in the Core Sound region of Carteret County, an area of vast coastal marshes along North Carolina's Outer Banks punctuated by small fishing villages. Accessible only by water for much of its history, the tight-knit community has nurtured generations of fishermen and boatbuilders, families of strong traditions and even stronger links to the sea.

CURRENTS: Research Vessel Changes Hands

Now the Marine Technology, or MarTech, program at Cape Fear Community College that trains these specialists is getting a shot in the arm in the form of the R/V Cape Hatteras — a new, bigger research vessel to replace their aging instruction vessel.

LOCAL CATCH: The Reel World: Kids Ask a Fisherman About His Career

Outer Banks native Dewey Hemilright always knew he would not have a 9-to-5 desk job. Growing up, he held many positions that involved outdoor physical activity. “In the summer time,…

NATURALIST’S NOTEBOOK: Students Boost Bogue Butterfly

Students at Harkers Island Elementary School are helping the Bogue Bank’s butterfly. The crystal skipper, identified by its brown wings and white spots, is native to North Carolina’s coast. Science…

North Carolina’s Amazing Coast: Natural Wonders from Alligators to Zoeas Debuts

The time is near. North Carolina's Amazing Coast: Natural Wonders from Alligators to Zoeas soon will be in local bookstores.

ON THE WATER: Save Fuel, Money: Running Your Boat by the Numbers

Money-saving tips for running your boat on gas, ethanol, diesel or whatever fuel you run your boat on.