CURRENTS: Encouraging Collaborative Community Research

“We are seeking proposals that focus on creative problem solving,” explains Susan White, Sea Grant executive director. “The new projects will bring together local knowledge and intuition within coastal communities and the academic rigor of university researchers. Recommendations based on results of such strong field-testing ultimately are more likely to be incorporated into resource management decisions and local business practices.”

LEGAL TIDES: Education, Outreach Needed for Wildlife Plan Success

Protecting the biodiversity of an ecosystem increases its resilience and productivity, as well as expands the services and benefits it provides. Wildlife and their habitats supply us with medicines, food and other resources. These spaces also offer recreation and tourism opportunities. Wildlife habitat also provides us with advantages, such as filtering and cleaning water.

MARINER’S MENU: Food Fish, Good Fish

“This is a species that is relatively unfamiliar to visitors to the coast. It’s not widely available in restaurants,” Nash explains. “I wanted to evaluate it in a preparation that wasn’t deep fried or grilled, something other than the traditional way of cooking mullet.”

NATURALIST’S NOTEBOOK: NC Alligator Population Growing, Still Vulnerable

Though slow growing and late to mature, alligators in North Carolina nonetheless appear to be thriving in the Coastal Plain, according to a recent study by North Carolina State University researchers.

PEOPLE AND PLACES: CUT THE CORNER: Drawing Visitors to Northeastern North Carolina

Many who journey to the Outer Banks take Interstate 95 to  Rocky Mount, then U.S. 64 straight to the coast, with visions of sandy beaches and lighthouses on their minds. Those coming from the north drive 86 miles of highway, bypassing a shorter 59-mile path lined with historic towns, trails and parks.

PEOPLE AND PLACES: Dog(fish) Days of Winter

What fishing tournament on the North Carolina coast targets an oddly named shark, gives the winner a bobblehead and frequently suffers through miserable weather? It’s the annual Johnnie Mercer’s Pier Dogfish Tournament at Wrightsville Beach, a North Carolina saltwater fishing tournament scheduled in January.

RESURRECTING STURGEON: Infusing New Flavors Into an Old Favorite

Currently two North Carolina businesses — Marshallberg Farm of Smyrna and Atlantic Caviar & Sturgeon Company of Lenoir — are culturing Russian sturgeon, Acipenser gueldenstadtii.

SEA SCIENCE: HOT TOPICS: Coastal Conference Sparks Conversations

More than 200 experts from government, academia, industry and community groups gathered this spring for North Carolina's coastal conference.

Sturgeon Recipes

Tim Coyne, executive chef at Bistro By The Sea, shares some recipes that were sampled during sturgeon tasting sessions.

Throwback Tasting

While his colleagues were seeking new ways to prepare and serve sturgeon, Chuck Weirich, North Carolina Sea Grant marine aquaculture specialist, was looking to the past.

FROM THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR: Opportunities Abound

It’s been a year since my last letter-writing opportunity. Here are some highlights of what has happened since then.

FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: North Carolina’s Coastal Conference Offers Varied Voices

Convening interested parties representing multiple disciplines to address priority coastal issues for the state: That’s all in a day’s work for the North Carolina Sea Grant team. We are considered a trusted broker of information and a team that has cultivated close, long-term relationships with a broad range of stakeholders.

FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: The Sea Grant Charge: Improving Science, Education and Collaboration

I am pleased to announce that Sea Grant has received an award through the Kenan Institute for Engineering, Technology and Science (KIETS) program at North Carolina State University. The funding will support a new program that we are calling the North Carolina Sea Grant Community Collaborative Research Grant Program. The Community Collaborative program will provide grants for teams consisting of individuals and communities with local ecosystem knowledge and research experts. Together, they will address the state’s high-priority coastal issues across a range of academic programs, including natural and social sciences, education, and business management.

LOCAL CATCH: Trapping and Tasting an Invader

They collaborated on a pilot study to test traps to capture lionfish and conduct a consumer taste testing for the fish. The traps were designed to maximize capture of the invasive species, not of other marine animals in the area.

REWARDING INNOVATION: Jones Awards

Every other year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration presents the Walter B. Jones Sr. Awards for Coastal and Ocean Resource Management. This year, six recipients of this prestigious honor are from North Carolina — all with North Carolina Sea Grant ties.

FEAR FACTOR: Bonus for North Carolina

John Fear may have been born in Raleigh, but it was his youth in New Bern that set him on a career path as a scientist.

FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR:Where Minds Collide, Opportunities Arise

North Carolina Sea Grant is a long-term partner contributing science, education and support to our state. We are committed to the open and engaging exchange of information — activities that lead to new understanding of the functioning of our coastal systems and communities.

TO CATCH A CURRENT

Float or swim? Recently, this question has been at the center of a debate about what people should be told to do if caught in a rip current.

PLANTING THE SEEDS FOR A COMMON WEALTH

That’s what some University of North Carolina Wilmington scientists hope their research will do: Build the oyster aquaculture industry in North Carolina. Seed funding from North Carolina Sea Grant has jump-started two projects that could help the state achieve this goal. These UNCW researchers are developing building blocks that might make it easier and more efficient for those who want to grow oysters in the state.

BRINGING BACK A BIVALVE: Sea Grant Works to Restore Oysters

North Carolina loves its oysters. Not just hot off the grill or raw on a salty cracker, but also as a keystone species in the state’s more than 3,000 square miles of estuaries. Oysters filter water, provide shelter and protect against erosion. But by some estimates, they are down to as low as 10 percent of their historical numbers.

IMPROVING SURVIVAL: NEW GEAR MAY HELP CATCH-AND-RELEASE FISH

The research team — experts from North Carolina, Virginia and New Jersey Sea Grant programs — wanted to test several experimental devices that could help reef fishes return to deep waters when they are released.

MUSIC IN THE MARSH: The Summer Soundscapes of the Rachel Carson Reserve

Close your eyes and imagine you are standing on the corner of a busy city street. What do you hear? The crossing sign beeping, cars buzzing by, groups of people talking — all of these sounds make up the city’s soundscape.

NATURALIST’S NOTEBOOK: Evicting An Invader: Reducing the Spread of Hydrilla

“When we think about a plant like Hydrilla in some of our coastal systems — and what those coastal systems mean to the state of North Carolina — there could be some major, major problems and impacts,” says Brett Hartis, an aquatic weed scientist who earned his doctorate at North Carolina State University.

THE POWER OF OBSERVATION

Southern flounder, the species that Bruno and Coble seek, is the most economically important estuarine finfish in the state, according to data from the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries, or DMF. In 2014, nearly 1.7 million pounds of the fish were landed in the commercial fishery, with a dockside value exceeding 4.8 million.

BUILDING A BETTER REEF TAKES A TEAM

Lugging a jackhammer across an oyster reef is like carrying someone over an uneven bed of nails. I have the scars to prove it. Yet, if you need to get a core sample from an oyster reef, there is no better tool.

BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS FOR SUCCESS

With that in mind, fisheries experts from not just two, but three Sea Grant programs — North Carolina, Virginia and New Jersey — collaborated to design a solution to safely release fishes that experience barotrauma.

COASTAL CHALLENGES: Building Crucial Collaborations

At the request of the University of North Carolina System President Tom Ross, White has worked with colleagues within her program, across the UNC System, and in partner agencies and industries to develop a wide-ranging agenda for North Carolina’s Coastal Conference on April 14.

CURRENTS: IN THEIR OWN WORDS: Sea Grant Fellows Share Research Snapshots

North Carolina Sea Grant supports many graduate students through fellowships that cover a wide range of research interests. The programs are committed to supporting the state’s future scientists and leaders.

PEOPLE AND PLACES: Students Train Eyes on the Coast

The ocean ran red around Bodie Island last October. Local reports said that the discolored water stretched from Oregon Inlet toward Buxton.

NATURALIST’S NOTEBOOK: CAROLINA BAYS: Another Man’s Treasure

The Waccamaw Siouan Indians say thousands of years ago, the night sky flared incandescent as a meteor fell ablaze from the west and struck earth. As surrounding swamps and rivers flowed into the concaved ground, cooling the basin and its waters to hues of blue and green, Lake Waccamaw was created.

Demographic Data Offer Insights

Significant differences in population trends are found across counties in the region — and even within some counties, notes Rebecca Tippett, director of Carolina Demography at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Some counties are seeing population losses, especially in young adult age categories.

SMALL BUT MIGHTY: MINIGRANTS SUPPORT QUICK TURNAROUND, PILOT STUDIES

Minigrants are an important part of North Carolina Sea Grant’s funding portfolio. They are rapid-response, seed and starter grants, usually not more than $5,000. They are provided on a limited basis, as funding allows. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

STATE TREASURES: NC Parks Approach Century Mark

Legislation that ultimately led to the creation of North Carolina’s state parks system was passed just over a century ago.

USING UPCYCLED CRAB POTS TO CREATE OYSTER REEFS

Experienced boaters occasionally spot them in time, but even the most weathered watermen have trouble steering clear of derelict crab pots that litter waterways along North Carolina’s coast.

Jellyfish in Bloom: Are Humans Contributing to Local Populations?

Nina Sassano used to be a research technician at the Barnegat Bay Partnership in New Jersey. Her tasks included monitoring barrier nets designed to keep jellyfish out of certain parts of the bay.

Navigating Coastal Transportation Needs

As the next 10-year, statewide transportation plan is expected to become final in June, the timing of new projects is drawing attention from North Carolina’s coastal communities.

Peace at the Pasquotank

I find peace at the river At the close of the day Where problems still exist, but troubles wash away.

SEA SCIENCE: Rising Waters and Migrating Marshes: Researchers Track Changes in North Carolina’s Coastal Habitats

Margaret Garner works hard for her research. “One thing I learned from this project is that it can be tough to access a randomly selected GPS point in a salt marsh,” admits the East Carolina University doctoral student. “Sometimes you literally can’t get there from here.”

SWIMMING WITH SHARKS

In a typical year, one or two shark bites are reported in North Carolina. This summer, the relatively high number of shark bites has caused North Carolina beaches to become the center of media attention, from the local to global scale.

A LITTLE SLICE OF HYDE COUNTY: Investigating the Science of Wetlands Restoration

After a dusty ride down farm roads bordered by carpets of soybeans and the stubble of late-season cornfields, Mike Burchell stops the truck next to what looks like an impenetrable swamp.

Beyond The Beach: African-American History in Coastal Carolina

North Carolina’s coastal region is not just a destination for fishing, bird watching and enjoying sunny beaches. It is a region of history. Eastern North Carolina has many sites that reflect the richness of African-American life over the years...

BUSINESS AS USUAL: Fishing for a Living

Few women in North Carolina set their sights on fishing for a living. Current statistics show only 5.5 percent of the 5,449 commercial fishing license holders in the state are women. That rate varied little over the past decade, according to the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries. Anecdotal evidence also indicates that female deck hands, much less captains, are rare.

FISHING FOR FUNDING

Since receiving support from North Carolina Sea Grant for a pilot study to test Organobait™, KBI has leveraged $168,750 in grants from the National Science Foundation and matching grants from the N.C. Department of Commerce’s One North Carolina Fund.

LIGHTS, CAMERA, SHARK

Chuck Bangley is a North Carolina Sea Grant-funded doctoral candidate in coastal resources management at East Carolina University. He blogs at Ya Like Dags at yalikedags.southernfriedscience.com and tweets from @SpinyDag.…

ALGAE PATROL: Documenting a Changing Community

When Wilson Freshwater began finding new tropical seaweeds off the coast of North Carolina, he had questions. What is their abundance? What might accompany them? What else does this mean for North Carolina’s coastal waters?

FRESH FROM THE FARM

North Carolina has a growing aquaculture and mariculture industry. Local farms produce many species that appear on our dinner tables — trout, catfish, hybrid striped bass, freshwater prawns, crawfish and shellfish.

Moving Through the Marsh

Cold outside? Pretend it's summer and journey through a coastal salt marsh. Learn about this habitat now and be that much more knowledgeable when the warmer weather rolls around.

SEA SCIENCE: DOES IT REALLY START AT HOME? How North Carolina Marine Habitats Influence Black Sea Bass Growth and Maturity

This is the second day of the Southeastern Fisheries Independent Survey marine research cruise aboard the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Ship Pisces. Outside, the ship navigates the waters offshore North Carolina. Inside, I navigate my dark cabin and sneak out the door, trying not to disturb my roommate, who has only just returned from his midnight shift.