Spring 2016

LEAPING OUT OF THE LAB: Green Tree Frogs Show Adaptation, Offer Inspiration

Before the talk, the students at Pamlico Middle School in Bayboro had trekked through the murky creek behind their school, digging through the muck to pull out alien critters and chasing tadpoles with nets. Some likely were questioning, perhaps for the first time, whether a career in science could be a possibility.

FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Educate, Edify, Entertain: Connecting with Audiences

Communicating clearly is an important skill — and a critical one that contributes to the success and longevity of a program such as Sea Grant. It is a skill that takes time and experience to develop. These days, we are constantly adapting this skill to new platforms to continue to reach current and expanding audiences.

CONSIDERING COASTAL QUESTIONS: Sea Grant Research Tackles Important Issues

Researchers starting new two-year North Carolina Sea Grant projects are tackling topics across a wide spectrum: algal blooms, storm surge, environmental education, southern flounder stocks, coastal communities, public health, and aquaculture for finfish and shellfish.

ALL GROWN UP

Two projects that benefitted early from North Carolina Sea Grant funding continue to draw attention. The crystal skipper butterfly and the microentrepreneurs of People-First Tourism, Inc., await you at the coast this year.

Crystal Skipper Earns Species Status

After years of research and debate, it’s official, or at least as official as these things can be: The world has a new species of butterfly. Its only certain and seemingly permanent home anywhere in the world is a 30-mile stretch of sand dunes — as the butterfly flies — from Radio Island near Beaufort in Carteret County, down Bogue Banks in Carteret to Bear Island in Hammocks Beach State Park in Onslow County.

Startup Connects Microentrepreneurs With Tourists

Researchers at NC State University say they’ve created a way for the public to easily find and connect with these smallest of small business owners, who often not only serve as experts at their crafts, but also are top-notch tour guides in their communities.

LOCAL SEAFOOD: SHARING SEAFOOD STORIES

To get an idea of how people in the North Carolina seafood industry were marketing their products, this select group chose to join an optional field trip of North Carolina’s coast, held after the Local Seafood Summit in Norfolk, Virginia. The summit was hosted by LocalCatch.org, an organization that focuses on sustainable seafood through direct marketing.

NATURALIST’S NOTEBOOK: Focus on Hydrilla

Hydrilla awareness also has increased in recent years, as have efforts to control and manage it. Last year, partners from state and local agencies met to discuss the plant in areas around the Albemarle Sound. Some members formed a Technical Advisory Group to develop science-based recommendations to address Hydrilla management in the watershed.

Expanding Consumer Palates

Would you eat cape shark? With a fork? With your fingers? Not at all? Three coastal chefs helped North Carolina Sea Grant answer these questions by preparing the fish in many ways.

CURRENTS: Data Surge: Better Storm Records Will Improve Predictions

North Carolina Sea Grant is pleased to continue to be a partner in national efforts to improve storm-surge data gathering and understanding. Those efforts are advancing thanks to the increased attention from the U.S. Geological Survey, or USGS, to storm surge in and following Superstorm Sandy in 2012.

Sea Grant extension staff from the mid-80s on a boat

Who Are You?

Here's the photo from the back cover of the Spring 2016 issue of Coastwatch. Could you identify everyone?