Sea Grant’s 2007
2nd Quarter Highlights
(Archive of SG Highlights)

Sea Grant E-Currents Newsletter now available!

“Seed” Grant blossoms into new ecology and marine labs Small investments can pay big dividends. A South Carolina Consortium grant of just $1,500 in the mid 1980s led to the development of the Marine Lab and the Ecology Lab at the Roper Mountain Science Center in Greenville, SC in 2006. The grant to fund a “touch-tank” so that children could touch and become more familiar with sea life, led to the development of marine and ecology labs. Last year, the Roper Mountain Science Center offered lessons to over 90,000 students, and over 20,000 attended lessons in the Natural Science Building, which houses the two labs. The Roper Mountain Science Center provides an opportunity for Sea Grant to bring marine science to students in the “upstate.”

Galveston County leads state in number of wet slips Galveston County is leading the state in terms of marina wet slips, a recently completed survey shows. The Texas Sea Grant survey shows more than 43,000 wet slips in Texas. Of those wet slips in Texas, 30,901 are in the state’s top 10 boating areas. The No. 1 area for wet slips is the Clear Lake/Galveston Bay area, with 8,209. Of those, more than 5,480 are in 18 Galveston County marinas. The survey indicates an abundance of marinas offering slip space at comparatively reasonable prices.

Hawaii Sea Grant publishes book on reef plants "Hawaiian Reef Plants," produced by the University of Hawai'i Sea Grant, features photographs and technical details that will help beach-goers identify and learn about seaweeds. The volume discusses pollutants, aggressive alien seaweeds, Hawaiian cultural uses, how to avoid becoming part of the problem on Hawaiian reefs and more.

Research finds cleaner water increases Lake Erie waterfront property values Ohio Sea Grant researchers have discovered that cleaner shoreline water can bring higher returns when selling a waterfront property on Lake Erie. The demand for shoreline property bordering Lake Erie’s eight Ohio counties has skyrocketed over the past 20 years, with average home prices starting at $500,000. The researchers found that when Lake Erie water clarity increased, property values increased by 4-5%. Average waterfront properties also increased the closer they were to beaches. A house’s value rose by nearly $12,000 (or the resale value of adding a fireplace) when that waterfront home was within 10 miles of a Lake Erie beach. This research shows a direct link between environmental amenities and increased economic value.

Sea Grant plays integral role in Pennsylvania's Aquatic Invasive Species Management Plan The Pennsylvania Aquatic Invasive Species Management Plan was signed by Governor Rendell and approved in 2007 by the federal Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force. Sarah Whitney from Pennsylvania Sea Grant, chaired the committee that drafted the plan. Purple loosestrife, zebra and quagga mussels, sea lamprey, Eurasian watermilfoil, and northern snakehead are just a few of the AIS known to interfere with recreational activities, clog drinking water intakes, and reduce the ability of lakes and streams to support native fish and wildlife. The goal of the Pennsylvania AIS Management plan is to reduce the harmful ecological, economic, and human health impacts of AIS.

Sea Grant survey shows support for wind power Delaware residents are strongly in favor of offshore wind power (whirling wind turbines as tall as 40-story buildings located off the coast to generate electricity) as a future source of energy for the state, according to a survey conducted by University of Delaware researchers. When asked to select from a variety of sources to help the state increase its energy supply, more than 90 percent of the respondents supported an offshore wind option, even if wind power were to add between $1 and $30 per month to their electric bills. This summer, the Sea Grant scientists and their graduate students will survey out-of-state visitors to Delaware's beaches to further explore how an offshore wind farm would affect tourism. The interim report on the survey and a one-page executive summary are available at http://www.ocean.udel.edu/windpower

Sea Grant research cover story of National Fisherman The cover story for the February 2007 issue of National Fisherman featured a collaborative project headed by Virginia Sea Grant. The purpose of the research is to estimate the impact of Chesapeake Bay's gillnet fishery on sturgeon populations (sturgeon are caught as bycatch in gillnets). The project also seeks to determine sturgeon spawning grounds. Decades of over-fishing and habitat loss forced the sturgeon population into a steep decline. Populations of Atlantic sturgeon are now extirpated in Maryland and at historically low abundance in Virginia, where remnant populations exist in the James and York rivers.

Invasive quagga mussels found in Duluth harbor Federal officials found an invasive species called the quagga mussel for the first time in Lake Superior. The prolific mussel has disrupted the ecosystem of other waters by competing with native species and small fish for food. Quagga mussels were first noticed in Lake Erie in the late 1980s, and have spread widely through Lakes Ontario, Huron and Michigan. Alewives, smelt and bloater populations have crashed in Lake Huron coincident with the expansion of quaggas. In addition to ecological problems, quagga and zebra mussels have grown dense enough in some areas to clog intake pipes for industrial uses, power plants and drinking water systems, and to spoil traditional fishing and swimming areas.

GLOS Making Progress The Great Lakes Sea Grant Network, led by the Michigan and Ohio Sea Grant programs, has initiated work on developing a Great Lakes Observation System (GLOS) education and outreach project. The Great Lakes Sea Grant Network formed GLOS Education and Outreach Committees, which have identified key deliverables, formed work teams to focus on the deliverables, developed a working budget and begun to create a strategic education and outreach effort for GLOS.

COSEE Great Lakes inspires student learning and stewardship in local communities Chicago and northwest Indiana educators, grades 4-10, attended a workshop in East Chicago, Indiana to learn how to incorporate problem-based learning about invasive species into their curriculum. Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant scientists and educators taught the educators about 10 Great Lakes invasive species and shared ideas on how to involve their students in a community service learning project to heighten awareness about invasive species problems. The community projects will identify prevention and control methods so that citizens of all ages can take appropriate action to play an essential stewardship role. The final community stewardship projects will be shared globally.

Rhode Island Sea Grant extension leader chairs $2.3 million initiative aimed at researching deadly lobster disease For years, a bacterial shell disease has affected local lobster populations without any clear explanations of the cause. Now, a concerted search for answers is underway. A $3-million appropriation, sponsored by Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, was used to create the New England Lobster Research Initiative based at the University of Rhode Island. Kathleen Castro, Rhode Island Sea Grant's fisheries extension leader, was named chairwoman of the initiative’s executive committee. A total of $2.3 million in grants was awarded to nine research projects and two monitoring programs targeted towards finding out more about a disease that afflicts as many as a quarter of the lobsters hauled in Rhode Island.

Sea Grant discovers source of antibiotics in striped bass A North Carolina Sea Grant researcher discovered antibiotic peptides, known as piscidins, in hybrid striped bass. Piscidins are common immune cells found in a number of tissues, including the skin, gill, and gut of fish, and in the tissue of other vertebrates, including humans.  The research shows piscidins demonstrate potent, broad-spectrum antibacterial activity, including the ability to kill pathogens in antibiotic-resistant fish and in humans. The peptides are of particular interest to researchers looking to protect aquacultured fish from infection and parasites. The team is credited as the first set of researchers to isolate a peptide antibiotic from mast cells of any animal.