Sea grant forum is scheduled

By From staff reports
Published in Sports on March 13, 2009 1:46 PM

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Research on spiny dogfish, southern flounder, turtles and blue crabs will be among the topics highlighted at the annual North Carolina Fisheries Forum on March 17 in New Bern.

The event -- sponsored by North Carolina Sea Grant -- is free and open to the public. The presentations will be relevant to anyone interested in cutting-edge fisheries research. The forum will be held at the New Bern Riverfront Convention Center from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Researchers receiving support through the N.C. Fishery Resource Grant Program and the N.C. Blue Crab and Shellfish Research Program will present the findings of several recent concluded studies and observational opportunities.

Speakers will include Ryan Spidel, who will share his work on southern flounder habitat and the role of watersheds in their life history and growth, and David Gallop, who is researching the impact of female blue crab size limits on commercial crabbers in Albemarle Sound.

"The forum is a good way to present findings from these projects. It's an avenue for fishermen to interact with other fishermen, researchers, and fishery managers," said Marc Turano, Sea Grant mariculture and blue crab specialist.

Sea Grant is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's premier collegiate research entity. Currently, the Sea Grant program oversees projects in 32 coastal communities to monitor and protect the ecology of the coasts.