. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. SEA SCIENCE and a Sea Grant fellow, also found a large number of juvenile blue crabs in an exotic species of submerged grass in the mouth of the Albemarle and Currituck sounds behind Kitty Hawk. The thick, bushy grass, called Eurasian water-milfoil or Myriophylum spicatum, grows so fast that it can be a nuisance for boaters. "These alternative nursery areas mainly blink on after hurricanes," says Eggleston. "They have the potential to increase the nursery capabilities of the entire sound sys
. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. SEA SCIENCE and a Sea Grant fellow, also found a large number of juvenile blue crabs in an exotic species of submerged grass in the mouth of the Albemarle and Currituck sounds behind Kitty Hawk. The thick, bushy grass, called Eurasian water-milfoil or Myriophylum spicatum, grows so fast that it can be a nuisance for boaters. "These alternative nursery areas mainly blink on after hurricanes," says Eggleston. "They have the potential to increase the nursery capabilities of the entire sound ; The Eurasian grass also serves as a habitat for finfish, including the juvenile red drum. "Red drum, which is fished almost exclusively by recreational fishers, has been overexploited," he says. However, the most critical habitat for juvenile crabs is sea-grass beds along the sound side of the Outer Banks. The beds consistently receive post-larval crabs during stormy and non-stormy periods. Eggleston says these nursery grounds — which are vital to fishery health — are vulnerable to human impact and must command a high priority in terms of conservation. "They can be threatened by leaking septic waste from soundside development and by Jet Skis and small boats cutting through them," he says. These findings are part of Eggleston's ongoing blue crab study. With initial funding from Sea Grant, he began a large study of recruitment of juvenile blue crabs in North Carolina more than four years ago. The Division of Marine Fisheries, National Science Foundation and Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation have also sup- ported his research. Although the hurricanes may offer a bounty of crabs, there are other concerns about the health of the blue crab fishery. Eggleston has studied overfishing in the Pamlico and Albemarle sounds as well as habitat changes from building jetties outside Oregon Inlet. Eggleston found that blue crab harvests in the Pamlico and Albe
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