. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. dissonant chorus of alarm clocks pierces the predawn silence and Pounces across the dark surface of the pond beside the Mattamuskeet Lodge. Minutes later, a flashlight procession rings the water's edge, and muffled voices become more distinguishable. "We caught an eel," a voice calls out with decided excitement. "There's an eel in the trap we set last ; That's good news to Roger Rulifson, East Carolina University professor of biology and director of the Field Station for Coastal S
. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. dissonant chorus of alarm clocks pierces the predawn silence and Pounces across the dark surface of the pond beside the Mattamuskeet Lodge. Minutes later, a flashlight procession rings the water's edge, and muffled voices become more distinguishable. "We caught an eel," a voice calls out with decided excitement. "There's an eel in the trap we set last ; That's good news to Roger Rulifson, East Carolina University professor of biology and director of the Field Station for Coastal Studies at the Lake Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge. He's hoping to begin research to help pinpoint — and control — a parasite that is taking a heavy toll on the once abundant eel fishery. But he's put his own research interests on the back burner this weekend. He and ECU colleague, Steve Norton, have taken 16 fisheries and marine biology students to the famed Hyde County refuge for field training in fisheries techniques. Here, they'll put into practice textbook methods they've studied. They'll work in teams to gather data on such things as water quality and fish distribution. For many of these university seniors and grad students, this is their first hands-on experience with fishing gear. Understanding how nets and other equipment are used is essential for those planning careers in fisheries resource management, Rulifson explains. First off, they learn that fisheries-related careers demand long hours of hard work. Their "workday" begins at 6 with the first of the six daily water samplings at several sites on the pond, lake and Pamlico Sound. They won't complete the scheduled tasks until they have set, retrieved and reset gear six times, recorded each catch, shared and compared observations from the day, and organized data. Lights out could be midnight or later. The Mattamuskeet experience will be the basis for required end-of-term scientific papers —t
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookcollectionunclibra, booksubjectoceanography
