SEVEN PEOPLE MISSING OFF CAROLINA COAST

CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Coast Guard is searching for a 27-foot chartered fishing vessel with seven people aboard that is missing somewhere off Murrells Inlet, S.C.

Super Suds II, a chartered fishing vessel owned by Marlin Quay Marina in Garden City, S.C., was reported missing yesterday at around 8 p.m. by its owners after the vessel did not return to the marina at its scheduled time of 6:30 p.m.

Personnel at Marlin Quay Marina spoke with the crew of Super Suds II at about 5 p.m. yesterday. The crew of Super Suds II reported that they were on their way in and expected to be back to Marlin Quay Marina at about 6:30 p.m.

The Coast Guard received a call from Marlin Quay Marina at approximately 8 p.m. reporting Super Suds II missing. The chartered fishing vessel's last known position was about 60-miles east of Murrells Inlet.

Rescue coordinators from Coast Guard Sector Charleston launched a helicopter from Air Facility Charleston and rescue boat from Station Georgetown, S.C., to search for Super Suds II. The rescue boat crew and aircrew searched until 12 a.m. today.

A Coast Guard aircrew in a fixed-wing C-130 aircraft from Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C., and a rescue boat crew from Station Georgetown, S.C., resumed the search for the Super Suds II today at 4 a.m.

Rescue coordinators have also recalled the 87-foot Coast Guard Cutter Tarpon from Tybee Island, Ga., to assist in the search. The Tarpon should be off Murrells Inlet today at about 10 a.m.

The crew of Super Suds II reportedly has the appropriate safety and survival gear aboard their vessel including lifejackets, a VHF marine radio, and a emergency position indicating radio beacon or EPIRB.

The conditions offshore when the vessel went missing were favorable with three-to-four foot seas, 10-to-15 knot winds and clear skies. The conditions remain the same for the search for the missing vessel.

South Carolina Department of Natural Resources biologists released about 300 juvenile cobia into the Port Royal Sound May 3.

The cobia, averaging a size of about 3 pounds and 21 inches long, were externally marked with tags that anglers can easily observe and report to the S.C. Department of Natural Resources (DNR) toll-free fish tag reporting line, 1-888- TAGS-4-SC (1-888- 824-7472).

Already, 10 recaptures from this release have been reported to the toll-free number�five were caught near the Trask Landing where they were initially released, and five were reported from further out in the Port Royal Sound.

"We hope the return rate of anglers calling to report the tags will provide us with additional information about this species," said Wally Jenkins, DNR biologist. "Recapture rates from previously tagged and released cobia have suggested that as they mature, they return to the Port Royal Sound Estuary. We want to determine what is unique about the estuary for this species."

The DNR’s award-winning Waddell Mariculture Center is world renowned for its milestone achievements in aquaculture and fisheries enhancement. This release event was the fifth in a series of releases, dating back to October 2001, of medium-sized (12 inches) and larger-sized (21 inches) externally marked cobia. The fish released this month were spawned in captivity last summer and raised in tanks at the Waddell Mariculture Center over the winter. Releases of 93 similar sized fish last spring yielded a recapture rate of seven percent exclusively from anglers fishing in the Port Royal Sound estuary during summer 2005. Biologists expect to see similar or higher rates of return from this release.

"The objective of the cobia releases is to learn about the movements and habitat preferences of this important species," Jenkins said. "To date, tag returns have indicated that juvenile fish remain in this estuary all summer and then move into the ocean and head south for the winter."

Fish that have been released previously have been reported from as far south as Juno Beach, Fla., during their winter migration. Also, one 12-inch fish from a group released in fall 2001 was recaptured last spring in Port Royal Sound, measuring 47 inches in total length and weighing 40 pounds. Al Stokes, DNR biologist and Waddell Mariculture Center manager, said: "Because we have a spawning date and a recapture date for this fish, it becomes a measuring tool for comparing growth patterns for the species as a whole." The notable recapture also indicates that as fish mature they return to the Port Royal Sound estuary to feed before spawning.

The data supports the hypothesis that the Port Royal Sound is an important nursery and spawning area for Atlantic Coast cobia and that conserving this habitat is essential to the long-term health of the fishery, according to Jenkins.

Blue Crab Research Grants Awarded

Blue crabs are North Carolina’s most economically valuable fishery, with an average value of $24.5 million dollars for the previous five years. Declining harvests in recent years have generated concern for the valuable fishery and has motivated managers and researchers to look for new ways to protect the stock.

This year, the North Carolina Blue Crab Research Program will fund projects testing a device to keep sponge crabs out of crab pots, characterizing and tracking the ocean movements of blue crabs in North Carolina, and investigating their post-larval immigration into estuaries.

These projects will provide data that could help in further assessing blue crab populations as well as in managing the fishery, according to Marc Turano, blue crab specialist with North Carolina Sea Grant.

In 2006, the program will provide a total of $467,191 to fund 15 new research projects related to North Carolina’s blue crabs.

Blue Crab Biology
· Callinectin: A New Pharmaceutical from Blue Crabs: Edward Noga of North Carolina State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. $69,240.

· Informing Blue Crab Managers: Activity and Fecundity of Crabs from Terminal Molt to Death: Dan Rittschof of Duke University. $33,543.

· Larviculture of Blue Crab (Calinectes sapidus): Ryan Murashige of Raleigh and Harry Daniels of North Carolina State University. $28,982.

Social and Economic Impacts of the Blue Crab Fishery
· Bait Reduction in the Hard Crab Fishery: Robert Williams of Harbinger. $16,590.

· Minimizing Pot Loss and Retrieval of Lost Pots: Jason Hassell of Washington. $12,578.

· Testing a New Technique for Reducing Sea Turtle Damage to Crab Pots: Ronnie and Virginia Cahoon of Smyrna, Naomi Avissar of Beaufort and Larry Crowder of Duke University. $13,509.

· Contamination Risk from Chicken Bait During Normal Crabbing Activities: Ray Golden of Beaufort and Dan Rittschof of Duke University. $28,894.

· Costly Crabbing: Paul Rose of Moyock. $7,000.

Population Assessment
· Blue Crab Post-Larval Immigration into an Estuary: Richard Forward, Jr. of Beaufort. $36,415.

· Characterizing the Ocean Population of Blue Crabs and Tracking the Movements of Mature Female Blue Crabs in Central and Southeast North Carolina: Dan Rimmer of Beaufort, Eustace Wood of Surf City, Tom Likos of Southport, David Beresoff of Bolivia and Elaine Logothetis of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. $36,065

· Blue Crab Sampling in the Vicinity of Oregon, Drum and Barden’s Inlet Spawning Sanctuaries Using Crab Pots: Eugene Ballance of Ocracoke. $36,171.

· Evaluation of Terrapin Excluder Devices on Blue Crab (Callinectes sapidus) Pots, Effects on Diamondback Terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) Bycatch and Target Catched Efficiency: Tom Likos of Southport and Teresa Thorpe of Wilmington. $21,569.

Shedding Technology
· Cold Banking Peeler Crabs to Spread the Shed � A Research and Demonstration Project: Willy Phillips of Columbia. $14,785.

Stock Enhancement
· Testing an Excluder Device to Keep Sponge Crabs out of Pots: Paul Rudershausen of North Carolina State University. $13,650.

First round results of Governor's Cup Billfishing Series

Billfish Tournament over the weekend. The Series features five tournaments along the coast beginning May 3rd at Edisto Island and ending July 1 at the Charleston City Marina's HMY/Viking MegaDock Billfishing Tournament.

"The first tournament in this year's Series went very well, with good weather and relatively calm seas. Tournament Coordinator Deidre Menefee and marina owner Buddy Smith assembled an extremely helpful and accommodating tournament staff and put on a first class event," said Tom DuPré of the S.C. Department of Natural Resources, who coordinates the tournament series.

A total of five billfish, all blue marlin, were released during the tournament. The thirty-five boats entered fished 2 out of 3 days.

Points for Governor's Cup tournaments are awarded as follows: 300 points for a tagged or released blue marlin, 150 points for a tagged or released white marlin, and 100 points for a tagged or released sailfish. In addition, boats are awarded 25 participation points for each Series tournament entered up to a maximum of three events.

The Best Billfish Boat was awarded to "Cookie Monster," owned by Chris Ravenel of Mt. Pleasant. Ravenel caught and released the blue marlin at 11:03 a.m. on Thursday to take the first place award and garner 300 points. "Cookie Monster" also won the Conservation Award by being the first to catch and release a marlin.

Finishing in second place at the Edisto Marina Billfish Tournament for releasing a blue marlin was "Hatta Dream," owned by Kyle Christiansen of Richmond Hill, Georgia. Christiansen caught the blue marlin at 11:58 a.m. on the opening day of the tournament for "Hatta Dream's" 300 points.

Third place billfish was awarded to "Legal Holiday," owned by Fred Bergen of Savannah. Angler Perry Wilson, of Columbia, caught and released the blue marlin, for 300 points, at 1:28 p.m., also on the opening day of the tournament.

Richard Coen of Mt. Pleasant caught a 73.8-pound wahoo aboard his boat "Aggressor," to earn top honors for the Largest Wahoo Award.

The Largest Dolphin Award went to angler Capers Barr of Charleston, who reeled in a 41.9- pound dolphin on "Risky Business," owned by Ken Cannon, also of Charleston.

Angler Jim Martin took the Largest Tuna Award for reeling in a 14.4-pound blackfin tuna on "Ali L," owned by Jerry Lockwood of Mt. Pleasant.

Outstanding Female Angler Award went to Keegan Kennedy of Hollywood, for reeling in a 53.0-pound wahoo on "Sea Trace," owned by A.J. Kennedy, also of Hollywood.

The Outstanding Youth Angler Award went to Brooks Griffin, age 11, from Mt. Pleasant, for a 23.0-pound dolphin aboard "Sportsman," owned by Bubba Simmons of Mt.Pleasant.

Remaining tournament dates and contacts for the upcoming 2006 18th Annual South Carolina Governor's Cup Billfishing Series are:

Boats participating in the Series amass points for billfish either landed, tagged, or released. Anglers compete for four major awards: Outstanding Billfish (single heaviest billfish), Outstanding Billfish Boat (most accumulated points) and Outstanding Billfish Conservationist (most points for tagged or released fish), and the Blue Water Conservation Award (most accumulated tag and release points for dolphin, wahoo, and yellowfin tuna).

By encouraging live tag and release, the Series has focused attention on the sharp decline of Atlantic billfish and encouraged conservation of all marine resources.

Coastal License Plate Seen Across the State

Ocean, NC--All across North Carolina, more and more vehicles are sporting the specialty plate created by the North Carolina Coastal Federation. More than 1,000 people have purchased a North Carolina Coastal license tag that promotes the important message to "Protect our Coast."
"We’re averaging more than 100 new sign-ups a month," stated Todd Miller, N.C. Coastal Federation Executive Director. " It’s exciting to see so many fans of the coast promoting stewardship. And, of course, while we’re getting our message out across the state, the program is raising funds for our restoration and protection work."