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Google to Offer Storm Surge Forecast
Americans may soon be able to plug their addresses into Google to determine whether storm surges caused by hurricanes threaten their homes, the director of the National Hurricane Center said last week. Bill Read, the head of the Miami-based forecasting center, said the program will combine a Google application with meteorological data that determines the flooding threat from any category of storm. He said he hoped the program would be ready in time for the upcoming Atlantic hurricane season from June 1 to Nov. 30.
 
 Hurricane forecasters will also offer this year a color-coded graphic on the NHC Web site that will indicate storm surge probabilities for threatened areas, similar to forecasts now available for wind- speed probabilities.

Morehead City Fishing Makes Field & Stream's Top Ten List         
Morehead City was recently named one of the “Ten Best Fishing Towns in America” by Field and Stream Magazine, the world’s leading outdoor publication. Noted the article, “I asked a Redfish Cup veteran where he might retire, and it took him about two seconds to answer: ‘Morehead City, NC.’ Hard to argue the choice. For starters, some of the biggest redfish in the world roll around the ocean surf here in the fall. Offshore, you can catch dolphin, tuna, even marlin. Inshore fishing for reds, seatrout, and other species is fairly consistent in most seasons.
   
And as soon as you head inland, you're smack dab in prime bass country. There's certainly a tourist ebb and flow that impacts the lifestyle here, but it's hard to find a better all-year-and-all-season environment with this much diversity and appeal.” The “Ten Best Fishing Towns in America” survey factored in costs, attractions, distractions, seasons and most important, fishing action.
 

Sportsmen Have Significant Impact on NC Economy          
North Carolina's estimated one million hunters and anglers spend more than $1.7 billion a year on the sports, according to a new report released by the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation and the National Shooting Sports Foundation. The study found that North Carolina's hunters and fishermen directly support 29,000 jobs with an estimated total salary of $818 million. The outdoor activities also generate an estimated $170 million in state and local taxes.

Carteret County Shore Protection Office Receives NOAA Award

Anglers Should Make Sure to Renew Their License
Before casting a hook and line or jabbing a gig, fishermen should take a moment to pull their Coastal Recreational Fishing Licenses from their wallets or tackle boxes to check the expiration dates. The annual recreational licenses expire one year from the date of purchase, so those who bought one in January 2007 may need to renew it before going fishing.

New Island and Cleaner Water for Hammocks Beach
Hammocks Beach State Park in Swansboro got a little bigger on October 29. That’s the day when the N.C. Coastal Federation (NCCF) and the NC Clean Water Management Trust Fund (CWMTF) dedicated the majority of Jones Island in the White Oak River to the park and showcased a stormwater retrofit project on park grounds.

Ferry Monitoring Successful on Outer Banks:
Other States to Follow North Carolina's Lead
In the wake of the overwhelming success of FerryMon (ferry monitoring) in North Carolina's Pamlico Sound in the Outer Banks, regions in New York, Massachusetts, Delaware and California are fitting their local ferries with water sampling and oceanographic instruments similar to those used in North Carolina.

NOAA Proposes Stringent Limits to Sandbar Shark Fishing
NOAA Fisheries Service is proposing that commercial and recreational fishing for sandbar sharks be significantly reduced and limited to only those commercial vessels that take part in a shark research program. This proposal is open to public comment. “Because sandbar sharks as well as dusky sharks have been severely depleted, we must take strong measures to stop overfishing and allow these species to rebuild,” said Dr. William T. Hogarth, director of NOAA Fisheries Service.

Best-Selling Author Names Maritime Museum Must-Visit Destination
The NC Maritime Museum has been mentioned as a must-visit destination by travel writer Patricia Schultz in her new book – “1,000 Places to See in the U.S.A. and Canada Before You Die.”  Schultz also wrote “1,000 Places to See Before You Die,”  one of the best selling travel books ever published, and the basis of the new reality television show of the same name on “The Travel Channel.” 

NC Waterfront Access Study Committee Releases Recommendations
On April 13, North Carolina's Waterfront Access Study Committee presented 27 recommendations in a formal report. The committee noted the need to ensure a diversity of waterfront-dependent uses of the shoreline, and the need to retain and enhance public access to coastal public trust waters. According to the report, "Skyrocketing market demand for this limited, finite shoreline resource, accelerating non-waterfront-dependent development of the shoreline, and steadily increasing real property taxes are among the factors contributing to this loss."...

Steer Clear of Brown's Island
CAMP LEJEUNE, NC – Unauthorized users of Brown’s Island will be ticketed to ensure the safety of the public due to frequent live-fire training exercises conducted in that area and the danger of unexploded ordnance (UXO). Brown’s Island is the property of the United States Government and is not open to the public....

Study Shows Economic Impacts of Recreational Boating Along the AIWW
The first phase of the NCBIWA/SeaGrant/DENR two-year study titled Economic Impacts and Economic Benefits of Recreational Boating along the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (AIWW) in North Carolina has been completed and the results have been released...

Bogue Banks' New Butterfly: The Crystal Skipper
The strategic location of Fort Macon on the eastern end of Bogue Banks may have protected troops during the Civil War, but today its status as a state park protects what may be a new species of butterfly....

Coastal Recreational Fishing License Now Required
For those boating, sailing or fishing through North Carolina, take note that the state now requires everyone ages 16 and above who fishes coastal waters to obtain a Coastal Recreational Fishing License which applies to all public waters in North Carolina including sounds, coastal rivers and their tributaries, pier fishing, surf fishing and all fishing from the shore out to three miles in the ocean.