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  • Leading Learning: From the Classroom to Virginia Beach

    Leading Learning: From the Classroom to Virginia Beach

    A century from now, 18-30% of Virginia Beach’s current land area could be underwater, according to a number of studies of projected sea level rise. On a shorter timescale, many residents are already seeing increased flooding, erosion, and storm damage. These impending changes led to a partnership between a team of students and faculty from the University of Virginia and the City of Virginia Beach, the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission, and the nonprofit, Wetlands Watch, for a series of projects aimed at helping the city respond and adapt to sea level rise.

  • Graduate students Malee Jinuntuya, Billur Celebi and Meredith McPherson prepare to count submerged seagrass abundance. ©Carly Rose/VASG

    Light Beneath the Surface: Requirements for Seagrass Growth

    Old Dominion University professor Dick Zimmerman and his lab are developing a new model to predict where seagrass can grow in the Bay. This article features the work of communications intern Kate Schimel and photography intern Carly Rose.

  • A youngster tries his first oyster. ©Kim Warner/VASG

    Tasting the Bay

    Even if you’ve tried raw oysters, you may have never really tasted one. Like wine, oysters grown in different areas taste different because they take on the characteristics of their environment. Simply slurping your oysters means you miss these delicate flavors.

    At the second annual Halfshell Oyster Tasting event in November, the Tidewater Oyster Gardeners Association (TOGA) helped more than 200 people learn to really taste oysters. Attendees put their taste buds to the test trying to differentiate oysters from six growers who raise oysters at different places along the Chesapeake Bay. Virginia Sea Grant (VASG) and our extension partners were proud cosponsors of this fun event.

  • New Fellowship Opportunities

    New Fellowship Opportunities

    Virginia Sea Grant is now accepting applications for our new Graduate Research Fellowship to support PhD students. Fellows will work with an outreach or end-user mentor to make their research useful to marine and coastal stakeholders.

  • Bob Fisher (left) recruits his son Carver to help release cownose rays for satellite tagging experiment. ©Janet Krenn/VASG

    Researcher Uses Satellites to Track Cownose Ray

    Cownose rays are native to the Chesapeake Bay. They arrive late spring when the waters start warming and leave again in the early fall as waters cool. Where they go during the rest of the year? No one knows! That’s way Virginia Sea Grant Specialist Bob Fisher is satellite tagging some rays.

News

Leading Learning: From the Classroom to Virginia Beach

Leading Learning: From the Classroom to Virginia Beach

A century from now, 18-30% of Virginia Beach’s current land area could be underwater, according to a number of studies of projected sea level rise. On a shorter timescale, many residents are already seeing increased flooding, erosion, and storm damage. These impending changes led to a partnership between a team of students and faculty from the University of Virginia and the City of Virginia Beach, the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission, and the nonprofit, Wetlands Watch, for a series of projects aimed at helping the city respond and adapt to sea level rise.

Focus on Students

Focus on Students

VASG is developing the future workforce of marine and coastal experts through fellowships, internships, and much more. The Winter 2012 Bulletin issue features work by and about students.

Virginia Students Earn Prestigious Knauss Fellowships

Virginia Students Earn Prestigious Knauss Fellowships

For the second year in a row, Virginia students have earned five of the coveted Knauss Marine Policy Fellowships, and no other state secured more of the fellowships. That means that 12 percent of all fellows, and 20 percent of the prestigious legislative fellows are from Virginia colleges and universities. The Dean John A. Knauss [...]

A workshop attendee smells an oyster before tasting it. ©Margaret Pizer/VASG

Oyster Growers Learn How to Stand Out

The new buzzword in oyster marketing is “differentiation” as Virginia Sea Grant Business and Marketing Specialist Dan Kauffman explained at the recent Differentiated Halfshell Marketing Workshop sponsored by Virginia Sea Grant, Virginia Tech, Virginia Marine Products Board, and Virginia Institute of Marine Science.

Taggers Help U.S. Vets Fish, Tag, and Heal

Taggers Help U.S. Vets Fish, Tag, and Heal

Watching Dave Conklin cast is poetry in motion. In one smooth movement, his arm circles up and out to the side, zipping the line through the air. Dave’s graceful casting is an achievement, one that he enjoys sharing with other veterans in Project Healing Waters.

VIDEOS: Community Supported Fisheries and Sustainable Consumption

VIDEOS: Community Supported Fisheries and Sustainable Consumption

In December, Virginia Sea Grant invited two scholars to participate in the fall 2011 Visiting Scholar Seminar Series to discuss consumer behavior and community supported fisheries. These talks precede Virginia Sea Grant’s spring research project, which will investigate whether Virginian’s would participate in community supported fishery.