 |
|
|
September 24, 2008
Budget crunch hits North Carolina Sea Grant
By SUSAN WEST Job vacancies at North Carolina Sea Grant won’t be filled because of budget constraints. Some North Carolina Sea Grant (NCSG) employees are paid with federal funds, and others with state funds. NCSG received $1.68 million from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration this year to fund research, outreach, and education programs. The program also received around $763,000 from the North Carolina legislature, an amount that has not increased in the last decade. “We’ve received notice that we’ve fallen below the percentage of federal dollars that are required to go towards research, so we need to increase the level of research projects,” explained Mike Voiland, NCSG executive director. With a higher percentage of federal dollars slated for research, less money will be available for employee salaries. Voiland said the program is not filling positions when staff members retire or resign. One position in the program’s communications division has been vacant since early summer when a long-time employee retired. “With no substantial increase in state funding, it looks like we could lose two or three additional positions,” Voiland said. Sea Grant staff includes 11 extension specialists who work in fields such as fisheries, seafood technology, mariculture, coastal construction, and marine education. In Manteo, the extension office consists of one fisheries specialist and one marine education specialist. Voiland said the agency would do everything it could to avoid having to close the Manteo, Wilmington, and Morehead City extension offices. “We don’t want to lose those connections to coastal communities, but if we got down to just one employee in an office, it’s something we might have to consider,” he said. Lynne Foster, organizer of the annual Day at the Docks celebration in Hatteras, said she doesn’t even like to think that could be a possibility. “Fisheries specialist Sara Mirabilio in the Manteo office has been so helpful and supportive of Day at the Docks and the promotion of the fishing industry and its products,” Foster said. Foster said that, unlike other coastal areas, northeastern North Carolina does not have multiple professional resources for the fishing industry close-by. “The possibility that the Manteo office could close due to budget concerns strikes me as counterproductive for the economy of the state. Dare County has the highest commercial seafood landings and the largest charter and headboat fleet in the state,” she explained. Foster also noted that NCSG received the state 2007 Natural Resource Agency of the Year award as part of the annual Governor’s Conservation Achievement Awards.  
|
|
|
|