CMAST News

Apr 10, 2024

CMAST Participates in Right Whale Necropsy

Yet another endangered North Atlantic right whale #1950 turned up deceased last week off the coast of Virginia.  According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), this is the fortieth North Atlantic right whale to die in the ongoing 2017–2024 North Atlantic Right Whale Unusual Mortality Event. North Carolina State University’s Center for Marine…

Mar 19, 2024

CMAST Staff Participate in Minke Whale Necropsy

A deceased 26-foot female minke whale recently stranded on Corolla Beach in the upper outer banks of North Carolina.  A team of scientists from the NC State Center of Marine Sciences and Technology (CMAST), the NC Division of Marine Fisheries, UNC Wilmington, and the North Carolina Aquarium performed a necropsy directly on the beach, as…

Mar 14, 2024

Crystal Skipper Butterflies

Did you know that today is National Learn about Butterflies Day and that the Crystal Coast has its own species of butterfly?  The Crystal Skipper is a little-known butterfly found only in Carteret County along the shores of Bogue Banks. These butterflies have a two-week lifespan and live exclusively within a thirty-mile stretch of sand…

Mar 8, 2024

Buckel Lab Collaborates to Track False Albacore

North Carolina State University Center for Marine Sciences and Technology (CMAST) scientists are collaborating once again with fellow researchers – this time, helping track false albacore.  The Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life and the American Saltwater Guides Association are tagging false albacore to learn more about the movements of these fish, which will assist…

Mar 7, 2024

Rocco Becomes PhD Candidate

Congratulations to Alex Rocco who is now a NC State PhD Candidate in Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology. Rocco’s doctoral advisor is Dr. Jie Cao, assistant professor at The Center for Marine Sciences and Technology (CMAST). Recently, as a research assistant under Cao at CMAST, Rocco’s work has focused on tagging and recapturing blue crabs…

Feb 28, 2024

Third Blue Economy Event Successful

Last weekend, the NC State Blue Economy Innovation Program held the third annual Creating Solutions for the Global Blue Economy workshop. According to Dr. Christopher Osburn, Professor and Director of the Blue Economy Innovation Program at North Carolina State University, says it was a great success with nearly 80 individuals, including 60 students, participating in this…

Feb 28, 2024

NCSU Alum Featured by NOAA

NC State University alumni, Kayelyn Simmons, PhD, was recently featured in a story by NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) during Black History Month. Dr. Simmons is employed as an Oceanographer in the Ocean Chemistry and Ecosystems Division in the AOML.  The article highlights Dr. Simmons’ accomplishments in management and conservation, her role at…

Feb 28, 2024

Buckel Earns Professorship

Congratulations to Dr. Jeffrey Buckel, NC State University professor at the Center for Marine Sciences and Technology (CMAST), who is one of twelve recipients of this year’s William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professors in the University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. This Neal Professorship is one of the highest honors one can receive within the…

Feb 23, 2024

Pygmy Sperm Whale Exhumed for Research

Earlier this month, students, staff, and volunteers with the Bonehenge Whale Center, NC Maritime Museum, NC Aquariums, NC Division of Marine Fisheries, and NC State CMAST carefully exhumed the skeletal remains of an adult male pygmy sperm whale that stranded on the beach of Nags Head, NC on November 3, 2021.  Staff from the NC…

Jan 31, 2024

New Oyster Project Funded through NOAA

The NC State University Center for Marine Sciences and Technology (CMAST), is collaborating with the NC Coastal Federation and the NC Central University to build oyster sanctuaries while increasing diversity in the field of marine sciences.  The $14.9 million grant project, titled, “Completing the Pamlico Sound Oyster Sanctuary and Training the Next Generation of Restoration…