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Marine Patrol Pilot Mark Daniels taxied the 2004 Cessna 182 to a runway at Carolina Regional Airport in New Bern.
After a short wait in line behind other plans, he is cleared for takeoff. Then he is up in the sky on a beautiful summer day, watching the Trent River disappear into the Croatan National Forest.
As beautiful as the scene is, it is not a pleasure flight. Daniels is protecting North Carolina’s vast coastal marine resource from above the water.
It requires a lot of training, but when they are finished, the N.C. Marine Patrol will have a certified swift water rescue team, yet another way they can help save lives during emergencies.
Clark Purvis could not have known just how remarkable that striped bass he recently caught would turn out to be.
Sure, it was a big fish – 40 inches long – given that it was caught in the Roanoke River. Most striped bass caught in North Carolina’s sounds and rivers range between 16 and 24 inches. But that’s not what made the fish so special.
It was the information researchers with the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries’ Tagging Program got from the tag on the fish that showed how extraordinary it was.