File:Coast watch (1979) (20634584166).jpg

Title: Coast watch
Identifier: coastwatch00uncs_18 (find matches)
Year: 1979 (1970s)
Authors: UNC Sea Grant College Program
Subjects: Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology
Publisher: (Raleigh, N. C. : UNC Sea Grant College Program)
Contributing Library: State Library of North Carolina
Digitizing Sponsor: North Carolina Digital Heritage Center

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of commercial fishing during the moratorium era. "And, it's not about a single big issue. But cumulative impacts are eroding the infrastructure of the commercial fishing industry," Garrity-Blake observes. Onecasein _ ' "-. point: the blue crab ' ' • fishery. A steady . decline in crab ~ harvests since the late :1 f;^ 1990s —blamed in "M- ; part on the flushing -, effects of major hurricanes — shut down many crab-processing plants. Of the 42 plants, each operating with up to 100 employees in 1995,12 remain with a combined labor force of about 100, says Johnson. The commission chair managed the family-owned Washington Crab Company until its sale in 2000. Ironically, he says, there will be too few processing plants left to handle a comeback of the important "cash crop." Outside forces also are compounding the issue. "Alarms went off when imports began overtaking domestic crabmeat markets — then, shrimp," Garrity-Blake recalls. "Now, rising waterfront property values are either taxing working waterfronts out of the game, or enticing owners to sell." Traditional commercial fishing communities that once dotted the coastline from Currituck to Brunswick counties are being squeezed off the waterfront by heavy development and tourism. According to DMF data, mainland Hyde County is one of the few counties to have relatively untouched commercial fishing communities. Dare County, except for Wanchese, is heavily developed. Carteret
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CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE: Idle fishing boats line the docks at Hatteras Island. • Herbert and Pam Morris come from a long line of Carteret County fishing families. • Danny Hooks, who fishes out of Carolina Beach, is concerned about the disappearance of working waterfronts. County is feeling increasing pressure from tourism. And, commercial fishing has all but disappeared in New Hanover County. Danny Hooks is among the disappearing breed of commercial fishers in New Hanover County, where access to a working waterfront is a growing concern. Hooks moors his Reel Job II at a slip below the Blackburn Brothers Fish House in the Carolina Beach Yacht Basin. He fears that it's just a matter of time before some well- heeled developer will make an offer for prime waterfront property the fish dealer can't refuse. For now, Hooks enjoys "one stop shopping" — a place to dock at a reasonable rate and to sell fish and buy fuel, ice and bait. In spite of the uncertainty, Hooks is determined to stick it out in commercial fishing He's been able to hang on to commercial permits that give him seasonal flexibility. "You can't fish just a single species and make a living. You've got to go with what's 20 HIGH SEASON 2005

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