. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. 3St year, sights of shermen raking ysters were com- lon; this year they we nonexistent Contaminated oyster beds were left un- touched, only to paint a pretty picture he saturation plus less demand for finfish forced prices down, Austin says. Where he once got 50 cents a pound for croaker, now he gets 22 cents. ommercial fishermen in Florida, Connecticut and Texas faced a similar scene last year. n Calhoun County, Texas, more than 2,500 shellfishermen lost $100,000 a day during a red tide outbreak. It washe
. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. 3St year, sights of shermen raking ysters were com- lon; this year they we nonexistent Contaminated oyster beds were left un- touched, only to paint a pretty picture he saturation plus less demand for finfish forced prices down, Austin says. Where he once got 50 cents a pound for croaker, now he gets 22 cents. ommercial fishermen in Florida, Connecticut and Texas faced a similar scene last year. n Calhoun County, Texas, more than 2,500 shellfishermen lost $100,000 a day during a red tide outbreak. It washed over the bays in September 1986 and kept the oyster season closed until November, says Joe Surovik, a marine agent with the Texas Agri- cultural Extension Service. esearchers found the toxin residual in oysters, so the state closed the 1987 season, too. he outbreak not only hurt commer- cial fishermen, it affected tourism and ruined the county's recreational fishing industry, Surovik says. elief came slowly, mostly from state and local organizations willing to fry a fish, flip a bingo chip or hand out food donations. etting help for North Carolina's fishermen and seafood businesses took time, too. n November, the federal Small Business Administration denied a plea for low-interest loans on grounds that red tide did not classify as a natural disaster. Congress rescinded red tide as such a disaster by an act in 1981. ut North Carolina's congressional delegation was not daunted. In late December they passed a bill declaring the red tide infestation a disaster in North Carolina, making the loans available after all. Photo by Scott Taylor ack home, the state allowed com- mercial shellfishermen to relay oysters and clams from polluted areas to cleaner waters for $1 a bushel. Fishermen could harvest and replant up to 500 bushels per week. oney for house or boat payments was also made available through the state's Community Service Block Grant program. nd the deadline to purchase 198
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookcollectionunclibra, booksubjectoceanography
