. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. Uli Bennewitz that's a small trawler. We're capable of catching so much more these days. We can't put all the blame on the ; Add to that an increase in the num- ber of fishermen, both recrea- tional and commercial, says Meekins. While the statewide catches may be up, the catch must be divided among more fishermen. Stumpy Point fisherman Fran Altman agrees with Meekins. "There are so many more boats and more peo- ple fishing now. The slice of the pie has just gotten smaller," says Alt
. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. Uli Bennewitz that's a small trawler. We're capable of catching so much more these days. We can't put all the blame on the ; Add to that an increase in the num- ber of fishermen, both recrea- tional and commercial, says Meekins. While the statewide catches may be up, the catch must be divided among more fishermen. Stumpy Point fisherman Fran Altman agrees with Meekins. "There are so many more boats and more peo- ple fishing now. The slice of the pie has just gotten smaller," says Altman, also a member of the Governor's Coastal Water Management Task Force. While Altman says land drainage is probably not the only cause for his smaller catches, he does think it's a contributing factor. "It has to be af- fecting our fishing, but it's certainly not the only ; Meekins says he'd like to see stricter controls and regulations placed on the fishing industry and more research to see if the theory of freshwater drainage is founded. He thinks that the drainage affects the estuary during the crucial spring months when juvenile fish and shellfish arrive after spawning offshore. Farmers are concerned about the drainage problem, too. But their livelihoods depend on their ability to control the water. Without ditches and canals, a heavy rainfall would flood their fields, destroying their crops. Uli Bennewitz manages Lux Farms—9,000 acres of corn, soybeans and forest near Engelhard. He explains the dilemma: "In theory, we're at sea level. If it doesn't rain at all, we don't have to pump. But every time it rains, we have to pump. We're in a constant juggling situation, trying to com- promise with the water table. In the summer, we try to raise the water table. In the winter and spring, we pump more to lower the water ; Bennewitz is also manager of Mat- tamuskeet Drainage Association. The six-member, 40,000-acre drainage district is composed
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