. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. By Sarah Friday Peters ORKING ON THE WATER. The boat motor hums in a quiet monotone as oysterman Raymond Graham skims across Newport River in his handcrafted skiff. The water ripples as he makes his way to a familiar oyster bed about a half-mile from his fishing shack on the shore. It was a trip the Mill Creek fisher- man had made almost every day of his life. The water is in his blood, you could say. Five generations of Grahams have worked the Newport River waters. The first dollar Raymond ever made came
. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. By Sarah Friday Peters ORKING ON THE WATER. The boat motor hums in a quiet monotone as oysterman Raymond Graham skims across Newport River in his handcrafted skiff. The water ripples as he makes his way to a familiar oyster bed about a half-mile from his fishing shack on the shore. It was a trip the Mill Creek fisher- man had made almost every day of his life. The water is in his blood, you could say. Five generations of Grahams have worked the Newport River waters. The first dollar Raymond ever made came from culling oysters for 5 cents a bushel. At 58, Graham still makes his dol- lars from shellfish—fishing and dis- tributing oysters and clams all over the country. He is one of more than 8,000 com- merical shellfishermen in North Carolina, and one of the reasons oysters end up on our plates. This December day, Graham is dressed in a blue flannel shirt, jeans, black rubber boots and a navy blue baseball cap depicting a boat and bearing the words "Becky L. ; A chaw of tobacco rests in his cheek. His hands and his eyes show oys- tering is hard work. To an outsider, it's both science and art. A Newport River oysterman pulls in the oysters while his wife culls them. Like farmers, oystermen work hand-in-hand with an unpredictable Mother Nature. It takes skill and luck to turn a profit. In North Carolina, oystermen pick, tong or dredge for "coons" and "; They call smaller oysters coons because the shell is shaped like a raccoon footprint. "Rocks" are bigger and thicker. Both can be found along the coast in bays, rivers, inlets and sounds. "You take an oyster," says old-time oysterman David Oglesby of Mill Creek. "He doesn't want a real salt water or a real fresh water. He wants a brackish water.'' Oysters survive best in water with low to moderate salinity. They spawn during warm weather, sending mil- lions of larva
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookcollectionunclibra, booksubjectoceanography
