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| Image: Abi Skipp |
Before oyster disease hit the Nanticoke River in Maryland, USA the harbour was full of life. And now it could be again, Rachael Pacella writes on the DelmarvaNow website.
Before oyster disease hit the Nanticoke, a shucking house by the harbour was full of life and the shells that came from the factory went right back into the river.
Just like today's aquaculture, the shells went onto leases which watermen cared for and harvested from.
That was more than 60 years ago, and as the once packed harbour faded that shell stayed on the bottom, waiting and growing.
When Eric Wisner came to work at Nanticoke Harbour about seven years ago, he talked with the old-timers to find out where the old leases were.
"It was like searching for gold almost," he said.
When he was younger he spent his summers crabbing and working the water with his grandfather and uncle on the Magothy River in Anne Arundel County.
"Working on the water has always kind of been in the back of my mind," he said. "An enjoyable way to make a living."
There's no traffic on the water, and fewer phone calls. Wisner now leases about 1,000 acres of bottom on the Nanticoke River from the state. He made the boat he works off nearly from scratch, turning an old houseboat into a working oystering vessel.
Read the full article and watch the video HERE.
Before oyster disease hit the Nanticoke, a shucking house by the harbour was full of life and the shells that came from the factory went right back into the river.
Just like today's aquaculture, the shells went onto leases which watermen cared for and harvested from.
That was more than 60 years ago, and as the once packed harbour faded that shell stayed on the bottom, waiting and growing.
When Eric Wisner came to work at Nanticoke Harbour about seven years ago, he talked with the old-timers to find out where the old leases were.
"It was like searching for gold almost," he said.
When he was younger he spent his summers crabbing and working the water with his grandfather and uncle on the Magothy River in Anne Arundel County.
"Working on the water has always kind of been in the back of my mind," he said. "An enjoyable way to make a living."
There's no traffic on the water, and fewer phone calls. Wisner now leases about 1,000 acres of bottom on the Nanticoke River from the state. He made the boat he works off nearly from scratch, turning an old houseboat into a working oystering vessel.
Read the full article and watch the video HERE.
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