BOWERS BEACH — "White Gold," a documentary about Delaware's oystering history and a present day story about a Delaware waterman's struggle to bring a 1893 wooden schooner back to its former glory, will debut in a free public showing at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 22 at Bowers Beach Fire Hall.
Wilmington filmmaker Michael Oates will introduce the documentary.
One hundred years ago, Leipsic, Little Creek, and Bowers Beach were among Delaware's flourishing maritime communities, relying on huge harvests of Delaware Bay oysters, commonly called "white gold."
Stately wooden schooners plied Delaware Bay, dredging as many as 900,000 bushels annually. Stories abound of local captains lighting cigars with $100 bills and buying new Cadillacs every year.
Yet today's annual oyster harvest is limited to less than 15,000 bushels with oyster beds decimated by a succession of deadly diseases and all but one of the sailing schooners gone.
Yet, these Bayshore communities and the commercial watermen who built them somehow endure.
Read the full story at the Delaware State News>>
Callifornia crabbing: Here's a fun video shot on the decks of the Majestik while catching Dungeness crab off the coast of northern California.
Alaska fisherman and commercial fisheries activist Kevin Adams was elected chairman at the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute board of directors meeting on May 9 in Anchorage.
The governor-appointed board consists of seven members: five seafood processors and two industry representatives actively engaged in commercial fishing. Adams was appointed to fill a harvester seat by Gov. Frank Murkowski in 2004.
With 38 years of fishing experience in Bristol Bay, Adams has long been an active member in the Alaska fishing industry, ASMI says. He has worked for both the Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation and the Bering Sea Fisherman's Association, and represents Alaska fishermen on numerous boards.
The Northeast Regional Planning Body, a group of state, tribal and federal representatives from New England who are working to implement the National Ocean Policy and address critical New England ocean issues, is holding a series of public meetings in May and June.
The meetings are being held to discuss draft regional ocean planning goals and associated potential actions. The planning body seeks input on these goals and actions. Additional information on the group's progress can be found here.
The meetings will also provide an opportunity to review draft maps and products from initial efforts to gather information on the natural resources and diverse uses of the ocean, including fishing, transportation, energy and infrastructure, aquaculture, and recreation.
National Fisherman has been the industry standard for over 50 years. Readers from coast to coast depend on it to stay up to date on news, regulations, fish stocks, to research purchasing decisions and to stay informed of the newest vessel and product technology.
