File:Coast watch (1979) (20651525002).jpg

Title: Coast watch
Identifier: coastwatch00uncs_17 (find matches)
Year: 1979 (1970s)
Authors: UNC Sea Grant College Program
Subjects: Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology
Publisher: (Raleigh, N. C. : UNC Sea Grant College Program)
Contributing Library: State Library of North Carolina
Digitizing Sponsor: North Carolina Digital Heritage Center

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"We look for people who have a strong connection to the region, who have learned their maritime skills through their family or their community, and who can tell the story of the rich traditions found along the coast," says Betty Belanus, the fesitval's program curator. Cere, Albemarle Sounds The festival will bring together maritime workers and artisans from the mid-Atlantic region that stretches from Long Island, N.Y., to the Outer Banks, including the Core and Albemarle sounds. "The Smithsonian Folklife Festival is a great opportunity to feature two regions of the state with strong living cultural traditions that are often overlooked by visitors and even residents of North Carolina," says Wayne Martin, N.C. Arts Council folklife director. The Albemarle region, which includes Columbia in Tyrrell County and surrounding communities in northeastern North Carolina, is rich in timber, farming, hunting, fishing and trapping traditions. "Hunting for such game as bear, deer and ducks is still popular in the coastal counties," says Chapel Hill folklorist Jill Hemming, who conducted a 1995 survey of northeastern North Carolina. "There used to be a good market for trappers, but that has fallen off in the last decade. People also pole fish in the canals and work on the water." The Core Sound region stretches from Beaufort to Cedar Island through vast expanses of marshes and small communities. It also is comprised of the uninhabited Cape Lookout National Seashore, which includes Shackleford and Core Banks. Because of the region's proximity to the Atlantic Ocean and Core Sound, boatbuilding, hunting, commercial fishing and decoy carving thrived. Herring and Shad Fisheries In both the Albemarle and Core regions, people have worked the water for centuries. When the first explorers arrived, they found the Chowan, Jamesville and Roanoke rivers teem- ing with shad and herring. Later, commercial fisheries for shad and herring were established on several of the state's rivers. To fish for shad, fishermen often used a shad boat, which is the official state boat of North Carolina. A replica of the Tom Dixon, which was built by the N.C. Maritime Museum's George Washington Creef Boat Shop in Manteo, where it is on display. The shad boat was developed just after the Civil War by Creef or "Uncle Wash" who needed a stable boat for shallow waters around Roanoke Island. "With simple tools — frame saws, handplanes, broad axe and adze — Uncle Wash began building his shad boats out of native cypress and white cedar," according to Connie Mason, N.C. Maritime Museum history specialist. "He usually worked on two boats at a time." When his wife, Margaret, became ill in 1893, Creef lovingly fashioned two coffins, one for her and the other for himself, tucking them away in his shop's rafters, adds Mason, a folklorist. The shad boat era ended in the 1930s when boats became too expensive to maintain. However, they were widely used until the 1950s. Now, only a few boats are left. Crabbing, Shrimping Blue crabs lie at the heart of North Carolina's entire fishing industry. Crabbers move their pots through the season as the crabs migrate across the estuary. Both hard and soft crabs are a big industry in North Carolina. Soft crabs emerge when hard crabs go through a molting process called shedding. At the festival, a North Carolina fisherman will demonstrate how to make a crab pot. The Albemarle region has one of the most diverse and interesting crabbing cultures in the state, according to University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researcher William Stott, who is compiling an oral history of crabbers. "The Gallup, Daniels, Phillips, Perry and Tillett families — to name a few— are rich in tradition and knowledge," adds Stott, director of the Albemarle Ecological Field Site. "Many of these folks are smart, aggressive and adaptive — not unlike the prey, I suppose." "Their knowledge of the water, robust work ethic and insights into markets and local ecology have been shaped by crabbing the Albemarle Sound, Alligator River, Kitty Hawk Bay, among other locations," he adds. "Also, individuals like Murray Bridges and Donald Dough pioneered soft shell crabbing in the state more than 30 years ago." In addition, Stott says the waterman's culture in this region is ethnically diverse. "Though conflicts arise, the ways these men and women negotiate and fight out differences are EARL Y SUMMER 2004

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