Oystermen Stay Wary Of Imports

Japanese Type Tested To Boost Local Population

November 25, 1991|By PAUL KIRBY Daily Press

RESCUE — Waterman Bennie Hogge wistfully recalls the good ol' days of tonging oysters on the James River, when a three-man crew could split $500 after a good eight-hour day.

And that was just two or three years ago.

``Now you're lucky to make $50 to $60 a day'' each, said the 22-year-old Poquoson resident, ``which ain't nothing if you have to take your expenses out of that, plus pay taxes.''

About 20 oyster boats used to dock at the marina in Rescue, on Jones Creek in Isle of Wight County, says resident Steve Carter. This year, there are two or three. The same trend can be seen at marinas on Deep Creek in Newport News, watermen say.

Disease and over-harvesting have ravaged the oyster population in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, making it difficult for Virginia watermen to economically survive.

Many watermen have resisted attempts to protect the oyster by limiting the hours of harvest and restricting the size of oysters that can be pulled from the water.

Now, many say, they will oppose what some scientists see as one of the last hopes for the oyster population: the introduction of the faster-growing Japanese oyster.

A panel looking for ways to revive the decimated oyster population earlier this month conditionally recommended to the Virginia Marine Resources Commission that the Japanese oyster be placed in a closed reef in the York River to see if it will survive. Initial tests show it will.

Eventually the foreign oyster may be planted in other tributaries of the bay, said Roger Mann, an oyster researcher with the Virginia Institute of Marine Science.

But some watermen fear that the foreign species carries parasites that will kill native bay oysters. They also question the quality of the oysters and worry they will drive down the value of their harvests.

``They'll change the damn shape of the ones here,'' complained Harry Minga, an 82-year-old Isle of Wight native who spent a half-century in the industry, as a waterman, seafood buyer or oyster inspector.

Mann said that the Japanese oyster has killed native oysters when it's been introduced improperly. But, he said, when the species has been introduced without diseases, it has flourished and been more resistant to disease than native oysters.

``A lot of it is a great fear of the unknown, and I think that's justified,'' Mann said.

The oyster industry is ``very much part of Virginia tradition,'' Mann said.

``It's great to preserve tradition, and it's great to preserve an individual way of life,'' but, he said, seafood is a global industry and the state must replenish its supply to compete.

Said William Pruitt, commissioner of the Virginia Marine Resources Commission,

``The state in the Chesapeake Bay of the oyster industry is horrible. If something isn't done in Maryland and in Virginia, the oyster industry as we know it will be no more.''

Watermen, preceded in the business by their fathers, grandfathers and great-grandfathers, talk about cycles of good harvests and bad. And the records back them up - to some extent.

In 1929-1930 and 1959-60, disease wiped out millions of bushels of oysters, but total harvests remained above 2 million.

Last year, the total Virginia harvest barely topped 200,000 bushels, capping a 21-year decline.

``Everything in this river that I can see runs in cycles,'' said 31-year-old Steve Carter, who has pulled oysters from the James for 12 seasons.

``If they would leave it alone, the river would take care of itself. Mother Nature would take care of the river,'' he said, echoing a sentiment expressed by other watermen.

His father, William, 56, doesn't believe it's worth the risk of introducing a new oyster and the diseases it might carry.

``I think it's in bad enough shape as it is without risking it,'' said the 41-year veteran of the water. ``I don't care how smart you are. You never can tell what nature's going to do.''

Although some watermen say there aren't enough oysters left in the James River to make a decent living from, others disagree.

They say there a considerable number of oysters in the James, but it's tough to find a market for them because they are smaller than those grown in the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers.

``You've got to have little oysters before you have big oysters,'' Carter said. ``Four or five years from now, they're going to be enough oysters for everyone to catch.''

Hogge, the Poquoson waterman whose four brothers, father and grandfather also have made a living on the water, is angered by state officials' attempts to preserve the oyster population by restricting harvests.

Hogge called the officials ``a bunch of politicians up there that never worked the water in their life and don't know nothing about it.''

But some watermen believe it couldn't hurt to introduce a new oyster species to the region.

``It's worth a try,'' said Dennis Green, a 49-year-old Gloucester waterman who has worked the water since he was 14.

Two years ago, he said he earned a couple of hundred dollars a day pulling oysters from the Potomac River.

This year he decided to continue crabbing because he wouldn't have made enough money in oysters.

``There ain't nothing out here to catch,'' added Bennie Jenkins, 34, of Gloucester, a 20-year veteran of the water.

Despite the gloomy outlook of some, the watermen interviewed recently said they have no plans to leave the only jobs many of them or their families have ever known.

``You can't go get a job. Everybody's layin' off,'' Hogge said.

``Maybe things will get better,'' he said. ``You've got to have a positive attitude.''

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