"The More Things Change....": Oysters, Public Policy, and Species Decline in the Pamlico Sound, 1880-1900
By Dr. Kathleen S. Carter
ABSTRACT
This paper is a historic study in species decline. It concludes that a dramatic dwindling of oyster stock in the Pamlico Sound of North Carolina was the direct result of human greed as reflected in public policymaking on the part of the state government in the period from the 1880s to the turn of the 20th century. During this period, state leaders, including three governors and many members of the legislature, believed that oysters represented a key to unlocking vast wealth in the New South era for N.C. Witnessing a general depletion of oyster stock in the Chesapeake Bay, lawmakers in N.C. sought to create policies in the 1880s favorable to large-scale oyster harvesting in Pamlico waters. With these policies, into N.C. came dredging vessels and branch canneries operated by Baltimore oyster interests. This influx disrupted longstanding traditional patterns of working on the water and led to resentment and even outright violence on the part of traditional watermen. The conflicts resulted in changes to oyster laws every legislative session, until in the 1890s smaller watermen prevailed. By this time, however, earlier policies encouraging heavy dredging had resulted in a general decline in species availability. The paper is essentially a 19th century case study in state efforts to manage a fishery for maximum economic benefit without regard to species sustainability. Only later, after the turn of the 20th century, did the state study techniques for cultivating oysters in hopes of replenishing a once-rich resource.
KEYWORDS: shellfish, oysters/oystering, shellfish regulation, shellfish legislation, Southern United States, oystering technology-history, species decline-Atlantic oyster, species management-Atlantic oyster, state governmental policies, 19th century-history
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