The Last Oyster Tongers of Apalachicola(bittersoutherner.com)
bittersoutherner.com
The Last Oyster Tongers of Apalachicola
https://bittersoutherner.com/feature/2022/the-last-oyster-tongers-of-apalachicola
9 comments
I've lived most my life in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River basin. My Granddad would take us down the Chattahoochee River in the summer on his boat toward Apalachicola and we'd swim at the beaches and eat at Boss Oyster and climb up and slide down a huge sand dune along the bank of the river. It's a shame this happened to it.
> I ask Schoelles why he keeps the journals and what will become of them. “Just for the hell of it, really,” he says. “They’ll probably get thrown in the trash when I’m gone.”
That's a pessimistic thing to say, but I can't dispute it or say I feel differently. Individuals can do everything they possibly can to save an environment -- Not "the environment", a distant idea of rain forests and coral reefs, but a particular environment, one they've spent their lives in and depend on for their livelihood -- and another individual's decision 200 miles upstream (or 1,000 miles upstream, or on another continent) can undo all their work and more, and there's nothing they can do about it.
> I ask Schoelles why he keeps the journals and what will become of them. “Just for the hell of it, really,” he says. “They’ll probably get thrown in the trash when I’m gone.”
That's a pessimistic thing to say, but I can't dispute it or say I feel differently. Individuals can do everything they possibly can to save an environment -- Not "the environment", a distant idea of rain forests and coral reefs, but a particular environment, one they've spent their lives in and depend on for their livelihood -- and another individual's decision 200 miles upstream (or 1,000 miles upstream, or on another continent) can undo all their work and more, and there's nothing they can do about it.
I grew up in this area too and have noticed that both the Flint and the Hooch have both developed a smell over time. Each having their own distinctive smell, but both not smelling like what I knew to be a healthy river bed from growing up.
This despite the conservation efforts on particularly the Hooch by high society Atlanta money. You don't have to go very far - Chattahoochee Hills will do - just to look at the river and see and smell how terrible it is. The Chattahoochee National Recreation Center is very nice, but it's far enough upstream before it goes through the industrial areas of south Cobb/Fulton so it hasn't developed "that smell".
The Flint is no better. By the time you get to Albany it's almost putrid. The local riverfront society there has Turtle Grove Park, which in the small handful of times I've been was largely abandoned and taken over by homeless and junkies. Not sure which situation caused which, but the locals don't go there. Most of it comes from ag pollutants - pesticides, fertilizers, etc. There used to be a time where you could stand on the Broad Street bridge, drop a hook into the water with a chicken liver on it and pull up a mudcat that would feed an entire family. There's no way I'd eat anything out of that river - not any more.
This despite the conservation efforts on particularly the Hooch by high society Atlanta money. You don't have to go very far - Chattahoochee Hills will do - just to look at the river and see and smell how terrible it is. The Chattahoochee National Recreation Center is very nice, but it's far enough upstream before it goes through the industrial areas of south Cobb/Fulton so it hasn't developed "that smell".
The Flint is no better. By the time you get to Albany it's almost putrid. The local riverfront society there has Turtle Grove Park, which in the small handful of times I've been was largely abandoned and taken over by homeless and junkies. Not sure which situation caused which, but the locals don't go there. Most of it comes from ag pollutants - pesticides, fertilizers, etc. There used to be a time where you could stand on the Broad Street bridge, drop a hook into the water with a chicken liver on it and pull up a mudcat that would feed an entire family. There's no way I'd eat anything out of that river - not any more.
I recently read the book Big Oyster by Mark Kulansky and it is full of interesting history and trivia about oysters and the New York City area.
Couple highlights:
- Despite a very poor "nutrient to harvest cost" ratio, humans have been eating oysters for thousands of years
- Oyster shells were piled up by Native Americans. These piles were never more than a certain distance from the shore (I believe something like 60 ft). In addition, the shells at the bottom of these piles were usually larger than at the top implying that over harvesting led to smaller oysters both then and now
- Despite different sizes, shapes etc all oysters on the eastern seaboard of the United States are all the same species
The book is full of great lines too e.g. "New York is not a city that plans; it creates situations and then deals with them"
Couple highlights:
- Despite a very poor "nutrient to harvest cost" ratio, humans have been eating oysters for thousands of years
- Oyster shells were piled up by Native Americans. These piles were never more than a certain distance from the shore (I believe something like 60 ft). In addition, the shells at the bottom of these piles were usually larger than at the top implying that over harvesting led to smaller oysters both then and now
- Despite different sizes, shapes etc all oysters on the eastern seaboard of the United States are all the same species
The book is full of great lines too e.g. "New York is not a city that plans; it creates situations and then deals with them"
I was on a tour in the Chesapeake bay, they said in the 1800s, they used to have to break up oyster beds because ships could beach on them, now (~10 years ago, hopefully it changed) they can't get a single one to grow there.
Chesapeake oysters are one of the great success stories of marine species restoration: https://e360.yale.edu/features/a-remarkable-recovery-for-the...
Circa ~2005, they began seeding modified oysters that were more resistant to the pathogens decimating the natural population.
Through a managed reintroduction and harvesting program, they've begun to gradually heal the bay and continue to expand the footprint of oysters.
Better ecosystems through science, indeed!
Circa ~2005, they began seeding modified oysters that were more resistant to the pathogens decimating the natural population.
Through a managed reintroduction and harvesting program, they've begun to gradually heal the bay and continue to expand the footprint of oysters.
Better ecosystems through science, indeed!
Where I'm from, I've not seen a native shellfish in quite some time. Corbicula fluminea, aka "Asian clam," has been the only clam we've been seeing the past few years. We've been to a few state parks and hatchery tours where they're attempting to grow more native shellfish and reintroduce them. I hope they succeed.
Oysterland | A Dalstrong Film © https://youtu.be/ZBYcJ3b4CaA also talks about environmental improvements benefiting oysters and how oysters are also part of the solution. And, it's a beautiful film.
> In our latest feature film, we dive deeper into the story of the Rappahannock Oyster Co., speaking with cousins Ryan and Travis Croxton to learn how they're revolutionizing the shellfish industry in the Chesapeake Bay. With research and innovation, they helped transform the regional oyster population from nearly endangered to the beating heart of a thriving ecosystem.
> In our latest feature film, we dive deeper into the story of the Rappahannock Oyster Co., speaking with cousins Ryan and Travis Croxton to learn how they're revolutionizing the shellfish industry in the Chesapeake Bay. With research and innovation, they helped transform the regional oyster population from nearly endangered to the beating heart of a thriving ecosystem.
> The book is full of great lines too e.g. "New York is not a city that plans; it creates situations and then deals with them"
This sounds like a good line to describe America in miniature.
This sounds like a good line to describe America in miniature.
My family oystered on the Chesapeake. Some still do. My childhood was spent playing through the ruins of the oyster house we built on the point, past its heyday and abandoned by the time I was born.
Can attest to how much of a long game it is. You make moves for five years in the future, and reap the results of what someone did five years ago. And the profits or losses are largely born by you: not many oysters subsidies for not harvesting...
And it has always been contentious. Often violent. About what you'd expect if your savings account were a sack of money sitting next to your mailbox. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oyster_Wars
But it's also a beautiful way of life. The old timers know more about the nuances of the coast, contours of the bottom, and tides than I'd imagine would fit into a human head.
And, for now, my 97 year old great uncle still takes his skiff out and tongs every now and then. (Knock on wood)
And here's encouraging people in the Apalachicola region, or those interested from afar, to act for the next decade. Apalachicola Riverkeeper and Chattahoochee Riverkeeper are good places to start. https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/593550426 https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/582095413
Now that the Florida lawsuit is resolved, hopefully the tristate area can get back to negotiating a comprehensive plan in good faith.