Captain Tyrone Meredith is a fifth generation watermen from Kent Island, Maryland. Initially a mate on his father’s boat at age six, his involvement in seafood harvesting began when he became a commercial crabber at age 12. In the wintertime, he worked as an oysterman, eventually obtaining a captain’s license. After this, at age 18, he operated his father’s charter boat, transporting fishermen. Currently, Meredith is the captain of his own charter boat.
In an interview with the Chesapeake Bay Program, he discussed some of the ways he has seen climate change affect the Chesapeake Bay in his 30 years of experience. The grasses along the bay have dwindled, so it is difficult for small crabs to hide from predators, leading to decreased catch abundance. Additionally, due to overfishing, the amount of oysters has dramatically lessened, which affects the water quality/pollution levels, as oysters are an important part of filtering the water. As a result of these decreases, the amount of black watermen in the region also decreased. Improved access to higher education and jobs in urban areas also led to movement away from the Eastern Shore.
“At one time, there were 18 shucking houses located on Kent Island — about 1,000 black people were employed across these houses to shuck the oysters and clams. Most of the workers in these shucking houses got older, died off or moved away; their children never picked it up and as they got older, climate change became more apparent and the industry died down.”
Captain Tyrone Meredith, Chesapeake Bay Program
Resources
https://www.chesapeakebay.net/news/blog/a_life_on_the_chesapeake_bay
