This is what wild looks like—mud, wet hands and hard work. In the age of factory-farmed fish we are doing this the old way: a boat, gear and a crew in wet boots, hauling wild fish from the waters of the Chesapeake Bay.
A way of life and work.
For centuries, humans have harvested the waters of the Chesapeake Bay, using its abundance of seafood for both sustenance and livelihood, leading to one of the region’s most iconic industries. To this day, watermen still use a variety of harvest methods along its labyrinthine tributaries, hauling out everything from the prized trinity of crabs, oysters, and rockfish to lesser-known catch, including increasingly invasive species like snakehead and blue catfish.Through Tilghman Island Seafood on Maryland's Eastern Shore, we work with about a dozen local watermen to catch our fish. Here are a few of the traditional ways they do it.
A long net with floats and weights, deployed in a sweeping arc from shore or shallow water.
A team of watermen row or wade the net out into a half-circle, then haul it back in by hand. As the ends close, fish are trapped and dragged into shallow water. Frequently used in coves, guts, and creeks.
Target species: menhaden, perch, blue catfish, croaker.
A series of vertical wooden poles driven into the Bay bottom, forming a passive trap with mesh walls.
Fish follow the “leader” net, hit the “heart,” and are funneled into the “pound.” Once inside, they can’t escape. The crew enters the trap by boat and bails it by hand or dip net. Requires heavy labor to drive the stakes and maintain the net structures. First documented in the Chesapeake around the 1700s.
Target species: striped bass, menhaden, blue catfish, spot.
Like the Chesapeake’s tradition of trotlining for blue crabs, longlining uses a baited line anchored to buoys and attached with snoods, which are tied with baited hooks. Watermen run the line from their boat, removing fish from the baited hooks.
Target species: blue catfish.
A curtain-like net suspended in the water column.
Fish swim into the net and are caught by their gills when they attempt to reverse out. Set in strategic locations depending on tides, currents, and fish behaviors. Nets are set and hauled manually, sometimes from a skiff or by wading.
Target species: striped bass, perch, blue catfish, and shad in the past.
The simplest of methods—pole and line, or a handheld net.
Used along shorelines, marshes, or from small boats to scoop or snag fish, particularly in shallow areas.
Target species: perch, eel, catfish, soft crabs.
