Fall 2011

National Marine Sanctuaries

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Featured: 

Maritime Heritage

Understanding Our Past, Navigating the Future Sanctuary Voices:

Callum Roberts

Author of The Unnatural History of the Sea

Page 13
DIRECTOR’SLETTER

The Office of National Marine Sanctuaries is part of NOAA’s 

National Ocean Service. 1305 East-West Highway, Silver Spring MD 

20910 | Phone: 301-713-3125 | Web: http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov

SANCTUARY WATCH is a publication of the Communications, Outreach and Education Division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration’s (NOAA) Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. NOAA is 

an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Cover Photo: Green Street Wharf, San Francisco; Courtesy J. Porter 

Shaw Library, San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park

How to Subscribe: To subscribe to Sanctuary Watch electronically, 

please send an e-mail to requests@willamette.nos.noaa.gov and put 

the following in the e-mail subject line: subscribe sanctuarywatch

DIVISION chief.............. Michiko Martin

editor ........................... Matt Dozier

Design/Layout ............ Matt McIntosh

Copy editor ................. Matt Dozier

 contributors

Brenda Altmeier John Jensen

Tirrea Billings Liz Love

James Delgado Cathy Sakas

Matt Dozier Robert Steelquist

Jeff Gray Whitney Stohr

Printed on Recycled Paper

2 Cultural Landscapes

4 Maritime Migrations

6 The Global Maritime Economy

8 Sapelo Island

9 Star of the Sea: 

 James P. Delgado

10 Maritime Heritage Stories

12 Project Shiphunt

13 Sanctuary Voices: 

 Callum Roberts

14 Sanctuary Snapshot

Maritime Heritage

In this Issue

Why should we care about maritime heritage? Because our discovery of 

the past will help us chart our common future. The world as we know it 

today, from the global economy to the state of the ocean’s ecosystem, has its roots in our past. Our past is responsible for everything from our current 

technologies to the blending of unique cultures worldwide. 

The stories of our maritime heritage, which I call “bridging the sea,” encompass the 

recent centuries’ greatest mass migrations of human populations in history; a world 

connected that created global commerce and drove the industrialization that changed 

the face of human cultures everywhere; a planet’s ocean that has been exploited to 

fuel the explosion of human populations; and a changing climate causing all of us to 

ponder an uncertain future. The forces of change that bridged the sea still drive our 

world today, perhaps at an ever-increasing rate. 

The full consequences of migration across the ocean and the exploitation of its 

resources could not be perceived during a time when human populations were smaller, 

and the world seemed limitless and inexhaustible. The signs and signals could not be 

read or extrapolated. Today, however, we are more cognizant of “failing to adjust” as 

our actions change the world around us. Consequently, rediscovering our past through 

the lens of our shared maritime heritage can allow us to see how we may better navigate these same — or similar — situations and challenges in the future.

In this issue, we celebrate the nation’s maritime heritage and shed light on how 

NOAA’s National Marine Sanctuary System works to share the stories of our past, to 

challenge us to better understand the world around us, and to protect our communities and our culture for tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Daniel J. Basta, Director

Office of National Marine Sanctuaries

Olympic Coast

Cordell Bank

Gulf of the Farallones

Papahānaumokuākea

Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale

Monterey Bay

Channel Islands

Fagatele Bay, American Samoa (U.S.)

Rose Atoll Marine National Monument

Thunder Bay

Stellwagen Bank

Monitor

Gray’s Reef

Florida Keys

Flower Garden Banks

National Marine Sanctuary System

National Marine Sanctuary

Marine National Monument

Proposed for sanctuary designation

Scale varies in this perspective. Adapted from National Geographic Maps.
Fall 2011 Sanctuary Watch 1

The Project Shiphunt team poses on the deck of the NOAA research vessel Laurentian. Read 

Tirrea Billings’ (second from right) account of the expedition on page 12 of this issue.

Photo: Justin Wilkes

NEWSSPLASH

Students Discover Shipwrecks on ‘Project Shiphunt’

INNOVATIVE PARTNERSHIP INTRODUCES SAGINAW YOUTH TO OPPORTUNITIES IN MARITIME ARCHAEOLOGY

Twenty-eight high school students from around 

the globe traveled to Channel Islands National Marine 

Sanctuary in July for “Ocean for Life,” an educational 

program that blends ocean science with cultural interaction and discovery.

Participants included youth from six countries in 

the Greater Middle East and 12 locations across North 

America, including American Samoa and Canada. 

Sanctuary staff hosted the students during their field

study introducing them to marine science activities and 

Enhancing Cultural Understanding through Marine Science

‘OCEAN FOR LIFE’ PROGRAMS CONNECT STUDENTS INTERNATIONALLY 

Five high school students from Saginaw, Mich., experienced 

the adventure of a lifetime when they discovered two sunken 

ships during an innovative research expedition in Thunder Bay 

National Marine Sanctuary in May.

“Project Shiphunt,” a groundbreaking science and technology education initiative sponsored by partners Sony and Intel, 

brought the students together with maritime historians and 

technical experts to locate and identify lost shipwrecks in the 

depths of Lake Huron. The participants studied historical records, helped map out a plan for the expedition, and operated 

sophisticated equipment in their search. Their efforts, chronicled 

in a documentary released Aug. 30, revealed two previously undiscovered shipwrecks: the schooner M.F. Merrick and the steel 

freighter Etruria.

Project Shiphunt involved NOAA staff from the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, the Office of the Coast Survey and

the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, as well as 

scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. The 

project is a tremendous example of the power of partnerships 

and how science and technology education can open doors to 

new opportunities for our nation’s youth.

issues facing the ocean. Assisted by National Geographic photographers and American 

University film students, the Ocean for Life

participants took 54,000 photos and many 

hours of video and developed five “youth

media projects” that will help them share 

their knowledge to promote ocean conservation and cultural understanding.

In October 2011, staff from the sanctuary system also conducted several days of 

Ocean for Life marine science, ocean conservation and stewardship activities during 

a QFI student exchange in Qatar in the 

Middle East. During this cultural exchange, students 

from Chicago and Qatar conducted mangrove monitoring, experienced snorkeling in the Arabian Gulf for 

the first time, and learned more about climate change

and ocean acidification.

Ocean for Life is a partnership between NOAA’s 

Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, the GLOBE

Program, SCUBAnauts International, and the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation funded primarily 

in 2011 by Qatar Foundation International (QFI). 

The 2011 Condition Report for Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary is now available, providing 

a comprehensive look at the status and trends of the 

sanctuary’s resources. The report, which was released in October, found that pressure from increasing coastal populations, ship and boat groundings, 

marine debris, poaching, and climate change are 

critically threatening the health of the Florida Keys 

ecosystem.

As part of an ongoing series examining each of 

the 14 sites in the National Marine Sanctuary System, the condition report goes beyond a basic assessment of the current state of sanctuary resources. 

It documents the relationship between people and 

the environment using a rigorous pressure-stateresponse approach, highlighting the ways human 

activities have affected the ecosystem over time — 

and the impacts they are likely to have in the future. 

See the back cover of this issue of Sanctuary 

Watch for more about the work NOAA researchers 

are doing to understand and learn from the history of 

our interactions with the sea.

NEW REPORT REVEALS 

THREATS TO FLORIDA

KEYS ECOSYSTEMS

Photo: Jim Webb/National Geographic
2 Sanctuary Watch Fall 2011

Cultural landscapes capture the living past that surrounds us and give 

us a better understanding of the links between the natural history and 

human history of a place. They illustrate how we have shaped the 

world, and how the world’s natural environments have shaped us. Perhaps most importantly, cultural landscapes can also provide us with 

valuable insights into the future, such as the relationship between the 

health of natural resources and human wellbeing and prosperity.

Understanding Maritime Cultural Landscapes

While investigating cultural landscapes involves the combined 

study of history, archaeology, geography, oral traditions and other 

social and environmental sciences, understanding the concept is a 

matter of common sense.

At their most basic, cultural landscapes are specific places where 

combinations of human activity and natural forces have left a discernable 

mark on the world. They are found everywhere people have lived, 

worked and explored, from the driest parts of the Mojave Desert to 

the deep submarine canyons of the North Atlantic. 

Many human elements make up maritime cultural landscapes. 

Shipwrecks, lighthouses, abandoned docks, working waterfronts, 

tribal and indigenous dwellings or sacred places, trawl scours, lost 

fishing gear, navigation lanes, and shell middens are a few of the 

hundreds of potential human imprints on the landscape. Equally important are natural features found in the geology, geography and 

living resources of a place.

Our coasts contain many famous, recognizable maritime landscape features. The magnificent lighthouse on Cape Hatteras, N.C., 

for example, is a powerful element of the landscape. Within a cultural 

landscape context, the lighthouse itself is important — not just as an 

example of engineering, but for the human meanings and environmental connections associated with it. When it was built, the Cape 

Hatteras lighthouse was a beacon of hope and safety for the mariners 

2 Sanctuary Watch Fall 2011

n the scene below, artist J.W. Hill depicted the bustling harbor of Portland, Maine, capturing the commotion and complexity of waterfront life in 1853. From maritime commerce 

to shipbuilding, each element in Hill’s painting is individually significant, but their true 

importance lies in their relationship to one another and to the natural environment. These 

relationships are the hallmarks of maritime cultural landscapes.

Viewing the Future

Maritime Cultural Landscapes

through the Lens of

I
Fall 2011 Sanctuary Watch 3

navigating the treacherous “Graveyard of the Atlantic.” What was 

important to them was that the light could be seen far out to sea. 

Today, we value the same lighthouse for the architectural beauty 

and tourist dollars it contributes to the seashore. We built this lighthouse to preserve lives in the past, and we have now spent millions 

of dollars preserving the lighthouse in order to enrich lives today. 

Across America, our historic lighthouses continue to do both, and 

will likely do so for centuries to come. Cultural landscapes help us 

see the many different kinds of meaning we have given to our cultural and natural resources, as well as understand their importance 

in learning from the past while planning for the future.

Cultural Landscape Lessons

Analyzing cultural landscapes also provides an understanding 

of how technological, political or economic shifts can alter the 

health of ecosystems and the future of human communities. For 

example, we see how the introduction of otter trawling and industrial fish processing to Newfoundland transformed the natural 

habitats of cod and the livelihoods of cod fisherman, threatening 

the survival of both. 

Another facet of cultural landscapes reveals how indigenous 

or subsistence-based communities practiced the sustainable use 

of places and their resources, such as in the Hawaiian Islands and 

American Samoa. Maritime cultural landscapes make human heritage visible and give a voice to all groups with connections to coastal and ocean places, past and present. Tribal and indigenous cultures, fishing communities, wind power developers, surfers, seaside 

restaurant owners and many others share a direct stake in the past, 

and in the future promise of our coastal areas and oceans.

Cultural landscapes are reservoirs of human experience that preserve undeniable examples of human triumph and loss. Retaining 

the intangible as well as tangible parts of human culture, cultural 

landscapes can do something that the natural sciences alone cannot. 

They convey the human meaning of places — even after all physical remnants and artifacts have been wiped away. For instance, the 

site of the World Trade Center would retain historical and cultural 

meaning even if all recognizable traces of the events of 9/11 were 

removed from Ground Zero. Such human memories and values create the cultural heritage of places. 

The lens of maritime cultural landscapes reveals the many human communities that overlap with marine environments such as 

our national marine sanctuaries. It provides room for different kinds 

of knowledge and meaning, and gives voice to all people with important connections to our coasts and oceans. By studying maritime 

cultural landscapes and exploring the links between our natural and 

cultural heritage, we provide the foundations for building a better 

future through understanding the wisdom — and learning from the 

tragedies and triumphs — of the past. 

Authors

John Odin Jensen, SEA Education Association

Roderick Mather, University of Rhode Island

Jeff Gray, Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary

Fall 2011 Sanctuary Watch 3

Cultural landscapes illustrate how we have shaped the world, 

and how the world’s natural environments have shaped us.
4 Sanctuary Watch Fall 2011

First People

Following retreating ice and a coastline that gradually submerged as the sea level rose at the end of the Ice 

Age, humans both on foot and in boats migrated from Asia’s Arctic shores into the Americas, spreading across 

the continent throughout what is now the United States and down to the tip of South America. Archaeologists 

also suspect that others similarly journeyed in boats from Europe, following the edge of the ice that covered 

much of the North Atlantic. Travel by boat was fast, and as some first peoples such as the Coast Salish of the

Northwest Coast have said, “When the tide was out, the table was set” thanks to marine resources that could 

be harvested for food. This traditional Chumash tomol navigates the ancient routes its ancestors once plied 

along the California coast. 

Asia

Beginning in the mid-19th century, increasing numbers of Chinese and other Asians began to arrive in California 

in response to the Gold Rush. From there, they spread across the country, helping build the transcontinental railroad that linked the great ports on the Pacific to the East Coast. The large steamers of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company brought thousands of people — mostly

men — from China and Japan in the 1870s, 1880s and 1890s. Those numbers slowed to a trickle by the end of the century in response to antiimmigration laws, but would eventually rebound after World War 

II. This hand-colored woodblock print depicts Chinese immigrants bound for San Francisco on the Pacific Mail steamer

Alaska in 1876. They are eating and socializing as the 

ship’s captain makes a daily inspection. 

Polynesian Voyagers

Using traditional skills observing the patterns 

of the ocean and the stars, human beings 

spread out from Southeast Asia for thousands of years to populate the islands 

of Oceania. The navigators of ancient 

Oceania traveled the vast maritime cultural landscape of the Pacific with an

incredibly sophisticated understanding of currents, prevailing winds, and 

remarkably resilient voyaging canoes in what is likely the most successful mass migration of 

humans by water in history. Today, a modern canoe, the Hōkūle’a, shown here, is part of a 

reviving tradition of traditional navigation and seafaring. 

 How Maritime Migrations Shaped 

Throughout our history, the sea has been a highway for the greatest human migrations the world has ever known. People of all 

ages, ethnicities,beliefs and backgrounds have crossed oceans and followed coastlines in search of a better life, transforming the world with their voyages. Some sought relief from economic depression. Others fled religious persecution, political 

upheaval or war. But migrations have also been propelled by more than just human factors. Environmental changes like 

drought, famine and rising sea levels have caused untold millions to board ships and set sail for new opportunities, taking many plants 

and animals with them. America has been shaped by immigrants, the vast majority of whom arrived by the sea. From North America’s 

1

Photo: Robert Schwemmer/NOAA

2

Courtesy of Stephen and Jeremy Potash

3

Photo: Na’alehu Anthony

4 Sanctuary Watch Fall 2011

Bridging 
Fall 2011 Sanctuary Watch 5

Great Lakes

The Great Lakes, like the inland waters of the great rivers, were a highway for American immigration. After arriving by ship in New York, Boston and other seaports, many immigrants took canal boats or trains to ports on 

the Lakes. They established communities like Chicago, Milwaukee, Cleveland and Alpena, to name a few, and 

from there spread out to numerous smaller towns and settlements in the heartland of America. It was by water 

that much of America was settled in the late 19th and early 20th century, and those same waterways also supported the mining, farming and manufacturing economies that would allow these newly settled lands to flourish

and prosper. The 131-foot steamer Celtic, shown here with its decks crowded with immigrants from Europe, 

operated between Montreal and Chicago in the late 1800s.

Europe

From the late 15th century and well into the 20th century, millions of Europeans left their homes and set out 

across the Atlantic Ocean for the Americas, starting with the colonial endeavors that created colonies on 

the eastern seaboard and in the Caribbean, Mexico, and what is now Canada. Following the 

American Revolution, their numbers increased to a massive influx of people who arrived daily in immigrant ships under sail and steam power, fleeing oppression

and persecution or seeking better opportunities. Between 1836 and 1914, 

more than 30 million people migrated by sea to America. In this 1890s 

engraving, German immigrants arriving in New York sail past an 

enduring part of the maritime cultural landscape: the Statue 

of Liberty, which was erected facing the sea to welcome 

incoming ships and people. 

Africa

One of the largest forced human migrations in 

history was the Atlantic Slave Trade, in which 

historians estimate that some 12 million 

enslaved Africans were forcibly taken from 

their homes and shipped in inhumane 

conditions to the Americas. Untold numbers died after their capture or while 

being transported, while others were 

murdered by slavers or succumbed to 

disease or injury. Enslaved persons were shipped to Spanish, English and French America 

and Dutch colonies in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. The maritime transport of slaves was 

outlawed in the 19th century, but the practice of slavery remained, and so the slave trade continued illegally. This 18th-century illustration of enslaved captives chained in the hold of a slave 

ship graphically illustrates the horrific conditions of this enforced migration.

 America — and the World

earliest native inhabitants to the throngs of fortune-seekers lured to San Francisco by the Gold Rush, to the “huddled masses” arriving 

at Ellis Island from Europe, each group of new arrivals brought with them unique cultures and traditions that are reflected in America’s 

identity today. But people, plants and animals migrating over water is more than just an interesting footnote in history. Even today, 

immigrants arrive by ship in great numbers — both legally and illegally — seeking freedom, prosperity, or a new beginning. Understanding the role of past maritime migrations provides insight into the forces of change at work today and will help us better prepare 

for adapting to an uncertain future.

4

Thunder Bay Research Collection

5

Photo: Library of Congress

6

Photo: Library of Congress

By Matt Dozier 

& James P. Delgado

Fall 2011 Sanctuary Watch 5

 the Sea
6 Sanctuary Watch Fall 2011

The global economy that we take for granted today — 

that surrounds us and links nations and people all over 

the world — was created by ships. From the earliest 

wooden sailing vessels to massive diesel-powered 

tankers, ships have driven centuries of maritime commerce and industry that continue to shape our world.

Ships have moved people, ideas and goods throughout history, 

creating overseas colonies, building vast empires dependent upon 

sea trade and establishing some of the world’s greatest cities. London, Amsterdam, Lisbon, New York, Mumbai, Sydney, Guangzhou, 

San Francisco, Chicago, Panama City, Istanbul and Stockholm are 

but a few of the ports where goods shipped by water were freely 

exchanged by traders and merchants seeking spices, porcelain, silks, 

gold, tea, tobacco and many other commodities. 

Over the last 500 years, the expansion of Europeans by sea into 

Africa, the Americas, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific propelled 

maritime commerce into a truly global market. Even today, the 

greatest force that unites the world’s markets is not the internet or 

air carriers but ships, which at the advent of the 21st century carry 

90 percent of the world’s trade goods. 

Shipwrecks: Time Capsules of 

Global Maritime Connections

To see the global maritime connections evident in 

our nation’s history, one need look no further than a 

shipwreck named the General Harrison, which was 

excavated in 2001 from the heart of downtown San 

Francisco. Beached and moored in the mud in 1850 

after its arrival from New York, the vessel served as a 

merchant’s warehouse and auction hall for goods that 

arrived by ship. 

In 1851, the General Harrison burned to the 

waterline and was covered by the water. It lay 

forgotten for 150 years as San Francisco built up 

over and around it, until it was swallowed by the 

expanding city. When archaeologists excavated the 

wreck in 2001, they found more than 50,000 artifacts on board. Ale and stout from Scotland, wine 

from France, shoes from Boston, iron from Sweden, hardware supplies from New York, beans and 

barley from Chile, beer from Philadelphia, cigars 

from Cuba — the diversity of the ship’s cargo was 

astounding. This rediscovered “time capsule” illustrates the pull of the California Gold Rush, and the global maritime 

trade that transformed San Francisco from a small frontier settlement 

into America’s busiest port on the Pacific Ocean.

Other lost ships that speak to the importance of maritime commerce include the nearly 200 wrecks that lie in Lake Huron in and 

around Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary. The Great Lakes 

were and are one of the major economic trade routes of the United 

States. Following the War of 1812, the lakes were opened to global 

maritime trade when the newly constructed Erie Canal linked them 

to New York and the Atlantic Ocean. 

Raw commodities including iron ore, lumber and coal were 

shipped by water to newly established port cities like Chicago, Minneapolis, Buffalo, Detroit, Saginaw and Alpena, where industry 

boomed and immigrants flowed in on ships to build thriving communities. The Great Lakes were not a barrier: they were a highway, and schooners and steamers plied those waters like semis and 

tractor-trailer rigs on the modern interstate. In the century between 

1830 and 1930, Great Lakes shipping ensured not only the growth 

of the industrial heartland of America, but also linked those trades 

and the commodities of the lakes to the rest of the world. 

The Global Maritime EconomyPhoto: © Kevin Collins

6 Sanctuary Watch Fall 2011
Fall 2011 Sanctuary Watch 7

This explosion of seafaring commerce left behind shipwrecks 

that now form part of the region’s maritime cultural landscape. 

These remnants of the “shipwreck century” remind us not only 

of the vessels and the lives lost in the often treacherous waters of 

Lake Huron, but of shipping’s critical role in building and sustaining America through maritime trade. The Great Lakes remain an 

important maritime highway in the 21st century, with massive ships 

carrying in their holds on a single voyage what once would have 

taken a fleet of schooners many trips to transport.

Whaling: A Lost Link in the Global Economy

One global maritime industry 

in particular that shaped America’s expansion, economy and 

culture has all but vanished. The 

whaling trade, which began in the 

17th century after newly arrived 

immigrants learned from Native 

American whalers how to harvest 

these behemoths, soon expanded 

from New England’s shores to 

encompass the entire world. By 

the mid-19th century, New Bedford, Mass., home of many whalers, became a famous and vital 

link in the global economy because its exports of whale oil for 

lamps made it the “City that Lit 

the World.” 

The quest to feed America’s 

hunger for whale oil led whalers throughout the Atlantic, Pacific and finally the Arctic. They 

slaughtered their prey by the 

thousands at each new hunting 

ground, decimating whale populations and forcing subsequent 

whaling expeditions to travel farther and stay at sea for years at 

a time. We can see the reach of 

these epic voyages in shipwrecks 

like the Two Brothers, a 19thcentury whaler from Nantucket 

that sailed thousands of miles from home before sinking nearly 

600 miles northwest of Honolulu, in the waters of what is today 

Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.

Grueling expeditions like this one extended American influence 

and economic interests around the globe, but they also drove many 

whale species to the brink of extinction and contributed to the collapse 

of the industry. Another factor, however, was perhaps even more significant in bringing about the death of large-scale whaling: the shift 

from whale oil to petroleum as the world’s main energy source.

The World’s Economy: Forever Tied to the Sea

As the switch from whale oil to petroleum demonstrates, the global maritime economy is constantly in flux. The types of commodities 

being transported have changed over time, port cities and waterfronts 

have grown to accommodate larger ships and new technologies, and 

certain industries give way to others, all of which contribute to the ever-shifting maritime landscape. The types of ships have also evolved, 

from sail to steam to motor vessels, yet for all the changes, the maritime landscape remains inexorably linked to trade and commerce.

The sea is not only the greatest museum of our maritime past and 

the creation of the modern global economy, but the ongoing means 

by which that economy is sustained. Examining the evolution of 

global commerce through maritime landscapes helps us understand 

how we can successfully manage future change along our coasts.

Few creatures have inspired fear, greed and wanderlust in the hearts of men quite like the massive 

denizen of the deep known as the sperm whale. Inspiration for great works of literature like Melville’s 

Moby-Dick and epic whaling voyages that circled 

the globe, these majestic animals fueled our lamps 

— and our imaginations — for more than two centuries. In the early 1700s, New England whalers 

began hunting the sperm whale for its valuable 

spermaceti, a waxy substance found in the whale’s 

head that was used in everything from cosmetics 

to industrial lubricant. By the 1800s, the demand 

for sperm oil was so great that whaling ships sailed 

thousands of miles across the ocean to hunt their 

By James P. Delgado

Scientific name: ............... Physeter macrocephalus

Distribution: .................Open ocean; worldwide

Max. Length: .............................................60 feet

Max. Weight: ............................................45 tons

Diet: ....................................................Squid, fish

Status: .............................................Endangered 

Critter Files:

Sperm Whale

quarry for years at a time. This tireless pursuit 

spread America’s culture and economic power, 

but it also killed off an estimated two-thirds of the 

global sperm whale population, which has slowly 

begun to recover since large-scale whaling was 

banned in 1980.

Image: Library of Congress
Cicadas buzzed to a deafening crescendo as Hicks 

Walker stood on the porch of his modest green cabin, 

the hot, humid air hanging over the tight-knit community of Hog Hammock like Spanish moss draped on 

the branches of a live oak. The 6-foot-5-inch mountain of a man held a length of strong cotton twine and a small wooden 

weaving shuttle, its surface worn smooth from decades of use. 

Methodically, Hicks tied one end of the twine to a tree branch and 

began to knot tiny loops, one after another, at precise intervals along 

its length. His massive hands worked the shuttle back and forth with 

the nimble grace of a lifetime of practice, and the loops gradually 

resolved into the fine mesh of a flawlessly crafted cast net used to 

catch mullet and shrimp.

The residents of Sapelo Island, a 25-square-mile barrier island 

nestled along the Georgia coast, have been casting these hand-woven nets into the water since their ancestors arrived from Western 

Africa as slaves nearly two centuries ago. Transported across the Atlantic in the early 1800s and forced to work the island’s plantations 

of cotton, sugar cane and indigo, they brought with them a maritime 

culture — known as “Geechee” — that remains at the core of the 

island’s identity today. 

After the Civil War, many freed slaves bought land on Sapelo. 

They settled in communities with names like Hog Hammock and 

Raccoon Bluff and supported themselves by fishing the coastal waters and growing what they could on the island. Using traditional 

skills like net making and oyster farming — skills that dated back 

to their ancestors an ocean away in Sierra Leone — these Geechee 

communities lived almost entirely isolated from the mainland for 

nearly two centuries. 

Things began to change in the 1960s, when mainstream attitudes 

toward African-Americans grew more tolerant. As the world around 

Sapelo changed, so did the island’s culture. Many Hog Hammock 

By Cathy J. Sakas & Matt Dozier

residents soon abandoned their nets and plows to seek new opportunities for employment and education on the mainland. 

In 1961, a biologist named Milton B. “Sam” Gray came to Sapelo Island with the goal of studying the vibrant reefs off Georgia’s 

coast. He hired George Walker, Hicks Walker’s nephew, to work on 

his research vessel. Aided by the Geechee man’s extensive knowledge of the local waters, Gray’s expedition discovered a treasure 

trove of marine life at what would become known as Gray’s Reef. 

His research led Congress to designate the reef and surrounding waters as Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary in 1981.

The close ties between Sapelo Island and Gray’s Reef National 

Marine Sanctuary that began 50 years ago with Gray and George 

Walker’s partnership remain today. Sapelo is the closest land to 

Gray’s Reef, and part of the island is now managed by NOAA’s 

Sapelo Island National Estuarine Research Reserve, which collaborates with the sanctuary to understand and protect the marine ecosystems that island residents still rely on today.

Sapelo Island may no longer be as isolated as it once was, but the 

maritime culture and traditions that have sustained its residents for 

generations are still present. Fishing remains a staple of the island 

diet. Net making, basket weaving and other Geechee skills continue 

to be practiced today, preserved and passed down by Hog Hammock residents like Cornelia Walker Bailey, Hicks Walker’s youngest daughter and a best-selling author. Hicks, who passed away in 

2003, just shy of his 100th birthday, continued weaving his highquality handmade cast nets until the year he died. 

Maritime cultures like Sapelo Island’s are an integral part of our nation’s character, from the Georgia coast to the Great Lakes to the Hawaiian Islands. The Office of National Marine Sanctuaries works to 

preserve and celebrate these unique sets of traditions and knowledge, 

recognizing that they are critical components of a better understanding of our relationship to the ocean — and to one another.

From left to right: Hicks 

Walker weaving a cast net; 

Sam Gray collecting samples; 

Miss Hattie Walker (left) with 

Cornelia Walker Bailey.

8 Sanctuary Watch Fall 2011

A History Preserved 

Living Maritime Culture on Sapelo Island 

Photo: Vera Viditz-Ward

Photo: Vera Viditz-Ward

Photo: UGAMI

Photo: SICARS
Fall 2011 Sanctuary Watch 9

STARoftheSEA

Maritime Heritage Director Dives into Our Seafaring Past

Dr. James P. Delgado 

In this issue, we sat down 

with Dr. James Delgado to 

discuss shipwrecks, culture, 

and the lessons of our 

maritime past. 

What exactly is maritime heritage?

Maritime heritage, simply stated, is every bit of evidence from the 

past about how we as human beings have interacted with the water, 

from lakes and rivers to the ocean, maritime landscapes, lifesaving stations, life boats, historical fishing grounds, maritime graveyards, maritime cities and towns, and shipwrecks. All of those together, as well as 

everything ever written and documented, whether it’s a painting or a 

great book like Moby-Dick — that’s all part of our maritime heritage. 

How significant has the ocean been in shaping America 

as we know it today?

I think that in the fabric of American history, one the strongest threads 

— maybe the strongest — is our relationship to the sea. Think about it: 

From prehistoric times, people settled this continent not only by walking 

over land, but largely by taking boats and moving along the edges of ice 

and land that was being revealed as the Ice Age ended.

Imagine American history without ships, like those that landed in 

Jamestown, or the Mayflower. Think as well of all those ships that carried goods and commodities from one part of the country to another, or 

around the world. The Great Lakes were a great economic artery that 

helped build the United States, with ships moving up and down the coast 

and through the lakes, creating cities like Detroit and Chicago. Even now 

in the 21st century, 90 percent of the goods that we consume or ship 

abroad as Americans comes by water.

What can a better understanding of our maritime heritage 

teach us for the future?

I think it’s always important, when you look forward, to look back. In the 

case of marine resources, some of the wrecks I’ve worked on really speak 

volumes about choices made and choices that should not be followed now. 

Take for instance a wreck in Panama that was a submarine built during the American Civil War to fight, but instead was sent south to harvest 

pearls. What it did was it wiped out the pearl beds to the point where 

they’ve never recovered. The owners went bankrupt and the company 

folded, and their expensive submarine ended up abandoned on a beach 

where now, more than a century and a half after it was built, it remains 

a rusting relic of a bad business plan, as well as our devastation of the 

marine environment. 

I also think that maritime heritage is pertinent and important for us 

because we as a nation are hungry and want to understand where we 

came from, not only as a nation, but as individuals and as families. Maritime history links us to that — powerfully. 

How do marine sanctuaries help preserve these stories 

of our history and connect people with them?

The national marine sanctuaries, all 14 of them, have strong links 

to the past as well as the important natural resources and the scenic, 

recreational and economic opportunities they provide. Along with the 

waters of the National Park System, they are the greatest museum 

America has. Sitting down there beneath those waters are the remains 

of prehistoric settlements, of the areas where the first people moved 

and walked. Consider this: for hundreds of miles off our coast, what 

now is wet was once dry land, where people actively worked and settled 10,000 years ago.

That’s part of the importance of marine sanctuaries: they give us a 

tangible link to the past, and at the same time they provide us with a 

modern opportunity in our own time to connect to that past. Whether 

we visit it as divers, see it on film, learn about it in a maritime museum, 

or read about it on the web, the National Marine Sanctuary System 

connects Americans with their heritage that is relevant, exciting, important, and literally right off our doorstep in these great treasures known 

as sanctuaries.

Scan this code with your smartphone or 

visit http://go.usa.gov/Xv5 for video of 

the interview with Dr. Delgado.

James Delgado is an accomplished writer, archaeologist and historian. He 

has authored or edited more than 32 books and participated in undersea 

explorations around the world, including the mapping of the RMS Titanic.

Maritime Heritage Director, 

NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries

Photo: Christian Kozowyk
TITANIC

Legacy of a Disaster

In the early morning hours of April 

15, 1912, the RMS Titanic — the largest and most luxurious ship of its time 

— met a devastating end, striking an 

iceberg and sinking to the bottom of 

the North Atlantic. More than 1,500 

people perished in its disastrous loss. 

Discovered in 1985, the shipwreck 

now lies more than 12,400 feet below 

the surface on the edge of Canada’s 

continental shelf. The British-registered, American-owned Titanic represents a tangible link to United States 

maritime history and has inspired the 

creative genius of historians, filmmakers and ocean enthusiasts around 

the world. It has provided a storyline 

for countless books, articles, films and documentaries, including the 

Academy Award-winning James Cameron megahit Titanic.

However, the significance of the ship’s status as a pop culture 

icon is surpassed by its historical significance as a memorial in honor of those lives that were lost in its sinking. Of the 306 American 

passengers on board the Titanic, 119 were never rescued. In 2006, 

at age 99, Lillian Asplund, the last living American survivor of the 

Titanic, died in Massachusetts. At age five, she lost her father and 

SARDINES

A Pacific Fishery, Boom to Bust

In the early 1900s, three men from vastly different backgrounds came to Monterey Bay, Calif., lured there by massive 

schools of sardines. Together, they created an industry that 

would become the largest fishery in the western hemisphere, 

catching millions upon millions of sardines over more than two 

decades until its devastating collapse. 

Frank Booth, a salmon cannery owner from Northern California, 

opened the first sardine cannery in 1902 after witnessing the sheer 

numbers of fish in the bay. Soon after, a young Norwegian fisheries 

engineer named Knute Hovden arrived and partnered with Booth 

to improve canning technology. All that remained was securing a 

steady supply of fish. Pietro Ferrante, an accomplished fisherman 

from Sicily, provided the solution, adapting Italian fishing gear and 

recruiting friends to harvest unprecedented quantities of sardines.

Fueled by the demand for food during World War I, the sardine fishery grew into a juggernaut, with landings from California to British Columbia. By 1945, Monterey alone boasted 19 

canneries and 20 reduction plants. San Francisco, San Pedro and 

San Diego were booming, too. Together, these four cities had a 

total of more than 100 canneries and reduction plants, employing thousands of workers and a fleet of 376 vessels. At its peak 

in the 1936-37 season, California’s sardine industry landed more 

than 726,000 tons of fish.

In the late 1940s, sardines suddenly started vanishing, first 

from the Pacific Northwest and finally from southern California 

in the late 1950s. The cause of the fishery collapse evoked great 

debate. Now, after decades of study, most scientists attribute it 

to a combination of overfishing and a natural fluctuation in the 

sardine population. 

Today, the Pacific sardine fishery has rebounded and is carefully managed by strict catch limits. By studying and understanding the ocean and our past maritime history, we can ensure 

that valuable ocean resources are protected for the future.

MAKAH

‘The Ocean Is Our Land’

Stories of Our 

In 1855, when the United States negotiated the Treaty of Neah 

Bay with leaders of the Makah people of the Pacific Northwest, 

tribal negotiators expressed concern over their future access and 

rights to the ocean — the mainstay for their way of life. “We only 

Makah whalers Jesse Allabush (far left) 

and David Fisher (far right) participate in 

an early 20th century whale hunt. 

This photograph, titled “Silver Harvest,” depicts fishermen pouring sardines into a purse seiner hold.

Photo: J. B. Phillips collection, Courtesy of the Monterey History & Art Association

Asahel Curtis, Courtesy of the Makah Cultural and Research Center

10 Sanctuary Watch Fall 2011
LIGHTHOUSES

Beacons of our Maritime Heritage

Since the earliest days of European settlement in the New 

World, ships have crashed into the shallow, jagged reefs of the 

Florida Keys. With nothing to guide them through the treacherous 

shoals, many vessels ran aground and were left high and dry, while 

others had their hulls ripped open and sank to the sandy bottom. 

After the American Revolutionary War, one of the new nation’s first priorities was to make coastal navigation safer. The 

ninth act of the first Congress of the United States was the Lighthouse Act of 1789, which placed lighthouses under federal control “to regulate and encourage the trade and commerce of the 

new nation.” The American economy depended on safe, reliable 

movement of goods and people along the Eastern Seaboard and 

Gulf Coast, and these beacons of light provided the solution.

The complexity of architecture, engineering and diversity of 

lighthouses in the U.S. is greater than that of any other country in the world. Florida boasts more than 30 lighthouses of all 

shapes and sizes, eight 

of which are found in 

the Florida Keys. Several unique lighthouses 

rise from the turquoise 

waters of the Keys 

from four to six miles 

offshore, warning mariners about the dangerous coral reef just below the surface.

Today, more advanced technology has 

reduced our dependence on lighthouses 

for navigational safety, 

but they remain a part 

of our nation’s maritime cultural landscape, 

representing centuries 

of trade, commerce, 

innovation and adventure. The Office of the 

National Marine Sanctuaries recognizes the 

value of these unique 

symbols of our maritime heritage and seeks 

to preserve their stories 

of American growth, 

prosperity and exploration along our shores.

Maritime Heritage 

three brothers on the Titanic. Other passengers onboard the Titanic

were foreign-born immigrants traveling to the United States full of 

hope and potential. Many of these individuals did not survive. 

With the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic approaching in April 2012, international partners are working on new 

legislation to ensure the preservation of this iconic piece of our 

maritime history and culture that holds deep meaning for so many 

around the world.

need houses to live in, but the ocean is our land,” a spokesman said. 

Rights to a common share of fish and shellfish, as well as the right 

to continue whaling, were negotiated into their treaty.

More than 150 years later, the Makah Tribe thrives in its relationship to the ocean, near Cape Flattery, the northwestern-most 

point in the lower 48 states and partially surrounded by Olympic 

Coast National Marine Sanctuary. But until 1974, the Makah’s 

treaty-protected rights to marine resources were bitterly contested. 

The dispute was settled only after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 

that the terms of the 1855 Treaty of Neah Bay were the definitive 

law of the land.

Today, Makah fishermen continue to harvest salmon, halibut, 

groundfish, crab and other ocean resources, guided by tribal biologists and policy-makers in collaboration with other treaty tribes, 

the state of Washington and NOAA under terms of the treaties and 

the Magnuson-Stevens Act. But the ocean represents more than the 

Makah “breadbasket.” The ocean is embedded in the tribe’s objects, 

art, song, dance, story and language. It permeates community and 

individual identity and embodies the continuity from the past to the 

future — tradition to tomorrow.

Installed at Alligator Reef 

in 1873, this 136-foot light 

tower is named after the 

U.S. Navy schooner Alligator, 

which sank there in 1822.

The Titanic, which sank nearly 100 years ago, remains 

one of the most significant shipwrecks in our history.

Photo: Library of Congress

Photo: Brenda Altmeier

Fall 2011 Sanctuary Watch 11
12 Sanctuary Watch Fall 2011

just a few yards from the Merrick, this one a 

bulk freighter named the Etruria. The 414-

foot Etruria sank in 1905, also following a 

collision with another ship in the dense fog 

of Shipwreck Alley. While we never did find 

the Choctaw, we were ecstatic to have discovered these other ships.

Discovering these sunken marvels made 

me realize and understand the importance of 

maritime history. Protecting treasures such 

as the M. F. Merrick, the Etruria, and other 

sunken ships is a necessity. Shipwrecks help 

historians, researchers and others uncover 

and share stories that help us understand our 

relationship with different bodies of water 

all over the world.

In the end, Project Shiphunt was an adventure unlike anything I expected. I loved 

every single moment of the experience, from 

the long hours of intense research to riding 

on a boat for the first time. However, the 

most memorable part was actually finding 

the ships — at that moment, I imagined them 

sinking, the fear that the passengers felt, and 

the sorrow from the lives that were lost. 

Project Shiphunt has given me the inspiration to pursue a life of exploration and scientific discovery, and I will always remember it as the greatest adventure any teenager 

could imagine.

The chilled spring air of Lake Huron blew against my face, and a 

rush of thrill and wonder flowed 

within my soul. As we boarded 

the research vessel Laurentian

at Thunder Bay in Alpena, Mich., on that 

foggy, mystic day, my excitement grew. 

Many thoughts filled my head. What if we 

don’t find the ship we are looking for? What 

if we find something different? What if we 

don’t find anything at all? I didn’t know what 

the final outcome of this project was going to 

be, but I knew that we were in for the most 

challenging adventure of our young lives.

After a tough application and interview 

process a month prior to the voyage, I had 

found out that I was one of the five Arthur 

Hill High School students selected to participate in Project Shiphunt, an expedition to 

search for a sunken ship in an area of Lake 

Huron known as “Shipwreck Alley.” 

Tiesha, Yer, Cody, James, and I found 

out that this was more than just a week-long 

field trip away from school when we arrived 

at NOAA’s Great Lakes Maritime Heritage 

Center in Alpena. This was going to be a real 

The Greatest Adventure: 

Project Shiphunt

By Tirrea Billings

In May, Tirrea Billings and four other high school students from Saginaw, Mich., embarked on 

Project Shiphunt, an expedition to search for shipwrecks in the depths of Thunder Bay National 

Marine Sanctuary. Through the power of maritime heritage education, the project exposed 

Tirrea and her classmates to fascinating history, advanced technology and inspirational 

discoveries, opening up a new world of opportunities in marine science. This is her story.

Scan this code with your smartphone or visit 

http://thunderbay.noaa.gov/shiphunt.html 

to watch the Project Shiphunt trailer.

challenge: Can five students from Saginaw, 

Mich., really find a missing sunken ship?

Before heading out on the water, we researched loads of information about our target: a bulk freighter that sank in 1915 known 

as the Choctaw. We were on an investigation 

to find out where the ship sank, what types 

of cargo it was carrying, and the route it was 

taking. We also did research about the ship’s 

structure, the materials it was made from, how 

and when it sank, and other facts that could 

lead us to the discovery of the Choctaw’s location. While the week was long and exhausting, it consisted of the most rewarding work 

that I have ever done.

Using technology like side-scan sonar 

and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), we 

soon began our search in Lake Huron. Initially, we mapped out a location of where we 

believed the ship sank about one square mile 

in area, then used sonar to map the seafloor 

within the search zone. The readings were 

conclusive: there was definitely something 

down there. But, the question was, what?

The moment of truth soon arrived. After dropping the ROVs with built-in cameras into the water, we could see everything 

that the ROVs could see on video screens 

aboard the Laurentian. After over an hour 

of searching, we found our first shipwreck 

— only, it wasn’t the Choctaw! Instead, we had discovered the M. F. 

Merrick, a 138-foot schooner that was 

run down by another vessel in heavy 

fog in 1889. 

To our surprise, a few moments later our cameras revealed another wreck 

The Project Shiphunt documentary film premiered Aug. 

29 at the Temple Theater in Saginaw, Michigan.

Photo: Christian Kozowyk

Courtesy of Sony
Fall 2011 Sanctuary Watch 13

SANCTUARYVOICES

Callum Roberts

Author of The Unnatural History of the Sea

It’s a wonderful idea and offers what to my mind is a more plausible 

route into North America than an ice-free corridor through lands otherwise 

still gripped by glaciers. We may never know whether it is true, but regardless, these new finds show that North Americans have used the oceans 

and their resources over a vast span of time. And with use comes change. 

We are only just beginning to discover the many ways in which people 

have altered the maritime seascapes on which they depended. Over the 

long span of history, those changes have deepened and multiplied. Until 

recently they went unnoticed. For most of us the oceans seemed to be 

the last wilderness, changeless and beyond harm. We were mistaken.

 Culture, commerce, wildlife and seascape have been intimately connected for thousands of years. Understanding those links enriches our 

appreciation of what the oceans have meant to different generations. 

Sadly, in many places, those interactions have left marine life worse off 

than it was when California’s Channel Islands were first colonized. So it 

is fitting that they are the setting for a bold experiment to restore some of 

the abundance of marine life that their earliest settlers would have known. 

In 2003, a network of marine reserve zones that covers a quarter of 

Channel Islands sanctuary waters was closed to fishing. Already, there 

are welcome signs that life is on the rebound within them. After only 

five years of protection, abundance of predatory fish was up by 50 to 

80 percent. With time, the effects of those reserves should become felt 

throughout sanctuary waters as life spills beyond the bounds of protected zones. The idea is catching on and reserves are now being established in many other coastal states 

to help life in their waters proliferate 

for all to enjoy. Refuges from exploitation are important tools to restore 

productivity and sustain cultures 

that depend on the sea. By understanding our past we can manage 

better for the future.

Callum Roberts is a professor of 

marine conservation at the University of York, England, and the 

author of The Unnatural History of 

the Sea (Island Press), an account 

of the effects of 1,000 years of fishing and hunting on marine life.

Sanctuary Voices is a guest column featuring views and opinions from the national 

marine sanctuary community.

The north shore of Santa 

Rosa in California’s Channel Islands National Park 

plunges steeply to the sea. A 

sparse cactus scrub spreads 

a faded green wash over 

parched brown earth. At the 

cliff edge, layers of soil slide seawards like a lurching stack of pancakes. 

To most people, these cliffs and islands are no more than backdrop to fishing, scuba diving or kayaking in Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. Few venture inland, and fewer still are aware that these dusty layers 

conceal the extraordinary remains of America’s earliest maritime culture.

Searching these cliffs in 

2008, the archaeologists Jon 

Erlandson of the University of 

Oregon and Torben Rick of the 

Smithsonian came across tantalizing signs of early activity. Flakes of stone, beautifully worked spear 

points, crescent blades and charred bone fragments lay scattered across 

the crumbling cliffs. After three seasons of careful excavation, they had 

unearthed thousands of stone artifacts, bones and shell fragments left 

by the island’s first people that give us a window into their world.

The remains make it clear that these people had a remarkably sophisticated maritime culture. At the time, the Ice Age was ending, sea 

levels were 230 feet lower and the seashore was four miles from the 

present-day cliffs. The northern Channel Islands were joined together 

but separated from the mainland by a channel more than five miles 

wide. To get there, these people must have been good seafarers with 

sturdy boats. They ate a varied diet rich in marine foods, including abalone, mussels, rockfish, sculpin, seals and sea lions. They were also 

skilled hunters of geese and rodents, including a now-extinct flightless 

goose, whose disappearance they doubtless hastened.

Conventional wisdom says that the first colonists made their way 

across a land bridge from Asia and found their way through an ice-free 

corridor to verdant southern lands. That view was sustained by the relative scarcity of coastal remains compared to the abundant archaeological 

record from the interior. The trouble is the scarcity of coastal sites arises 

not because people did not live by the sea, but because their remains 

were covered by rising seas following the last glaciation. The few sites 

that do exist paint a picture of communities whose lives were completely 

entwined with the sea. Indeed, their seafaring, fishing and hunting techniques were so well-developed that Erlandson and Rick think that the 

sea might have been the route from Asia to North America. Coastal people followed a rich kelp forest “highway” brimming with seafood as they 

ventured around the north Pacific. 

“We are only just beginning to discover the many ways in which people 

have altered the maritime seascapes on which they depended.”
Photo Courtesy of the Monroe County Public Library

SANCTUARYSNAPSHOT Believe it or not, fish the size of the goliath grouper pictured above were a common catch when 

this photo was taken by Charles Anderson in the 1950s. But decades of fishing have taken their toll on large predatory species like 

grouper and sharks, reducing their numbers and removing many of the biggest individual fish. As a result, anglers now catch mostly 

smaller fish, and smaller species. Today, we are studying historical records to learn more about how fisheries have changed over time. 

Research like this gives us a new perspective on how the maritime landscape used to look, the ways our activities have affected ocean 

ecosystems, and steps we can take to protect special places like national marine sanctuaries for the future.