The coastland times with which is combined the pilot and herald of Belhaven and Swan Quarter., 1962-07-20

EDITOR
HEAVY DISFAvOR OF
SHELL DREDGING PLAN
To the Editor:

To the Editor:
1 have been reading and lis
tening to the radio for the last
several weeks about dredging of
oyster shells in Albemarle
Sound. Being a commercial fish
erman, am not in favor of it.
1 notice that the Board of
Conservation and Development
has given it's approval to the
dredging of the shells; when the
meeting on this was held, those
present, who were against the
dredging, outnumbered those
who were for it by about four to
one.
I wonder why the meeting was
held in the first place, as it
looks like the deck was stacked
in favor of the dredging in the
first place. What good is a
majority if their word won't do
any good. Anyone with thin
ble-full of sense, who has work
ed around the water knows that
when this dredging starts, it
will hurt fishing, grabbing and
other commercial work all over
the sound.
1t makes no difference where
the dredging takes place, the
silt from it will keep washing
along with the tide and ruin the
fishing grounds miles away
from where the dredging is TAX
ing place. Also, there are places
in the sound where these shells
are twenty to thirty feet deep
from the top layer. This means
they would be digging trenches
that deep or deeper all over the
sound. This would make it hard
for any of US to pull a net, or
fish or a crab line, where they
have dredged.
l know that fishing and other
commercial work in the water
has failed in the last few years,
but there are hundreds of people
in the eastern part of North
Carolina who make a good living
out of the water all year long.
Always, they are the ones who
work hard at it and it makes
my blood boil to see outside in
terests coming in and taking
over. Maybe the dredging in
terests would employ a few peo-
ple; if they do, it will be work
srs from the Elizabeth City area,
where the company is located.
What do these people care
about whether fishing and hunt
ing is destroyed or not? / guess
It is asking too much to expect
help from the Board of Conser7.
vation and Development which
is taking thousands of dollars
IN license fees from people who
make their living from the
water, to keep the department
going.
1 have talked to at least a.
hundred people who are in the
business. othfq ernc mefwiyno
commercial fishing and crab
bing business. Every one Of
them feels as | do about it. We
have been sold out! l suppose
we will have this as long as
those who are appointed
% the Conservation and Devel-
opment Department come from
the central and western part OF
the state-where most of them
don't know a speckled trout from
a hardshell crab, and who hap
pened to have voted right on
election day!
When this dredging DESTROYS
the fishing and other commercial
work in the sound, and it surely
will, things will have reached
state where the people can't
make a living from the water;
but they will still expect us to
buy license for our boat
whether we are making any
thing or not.
I have heard several say they
were so mad about it that when
they send their agents aboard
boats saying that "You have to
have a license before you car
fish or crab" that they ought to
throw the fisherman over tn"
side and if he calls for help just
throw him an anchor.
In conclusion, l want to say
one thing. In Russia they have
Communism, and in North
Carolina you have the Board O.
Conservation and Development
SYLVESTER PERRY
Commercial Fisherman