- Info
Captain Chip Grice
A chat with Captain Chip Grice
Davis, NC
Fishing Vessel Cape Point
How did you get into commercial fishing? “
I
was born in Charlotte but my family owned a camp to the banks. We came
here every summer when I was a kid, until the Park Service took our
camp in the mid1970s. I started raking clams, and paid attention to the
Old Salts – Carroll Willis, Milton Styron. They
taught me. A friend explained that fishing is like Nazcar
– the winners help the losers until the losers
win!”
Are you glad you became a fisherman?
“Absolutely. I get to be my own boss; come and go as I please. I
can spend afternoons with my kids and go to their ball games.”
Chip says he also harvests clams, fish, and peeler crabs. A peeler crab
is a blue crab that is on the verge of shedding its shell, destined to
become a soft-crab sandwich!
How many people go shrimping with you? “I go by
myself. I’m a one-man operation. Several of us tow together in a
circle, so I’m not really alone. Until the last couple of years
fifteen of us trawled just off Davis Shore – now
there’s only about four.” Fishermen usually shrimp at night
in Core Sound, pulling their nets behind small trawlers. Each net is
fitted with a turtle excluder device (TED) and finfish excluder device
(FED) to help eject sea turtles and fish right away. Nets are hauled in
and the catch is dumped on a “culling tray.” You can stand
onshore and see the lights of the trawlers go around
– you can hear the fishermen talking to each other
on the radio!
Why are fewer people shrimping nowadays? “Some
of the fellas have aged out, and the younger generation isn’t
getting in. The youngest in Davis today is 38. Lots of fishermen were
forced to find other jobs, because market conditions are so bad. The
price of shrimp is low because of imports, and the cost of fuel goes up
and up. The resources are there, but the take-home pay is not!”
Today 80 percent of all shrimp on the U.S. market is imported and
farm-raised. According to the NC Division of Marine Fisheries, the
flood of cheap imported shrimp has driven down prices for fresh, local
shrimp to 1960’s levels! Not only does this hurt the
fisherman’s ability to make a living, but is playing a role in
changing North Carolina’s traditional fishing communities.
Is there any hope in the future for fishermen?
“Yes. Conditions will turn around directly. I’m sure of it.
If you can stick out these hard times, things will get better. Have you
heard the commercial on the radio encouraging people to eat local
shrimp? We just need to keep our water quality healthy. We could use
more political support too!”
What’s your claim to fame? “I feel good
about the work I did helping with the red drum fisheries management
plan, like explaining how we can continue to set nets on this side of
the sound for spots, while protecting red drum too.” NC Division
of Marine Fisheries invites fishermen and others to participate in
designing management plans – you can do it too!
Chip’s other claim to fame is that he was the first fisherman to
tie up at the NC Seafood Festival dock to talk to visitors and
demonstrate how a trawl works. “I enjoyed that! I got to meet a
lot of nice people.”
What are the strangest things you’ve caught? “An octopus. An old Indian pipe.”
Interview / Text: Dr. Barbara Garrity Blake
