The problem: changing 

 land use 



(Continued from page one) 



Now when it rains, rainwater can run in wide 

 channels to the brackish nursery areas, opening 

 the possibility for changing salinity rapidly and 

 altering the directions of water flow. The effect 

 could be destruction of the nursery grounds. 



The problem, according to the state report, is 

 particularly prevalent in tributaries of the north- 

 ern Pamlico Sound, such as Long Shoal River, 

 Swanquarter Bay and Rose Bay. And fishermen in 

 those areas are getting worried, and upset. 



Opposition has focused on one drainage opera- 

 tion in Hyde County which would drain 1,200 acres 

 into Rose Bay. A law suit was filed and is now in 

 limbo, according to Swanquarter attorney John S. 

 Fletcher. He calls the suit a "warning to the land- 

 owner that people felt he was doing something he 

 shouldn't and that if anything went wrong they'd 

 look to him for recompense" and a "notice to the 

 government to do something." 



The fishermen brought their worries to the state 

 more directly in June: 



Rose Bay oyster houses stand empty. 



"We, the undersigned, being commercial and 

 sport fishermen who use the creeks, rivers and 

 bays adjacent to Pamlico Sound and the waters of 

 Pamlico Sound, petition the Marine Fisheries 

 Commission and state officials as follows: 



" — to investigate the invasion of traditionally 

 salt or brackish waters by fresh water. 



" — to investigate the effect of changing salinity 

 in said waters upon the production of oysters, 

 shrimp and other salt water species. 



" — to initiate programs to preserve the tradi- 

 tional salt waters of the aforesaid waters. 



" — to investigate the effect of decreased salinity 

 in said waters upon the economy of the Pamlico 

 drainage area, and to initiate proper controls to 

 insure the continued health of commercial and 

 sport fishing in this area. 



" — to investigate the feasibility of dredging 

 Ocracoke Inlet or a new inlet near the Ocracoke 

 area. 



"This petition is prompted by the belief that 



Troy Mayo 



during the past decade the fresh water has been 

 encroaching upon salt water areas in a gradual, 

 but persistent manner." 



The petition was signed with about 3,000 names 

 and carried to Raleigh by fisherman Harold Harris 

 and his neighbor Troy Mayo. Harris has fished 

 Rose Bay and the sound for 10 years and Mayo is 

 a native of Swanquarter who fished a quarter of 

 a century ago and now works an oyster bed in the 

 middle of Pamlico Sound. Harris and Mayo agree 

 Rose Bay production is down and they point to 

 fresh water intrusion as the main culprit. 



"The bureaucrats and educated fools can't see 

 what's going on without a study. But you can ask 

 the stupidest person in Hyde County and he'll tell 

 you," Mayo declared. "The damage has been done 

 in the past 10 years by the big corporate farms. 

 We've got sense enough to know that farming has 

 to continue but if we don't stop these big corporate 

 farms or get some new laws, all these sounds and 

 bays and tributaries will be gone. 



"Twenty -five years ago, I owned a 26-foot shad 

 boat. We used to go out in Rose Bay, two people, 

 for five or six hours and we'd catch 35 to 40 tubs 

 of oysters — that was two men pulling by hand," 

 Mayo continued. "Today you go out in this same 

 area with a power winder and all modern equip- 

 ment and I'd be surprised if you catch 10 tubs of 

 oysters. Up until about five years ago we had 10 

 to 15 people that made their living just in Rose 

 Bay. Today you haven't got a one — it's just that 

 simple." 



The University of North Carolina Sea Grant 

 College Newsletter is published monthly by the 

 University of North Carolina Sea Grant College, 

 1235 Burlington Laboratories, Yarborough Drive, 

 North Carolina State University, Raleigh, N.C. 

 27607. Vol. 3, No. 8. August, 1976. Dr. B. J. Cope- 

 land, director. Written and edited by Karen 

 Jurgensen and Johanna Seltz. Second-class postage 

 paid at Raleigh, N.C. 27611. 



