[ ! Many charter boats dock in the harbor at the end of Hatteras Island. 



Haul seining is just one tradition vanishing from the Hatteras 

 waterfront. Other changes include the decline of boat slips for 

 commercial watermen. 



"During the last 25 years, more than 100 boat slips have been lost 

 to private developers," according to Lynne Foster, an organizer for 

 "Day at the Docks: A Celebration of Hatteras Island Watermen." 



Commercial fishing captains are now competing for the remaining 

 50 slips left in Hatteras — a tiny community on the southern end of 

 Hatteras Island, which stretches 60 miles from Oregon to Hatteras inlets. 

 The island also includes the small communities of Rodanthe, Waves, 

 Salvo, Avon, Buxton and Frisco. 



Some of the docks in Hatteras are at fish houses, which have 



declined — from six to two — in recent years. 



"Without the fish houses, there'll be no commercial fishing 

 industry here," says Susan West, a member of the N.C. Joint Legislative 

 Commission on Seafood and Aquaculture and wife of a commercial 

 fisherman. "There'll be no place for fishermen to dock or unload the 

 catch." 



There is only one public slip for recreational and charter boats on 

 Hatteras Island — in the middle of the Hatteras Harbor Marina. "Even if 

 fishermen could afford to buy a slip at a marina, the logistics of marketing 

 would be difficult," says West. 



Developing special markets for thousands of pounds of croaker or 



Continued 



Cocistwatch I High Season 2006 I www.ncseagrant.org 13 



