CAPf MAT COUNTY MAGAZINE I JUNE '«3

22

'Farming-Fishing: Great Combination

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W (ED NOTE Follnwlnx is excerptc^/rnm on Interview with Jack Sayre of Cape May. one of a ter leu conducted by Ur Thomas (hellos of Atlantic .Community College and Cape May Cr/unty marine agent Stewart Tweed as research for it history of the county's commercial fishing industry I Interviewer: Mr. Havre Is from a family In the Cape May area that goes hack many, many years. He has a career of varied Interests. some of which relates to commercial flshinK and’some of which does not. I’d like to begin with you telling us something about the roots of your family In the ( ape May al-ea. Sayre: Be happy to Our family owned this particular farm for 140 years, and it’s been producing food for that entire length of time The unique thing atHUit the farm is that it runs right on to the tide marsh, and the tidal lands where the commercial fishing interest begins The tide lands are flowed twice a day by salt water and they are very productive of the yotmg fish that we see in the ocean, catch and use for food Having bben bom here. I have just taken all that for granted It’s port of our ex istence and always has l>een. and I would hope that it always will be part of our ex istence I m afraid sometimes that man is a little shortsighted Hr is blinded by the short term gain and he will*overlook the long term value of a piece of tide marsh that represents a fish hatchery of the East Coast

I: We Jus! came back from a tour of Jack’s farm. It goes rolling back Into mar shland and he showed us the importance of the salt marsh and how life begins there. I think Jack's comment about the marsh on the East Coast of the United States is Interesting, when you think about the fishlerles originating in certain areas, like your Georges Bank fisheries. We're probably in what.you call the New York Bight area from l-ong Island down to Cape May. These areas are really very productive in terms of the world fisheries. That’s probably because of the grasses that we have in our marshes that act as a nursery area for commercial species of fish, plus other fish that we don't eat directly, but through the food chain become food for the commercial species that we harvest. What were the names of those grasses. Jack? S: The most valuable one is Spartina alterniflora, and that is the major grass in the tidelands, and the one that represents the principal food supply for all these fish and shellfish that we speak of I • wa,s wondering if you could tell us how that grass plays the part that it does, as far as the whole Thaln of events that lakes place in the salt marsh? S: Sure Spartina alterniflora is the beginning of it all because, being a grass with green coloring matter, it is the only unit there that can capture the -sun's energy and produce the basic food This is the beginning of the vast marine food chain that exists in our hatchery In my

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mind. Spartina is one of the most Impor tant grasses in the world Spartina is one of those unique grasses that can grow ir. the salt marsh We don’t have many grasses that can do that Spartina can do that very \productivcly, and can therefore produce a food in an area that no other plant could This food is the loginning of the marine food web. and It breaks down finally into little food particles that mix with the water and begin to circulate, becoming part of the food chain that clams and oysters and all the filter feeders will pull this food par tide out for their substance F , lankton will live on it Plankton, in turn, become food, and the beginning of the food chain starts off with an explosion you might say. All we have to do is keep that salt marsh clean and we have a guaranteed fish hatchery It doesn't cost us any money, if we Just leave it alone I: High tide comes up and washes these things out Into the ocean. I guess that's where the halt fish come In on the chain. The' bait fish eat the small plankton and then the blue fish eat the halt fish. S: If you had to draw a caricature of this whole thing, you would certainly start with the sun and then you’d show a blade of

the problems when it is really a regional system, and should be protected in a regional manner. I: You mentioned an interesting little story about oystermen In Delaware Bay. The idea that Delaware Bay oystermen like to see the v/ater dark. Could you tell us a (ittle about that? 8: They make reference to its as the soup for their oysters, because the cloudiness of the water represents a food content that is coming out of these mar shes on each outflowing tide The one thing the oysterman does not want to see is perfectly clear water, because there is not much food in that. Again, protecting these tidelands is a way of guaranteeing a strong oyster again I: You also mentioned the sneak hosts small boats. Are there other vessels that developed after that? 8: Well I suppose you can envision the Indian back before then using canoes, because we have evidence, on the marshes. of these little piles of shells that the Indians would make They would bring their shell harvest in. and instead of carry ing the load of heavy shell and moat back, they would shuck the oyster or clam at the edge of the marsh and just carry the meat back These shell piles are still In evidence on our tide marshes I: Are there any examples of sneak boxes around? 8: Yes There are still some left under people's porches We don't build with the same materials now The favorite was white cedar planking on a framed boat You would need to allow time for that white cedar to swell up tight so it would be waterproof But it made a very fine boat I make today's little boats out of plywood It’s the same basic shape; easy to row. easy to hide in the grass The wind oK the water will more or less Jump over the boat and a pair of big oars will pull it with pret ty good speed It's lighter, and it doesn't need to swell up. It's just utilized, in the old design, with today's materials I think it does represent an improvement, because the old boats did get heavy when they swelled up I; Were there a lot of people who like your family were principally fishermen.

'Man is a little shortsighted...'

grass, the grass rotting down to food par tides and plankton living on that, the little fish living on the plankton, and on and on until you hit the food fish that we recognize for human consumption The Wetlands Act now guarantees a kind of protection for New Jersey, but that's not enough We need to see protection for the entire East ('oast I think that the United Stales government has a position to take in preserving this marsh because leaving it up to individual stales may not solve all

but who farmed and fished as a combination? 8: A lot of them had farms and fished I would suppose the bulk of the people were involved both ways, because it was sort of a necessary thing then Even today where you can find farmland running off to the tied marsh. I think it’s one of the most ideal living conditions a person can ex pcrience because on one end of his proper ty he has a garden, farm and house, and on the other end is the little dock with his

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