18 NATCHEZ ON THE WATERFRONT


without much disturbance to the natural environment, other users of the water or the view. Those last benefits can be particularly useful to Hoopers as public opposition and ‘Not In My back Yard’ perspectives are among the greatest hurdles to expanding oyster production in the Chesapeake and elsewhere as we saw in the Mohegan case. Aside from fighting projects in the regulatory approval process, many waterfront property owners have bought the nearby shellfish licenses simply to prevent any shellfish operations from taking place. In the state of Virginia, for example, it’s been estimated that something like 60% of the existing shellfish licenses are owned by those with no intention of ever using them. I get that… and I can assure you


I’d be abundantly concerned if someone came along and proposed


MARINA INDUSTRY • AUGUST 2020


Most boaters also possess some Two French youngsters prepare to sample oysters from a market stall.


an oyster farm in the middle of my favorite waterskiing area, but I really don’t see this as an us versus them’ situation, when there’s no reason we can’t work it out together. This is where aquaculture and aqua


culture sort of come together. You see most boaters I know are used to solving problems and making efficient use of space. There‘s no reason a bench can’t also be a locker or a table turn into a bed.


sense of exploration – heading out on to the water to see what’s out there and seeking out the romance of all things nautical. Go to the Brittany coast of France and chances are you’ll visit an old port where the tractors work the shellfish cages every day at low tide – and you’ll stop for lunch at a waterfront café or sample oysters from one of the market stalls set up on the wharf where they’re unloaded. Head to Japan and you might marvel at the great lines of seaweed carefully being cultivated, often in the same harbour as the ‘fisherina’ you are visiting. One of the founders of Hoopers


Island was/is a waterman, as was his father before him. He saw his way of life on the bay disappearing as overfishing and disease were wiping out the oysters and crabs the


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