Locking Horns with the Future

Though commercial fishing is an uncertain bet, a new generation of Hatteras watermen is willing to take the chance.

The headlines tell the story of an American industry on the brink. Pounded by tightening regulations, escalating expenses, stagnant or declining fish prices and shrinking working waterfronts, the future of commercial fishing seems caught in a seismic wave of uncertainty.

Yet even as old fishermen lament the passing of the industry they have known and loved, a new generation of commercial fishermen has emerged in places like Hatteras Island.

These younger men aren’t afraid to lock horns with the future. They adopt innovative ways to run businesses that provide fresh, wild-caught seafood, and they scale their operations to meet regulatory, environmental and economic challenges.

JEREMY O’NEAL

Jeremy O’Neal is 28 years old and the father of two little girls. He started fishing shortly after graduating from Cape Hatteras Secondary School; he was offered a job as mate on the Miss Megan, a gill net boat working out of Hatteras village.

Last year O’Neal bought his own boat, the Goose, a 25-foot Downeaster that he uses to net Spanish mackerel, bluefish, dogfish, king mackerel, croaker and sea mullet in the Atlantic and in Pamlico Sound.

Read the rest of the story in Outer Banks Magazine.