Meet Aundrea O'Neal of Beaufort, NC: Defender of Fish and Fowl

Reprinted and edited from Tradewinds Magazine, 2019, B. Garrity-Blake. Photo by B. Garrity-Blake

“There’s this crazy nut I know,” commercial fisherman Lauren Rimmer said. “Her name is Aundrea - that’s where I go to find out what’s going on in fish politics.” Joking aside, Rimmer sees Beaufort, NC native  Aundrea O’Neal as a trusted source of information. 

 “I’ve learned a lot through Aundrea,” Rimmer continued. “When she says, ‘Girl, let me tell you,’ I listen and want to be involved!”  

As editor of the North Carolina Fisheries Association’s publication Tradewinds since 2016, O’Neal has improved the magazine’s look, feel, and relevancy to the fishing industry. The Fisheries Association is North Carolina’s largest trade group advocating for the commercial fishing and seafood industry.

“NCFA’s been picking up members from Alaska, Texas, Louisiana, and the northern states,” O’Neal said. “I think it’s because of the Tradewinds – we now mail more copies than we drop off at local venues.” She figures that other states appreciate the fighting spirit of Tarheel fishermen. 

O’Neal is also office manager for the NC Fisheries Association, and serves as a board member and treasurer of the Carteret County Fishermen’s Association. She is a former board member of Carteret Catch. 

You can find Aundrea O’Neal hustling shrimp burgers at the North Carolina Seafood Festival, serving up crab cakes at the annual Legislative reception co- sponsored by the NCFA and North Carolina Watermen United, and slinging plates of fresh bluefish at the Carteret County Fishermen’s Association’s annual fish fry fundraiser. 

“I knew nothing about fish politics when I started,” she explained, although she did grow up in Beaufort and practically lived at her grandfather’s fish house on Town Creek. 

“We called it Carl Cannon’s fish house. My mama used to go there and head shrimp. Many a night I slept on the bench.”

O’Neal moved away from the county for twelve years. When she returned, she noticed fewer commercial fishing boats. The industry had shrunk. Her son-in-law, Hunter Barta, started commercial fishing and that’s when Aundrea got an earful about fish politics. She decided to get involved. 

“Pam Morris really inspired me. We went to our first Carteret County Fishermen’s Association meeting and I heard her speak. I thought to myself, ‘I wish I knew as much as she did!’”

Before Aundrea O’Neal took the plunge into the world of fisheries, she worked at a high dollar marina. She came to view some of her co-workers as hostile because they were “talking smack about commercial fishermen.” 

“I finally told them, ‘I’ve heard all of this I’m going to hear. If you say one more word I’m coming across the counter.’ That was my last day there.”

The day O’Neal quit the marina, she dropped in at Beaufort Inlet Seafood and Brent Fulcher hired her on the spot. For the next couple of years, she and a chicken named Stink Stink held court in the fish house office as O’Neal answered phone calls and payed fishermen, packers, and shrimp headers. 

Yes, that’s right – Stink Stink the chicken was always by Aundrea O’Neal’s side, until her feathered friend passed away this spring while home watching the Lifetime channel. 

“My Stinkerpot was hatched with a crippled leg,” O’Neal explained. “She got where she couldn’t walk at all, so I took her everywhere.” Stink Stink is likely the only chicken in history that has stayed at the Hilton. 

“I was going to the NCFA board meeting in Nags Head. I told them at the front desk that I had a crippled chicken and if she couldn’t stay, I was going home. They checked with the manager and said, “If there’s anything we can do for you or your chicken, let us know.”

O’Neal’s compassion for fowl does not stop with chickens. She has a duck named Donut whose beak was bit off by a dog. Beaufort veterinarian Jocelyn Romano made a mold and had a prosthetic beak made from acrylic. She attached the new beak with screws, but Donut dug in the mud and broke it. Then the vet tried brackets, which lasted a little longer but met the same fate. Currently a man who specializes in building submarines is making a beak out of carbon fiber, which Dr. Romano will attach with screws, brackets, and a special glue. 

“Donut is becoming a community duck,” O’Neal quipped. “A bionic community duck.” 

The group effort to save Donut the duck is dwarfed by what’s required to keep the North Carolina seafood industry afloat. O’Neal insists that a broad network of supporters and contacts are required, and she tells fishermen that they had better make an effort to reach out.  

“Get to know your representatives,” she emphasized. “Get involved, stay active, and communicate with your board members – whether it’s the NC Fisheries Association, NC Watermen United -- whatever you belong to.” 

She urges fishermen not to lose heart or give up. 

“When I hear fishermen say, ‘My voice don’t count,’ I say untrue! The NC Fisheries Association has built a good relationship with the Governor, legislators, and staff. It’s so important to keep the lines of communication open.”

Aundrea O’Neal’s passion toward the commercial fishing industry is clear, and she does not regret jumping into the fray with both feet. 

“I can go anywhere and get an office job,” she said. “But this is what I love. Fishermen are the underdog, and I will always fight for the underdog.”   

Aundrea O’Neal Representing the NCFA at the NC Seafood Festival in 2019