Raising the Story

Reposted from nccatch.org 2024 by Liz Biro, interview by B. Garrity-Blake, photo by Liz Biro

Kory Reeves is fish house manager at Oregon Inlet Fishing Center, where a fleet of some 50 charter boats ferry anglers offshore in search of legendary catches. Big tunas, record wahoos, prized mahi, mackerels, loads of blues, trouts and puppy drums. No matter what takes the bait, the fish cutters who Reeves supervises expertly dress and fillet trophy-worthy catches for fishers to take home.

“I mean, think about it. You catch an 800-pound fish, how are you going to clean that yourself?” Reeves said, standing over his own working collection of seven knives. Like all the fish cutters, Reeves customized each one to perform specific tasks.

Two knives he ground down to nubs melt through tough fish skin. His good luck charm, Bertha, is a long, silver sliver that looks like a surgical tool. Bertha actually started life as a wide knife. Reeves filed away at the blade until it became a precision filleter.

Reeves’ job is not as clear cut as his knife skills. Managing the fish house means much more than carving the catch. The Kearney, N.J., native who lives in Columbia, N.C., wears many hats, from customer relations and record-keeping to keeping up with ever-changing fisheries rules. Still, he’s always ready to grab a knife when the fish cutters get busy.

And when you’re a fish cutter, you never know what you’ll run into. Reeves has seen a sand tiger shark with a stomach full of ball bearings, a tuna full of buckshot, a two-headed “frankenfish” and crossbreeds that appeared to be part pompano, part mahi.

A single dad who started as an Oregon Inlet Fishing Center fish cutter 15 years ago, Reeves shared his story in an interview with NC Catch’s “Recognizing African American Participation in the North Carolina Seafood Industry” project team. The following excerpts have been edited for length and clarity. Click here for the rest of the story.