Growing up on Silver Hill plantation in McClellanville, South Carolina, Julie McClellan spent her days out on a small wooden batteau accompanying her stepfather, Ellis Dawsey, as he scratched clams on his leases at White Banks and Oyster House and sold the catch to Carolina Seafood. After high school she married and went straight to work in restaurants, building houses, and later operated a deer processing plant with her husband before they divorced. For the past twenty-five years, Julie’s made her full-time living off the water.

Anuruck “Lucky” Suttiprasert was born and raised in Thailand. In 1975 he moved to Memphis, Tennessee to attend school, always intending to return to home once he finished his studies. Three years later, he quit school to work, both in restaurants and as a mechanic. He moved to Atlanta. In 1982 a friend in Savannah, Georgia convinced him to start shrimping because the money was good. Lucky worked his way up to captain, and today he runs his own shrimp boat, Luck Chalm. Lucky explains the name comes from a combination of his name with the name of his wife, Chalam.

David Thomas has been fishing commercially for the past twenty-five years. He was born and raised in Conway, South Carolina, where his father ran a grocery store. He spent his summers in Ponce Inlet, Florida, where his uncle fished commercially and ran Timmons Fish Camp. David decided the only practical job for him was to fish, but today he say government regulations make his work difficult. He fishes with a standup rod known as a bandit reel, which drops a bungee cord directly into a current using circle hooks, which catch the outside of the fish’s lip.

Jamie White grew up on Sol Legare (pronounced Sol Le-gree) Road in James Island. Sol Legare holds a long history of African American fishing traditions. Jamie grew up with marshes and rivers as his backyard. Going out to pick clams and oysters was a daily part of his life. He learned from his uncles, George and Richard Brown. Jamie moved to Atlanta and sold cars then retail clothing but returned home after the 2008 recession.